The results are in, and they did not disappoint! If you’re a current OVCS student family, we hope you had a positive and fun learning experience over the last couple of months leading up to this final Academic Fair showcase.
And if you’re not a current OVCS family, or you missed our event, we are thrilled to share some of this year’s results with you!
The hard work and enthusiasm were evident in so many students. There were proud kiddos — excited to share what they had accomplished. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Many parents have said that their children are already mapping out NEXT year’s projects. We were impressed with the high quality work and variety of topics represented at this year’s Academic Fair!
The Process and Project Criteria
As a reminder, here’s a quick outline of the Academic Fair project process and criteria. This was a multi-subject project that students worked on for several weeks and then presented to judges, the school, and their families!
Each student was instructed to incorporate knowledge from a variety of academic and artistic areas, except for PreK and Kindergarten who worked to complete class projects.
Subjects could vary by student and by project, and might include social studies, history, geography, government, mathematics, literature, science, health, research writing, creative writing, public speaking, visual art, dance, music, drama, and Bible.
While this was a school-wide event, each grade level was given age-appropriate instructions and expectations. Grade 1 had three required subject areas, 2nd-4th had four required subject areas, and 5th thru high school had five required subject areas.
The judging criteria was based on content, a verbal interview, creativity, organization and neatness, inclusion of each subject area, and use of different mediums.
The variety of topics and flexibility of the criteria allowed each student an opportunity to have fun and excel while learning valuable life skills.
Learn more about the process and criteria here: https://ossipeevalleychristian.org/academic-fair-2024/.
2024 Fair Judges
Our judges all have a love for OVCS! We would like to recognize them for all their hard work:
- Returning judges, Fred and Laura Lettelier, are parents of two OVCS graduates, who also spearheaded the work we did with Operation Christmas Child this year.
- Betty Piccininni, a longtime volunteer at OVCS. Her late husband, Joe, was the chairman of our school board for many years.
- Sue Blake, a college professor and longtime volunteer at OVCS including judging past Academic Fairs.
- New this year: Victoria Perry, a retired teacher and member of Hilltop Baptist Church.
- New this year: Tammy Pike, a retired social worker and active member of the Limington community.
This is a group of folks who put your children at ease and brought a balanced view to the judging process.
Project Showcase
And now on to the results! After weeks of hard work and set-up, we were so pleased with what we saw and how the students presented their topics with knowledge and confidence this week.
Plus, we had the added benefit of incorporating an art show alongside our Academic Fair displays.
Here are project examples from the various grade levels… (zoom in or click on any image for a closer look)
PreK & Kindergarten
Judges: Betty Piccininni and Laura Lettelier.
The PreK class completed a class project all about teeth and dental hygiene. The Kindergarten class completed a class project all about the four seasons.
Primary Grades
Judges: Betty Piccininni and Laura Lettelier.
The variety of projects and skills in grades 1 – 3 can be seen in these examples ranging from a variety of animals to monster trucks and the human eye.
Upper Elementary
Judges: Fred Lettelier and Tammy Pike.
The variety of projects and skills in grades 4 – 6 can be seen in these examples ranging from football and ferrets to Jesus and pineapples.
Junior High
Judges: Sue Blake and Victoria Perry.
The variety of projects and skills in grades 7 & 8 can be seen in these examples ranging from the Paul Revere to giraffes and video games.
High School
Judges: Sue Blake and Victoria Perry.
The variety of projects and skills in grades 9 – 12 can be seen in these examples ranging from Greek mythology to denominations and human population.
The Feedback
The feedback we get from this process and experience is always priceless! In addition to learning about a topic of interest, students are encouraged and encourage others to excel and grow.
“Awesome. The projects were well done and it was a joy to be part of. It was hard work and there were moments of grumbling along the way. But, it really was a wonderful showing of student talent and ability and a positive reflection of parent and teacher guidance.”
– Scott Weirick, Headmaster
“It was such a blessing to see the variety of projects and ideas from the students. I really enjoyed seeing the students share what they learned and their excitement with each other over their projects.”
– OVCS Teacher
“Last night was very special to be able to see the students hard work!”
– OVCS Parent
“It was entertaining and interesting to see the difference form this year to last year. I could see the improvements both in the student process and how the final event came together. I love seeing the progress and look forward to seeing what next year will bring!”
– OVCS Parent
“I thought this was a brilliant exercise in planning and time management, in addition to the actual learning that occurred. The students were given age-appropriate instruction, ample time, and we had fun discussing it at home. After the final event, we were already planning our topic for next year!”
– OVCS Parent
“I was excited to see if I would get a blue ribbon or red.”
– OVCS Student
“I loved all the cool designs.”
– OVCS Student
The Results
A total of 68 unique and inspired projects were completed, presented, and judged. And the results were…
7 Trophies were awarded for the areas of bobcats (grade 3), the eye (grade 3), monster trucks (grade 3), pineapples (grade 4), Jesus (grade 6), denominations (grade 10). Congratulations!
Plus, we awarded 38 Blue ribbons, 20 Red ribbons, 1 Yellow ribbon, and an honorable mention to all our well deserving, hardworking students.
We couldn’t be prouder of these students, their enthusiasm, or their hard work. Congratulations and we look forward to next year!