Creativity and Innovation Shine at MCCPS Exhibition

Musicians, playwrights, famous mathematicians, inventors and baseball  stars all packed the Marblehead Community Charter Public School last night. And yes, we're talking about the students.

MCCPS hosted its third and final exhibition of the school year, showcasing students' work and projects.

Some highlights included: 

• Fourth-graders studying ancient China wrote and performed a play based on the folktale A Grain of Rice. They also designed Chinese paper dragons and composed Chinese music.
• Fifth-graders became engineers and machinists, inventing contraptions -- some six feet tall -- using math concepts and electricity, pulleys or magnetism.
• Sixth-graders became baseball consultants for major league teams. They studied probability and statistics by following MLB box scores this season. They also created their own baseball board games.
• Seventh-graders became sports broadcasters on MCCPS-TV covering the Greek Olympics and discussing the history of the games.
• Eighth-graders posed as history's most famous scientists and mathematicians to teach groundbreaking theories and discoveries and explain how they have changed the world.

"This kind of learning uses multiple intelligences," said MCCPS parent  Pam Shorr. "It teaches creativity and problem solving, not just regurgitating information for a test."

Parent Kathy Cormier said she always loves exhibition night because it's never boring. "The kids get excited about their work, about learning."

Alumnus Zach Makay said the lessons he learned at exhibitions taught him "to be competitive, but also to work as a team."

"People really help each other," he added. "And you learn."