GHS students circle the globe

WORLD TRAVELLERS - Many Gaffney High students in teacher Vickie Tomlinson's class wore togas Friday to mark their study of Julius Caesar in English class. Pictured are Ashley Byars, Heather Spencer, Leah Belue, Tessie Woodlief, Erica Holland, Lee Cutchin, Brandi Crowe, Kelsey Krull, Ira Manning, Chars'Evelyn Littlejohn, and Quiannta Johnson. More than 2,000 Gaffney High students circled the globe Friday morning before starting a daylong trip around the world in their classes.

Students marched out with their homeroom classes to the softball field where members of the paint crew had painted a 20 yard-wide globe. Students stood around the outside of the globe as photographer Leonard Gallman buzzed overhead in an airplane to take an aerial photograph of the moment.

It was the first of many activities held that day to celebrate the completion of the school's "Around the World in 180 days" curriculum theme.

Students performed international dances from countries such as Russia and South Africa in the auxiliary gym. In the main gym, Gaffney High Head Basketball Coach Mark Huff led students in an "Around the World" game in which students attempted to make shots from various areas of the court.

English teachers Betsy Jolliff, LaTunya Means and Linda Brasington organized a festival of foods in the school lecture room. Students brought foods from other countries for their classmates to sample. The international goodies included Belgian waffles, Japanese dragonflies and German chocolate cake.

Teacher Linda Nichols brought in Belgian chocolate into which students dipped strawberries and other fruits.

"We wanted this to be an instructional day. Teachers had the option to plan all or part of their lesson around the 'Around the World' theme," Gaffney High Assistant Principal Melanie Cook said. "We were very impressed with the creativity shown by our teachers and students this year."

Beyond the mouth-watering food, Gaffney High School used the occasion to unveil a new art gallery. Exhibits from visual and performing arts classes will be displayed in a gallery located beside the second floor guidance office area.

Teachers have spent the entire school year working international themes into classroom lessons to tie student learning across different subject areas, Gaffney High Principal Dr. Quincie Moore said. Food, literature, science and dance are examples of the areas students have studied this year.

English classes did research projects dealing with civil disobedience and natural disasters in South America, China, Latin America, Nigeria and the Dominican Republic.

Math classes discussed how long it would take a rock to hit the ground when dropped from various buildings around the world. Students looked at Jackie Joyner-Kersee's 1992 Olympic-winning shot-put throw in Barcelona, Spain, that can be modeled by the quadratic equation.

Students in the Symphonic Band are rehearsing music from different countries. The music will be presented at the band's spring concert May 25.

"Our teachers have spent the past couple of years mapping out the curriculum to study how we could involve students in learning about the same topic in many subject areas," Moore said. "Our students have embraced the idea of learning all around the world. This is the first of several curriculum projects our school will be involved in over the next couple of years."