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Students celebrate special goals
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.The students hugged and high-fived Freddie the Falcon and some of the Austintown Fitch High School students that visited.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Students in first grade lined up after the Celebration Assembly on March 2 at Austintown Elementary to go back to class.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Some of the students in first grade ended the Celebration Assembly by dancing as they were getting ready to leave the gym.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Students in Molly Walsh's first-grade class participated in the Celebration Assembly on March 3 at Austintown Elementary School.
By ALEXIS BARTOLOMUCCI
First-grade students at Austintown Elementary School participated in the second Celebration Assembly of the year on March 3.
Kindergarten, first- and second-grade students each have their own Celebration Assembly three times per year to celebrate goals they accomplished during their time at school. Most recently, kindergarten celebrated on March 2 and second-grade celebrated on March 4.
Some students from Austintown Fitch High School joined the students in helping them celebrate. Fitch’s mascot, Freddie the Falcon, also made an appearance.
“The teachers set goals in their class and then we have the students stand and we celebrate them in funny ways,” said Kate Gavalier, the first-grade principal.
The goals aren’t normal academic goals, they are unique goals that give the students motivation and provide them with anticipation for the Celebration Assemblies. The students celebrated goals like perfect attendance, being on green everyday, teamwork goals and many more.
Every student who completed their goal had their names called. Once all the students who reached their goals were standing, Kelley Mills — a school counselor — selected one student to pull the lever on the Magic Celebration Machine. The Magic Celebration Machine had different ways of celebrating in it and whatever came from the machine, the students had to do that celebration.
The first goal was perfect attendance and the celebration was the roller coaster celebration. The students had to act like they were in a roller coaster and move all around.
The students are encouraged to continue working on their goals all year. If a student didn’t stand for a goal, they were reminded that they still have time to continue working hard and accomplishing their goals before the end of the school year.