Students excelled in many competitions during school year

ROME TOWNSHIP — Fairland West Elementary’s third, fourth and fifth grade students celebrated the end of annual school testing on Wednesday.

Students took part in a “ Hot Dog! Testing is Over!” event on Wednesday, coordinated by fourth grade teacher Shawna Leep.

The celebration was organized into three events, each running simultaneously. A picnic with grilled hot dogs and fixings was held on the front lawn of the school.

Meanwhile, dance music by DJ Bill Graham was set up in the gymnasium with a light show and plenty of popular tunes.

The third event was the STEM science lab, set up in the cafeteria. Parent volunteers and teachers supervised the creation of erupting volcanoes, tornadoes in a bottle and other science, technology, engineering and math-based activities. The school’s  Parent-Teacher Organization sponsored the supplies and materials for the STEM projects and the D.J.

Students rotated in and out of the events by grade levels. While fifth graders were enjoying the STEM science experiments, fourth graders were dancing in the gym and third graders were having a picnic in front of the school. Every 30 minutes, the students joined a new event.

Parents donated snacks and bottled water for the picnic. The NECCO Corporation, a counseling and foster parent organization that supports local schools with participating children, sponsored the hot dogs and buns.

Principal Teresa Johnson said the celebration has become an annual event at the school and that students work so hard on their class studies and homework, that the event is a well-deserved break in the school routine.

Fairland students earned many honors over the past year.

In addition to taking Ohio’s state tests students at Fairland West participated in spelling bees, science fair projects and multiplication memorization contests.

Fifth grade students also won the Lawrence County Retired Teachers essay contest, the Lawrence Soil and Water Conservation poster contest and the Lawrence County Auditor’s Top Dog essay contest. Much of the students’ written work and art work is displayed on the hallways and bulletin boards of the school.