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Hilltop fourth-graders stage tribute to Ohio
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Under the direction of Tom Scurich, Hilltop Elementary School fourth-grade students sang several selections honoring Ohio during the school’s annual Ohio Show May 3.
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The Hilltop Elementary School Ohio Show showcased the efforts of fourth-grade students in visual and performing arts. The students’ artwork was on display in the hallways before and after the show and represented specific connections with Ohio heritage.
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During ’commercial breaks’ of The Buckeye Trivia Show, students from each class had speaking roles, which focused on Ohio history.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Fourth-grade students at Hilltop Elementary School greeted visitors at they entered the gym for an evening of art and music during the school’s annual Ohio Show May 3.
By ABBY SLANKER
In one of their final acts as students at Hilltop Elementary School, the entire fourth-grade class presented an evening of art and music inspired by the Great State of Ohio during their performance of “The Buckeye Trivia Show” May 3. The evening featured displays of artwork from each student and musical selections woven into the trivia show.
“This performance is one of the fourth-grade classes’ final memories at Hilltop Elementary. They have worked very, very hard. This show is a gift from them to us,” said Cathy Mowry, Hilltop Elementary School principal, as she welcomed the audience.
The event showcased the efforts of the students in visual and performing arts. It also connected visual art and performing arts with fourth-grade social studies.
The students’ artwork, which was completed throughout the year in art class taught by Diane Leonard, was on display in the hallways before and after the show and represented specific connections with Ohio heritage.
Featured artwork included a ceramics project, which represented the evolution of the pottery industry in Ohio; Amish communities in Ohio, which concentrated on the Amish simple way of life which was reflected in the quilt designs; Victorian architecture in Ohio, which was represented in the students’ black-and-white line drawing inspired by Victorian-style homes along Wick Park in Youngstown and face vessels along Underground Railroad routes, which were an assembly sculpture covered in papier mache.
The performing arts portion of the show was under the direction of Tom Scurich, Hilltop Elementary School music teacher. Musical selections, several of which honored the state of Ohio, included the “Star Spangled Banner,” “Fifty-Nifty United States,” “Down the River,” “Follow the Drinking Gourd,” “Ohio is My Home,” “Hang on Sloopy,” “This Land is Your Land” and “Beautiful Ohio”.
Roni Sue Gregory provided piano accompaniment. The students also played the recorder during several selections.
“The Buckeye Trivia Show” operated like a high-energy television game show with three contestants answering questions on the subject of Ohio’s history. The production had a cast of students playing the roles of emcees, contestants, a stage manager, a scorekeeper, a camera man and an applause sign holder.
During ’commercial breaks’ several students from each class had speaking roles, which focused on Ohio history, such as facts about famous Ohioans, the Underground Railroad, the Great Seal of the State of Ohio, the state’s first capitol, Native American Indian tribes, the naming of areas of the state and biographical information on the eight presidents from Ohio.
The students were dressed in matching T-shirts, which were designed by a member of their class, and had each student’s signature on the back.