Grade 8 Gallery of Fame will GO On

April 17, 2020

Academics

GNS

The Grade 8 Gallery of Fame is a long-standing and well-loved tradition in the Middle School that celebrates student learning in a unique format. Using detailed research, students take on the persona of an important individual from history, deliver a passionate speech, react to other characters’ musings and respond to questions posed by teachers, family, friends and fellow students. The event allows our actors to demonstrate their skills in creating a character, performing in front of an audience and using their knowledge to improvise.

Originally, the Gallery of Fame evenings were scheduled to take place Tuesday, March 10 and Wednesday, March 11, the two days following our initial school closure. The Denford Hall stage was ready, students had rehearsed—and rehearsed—their speeches, and costumes and display boards were complete. When the Grade 8 students and their teachers learned that not only was March Break starting early, but that they wouldn’t be returning to campus, there was certainly disappointment. But like many of the characters the students had chosen to study, they are getting ready to demonstrate how necessity breeds creativity!

Just like all of the learning at GNS, our Gallery of Fame is going digital! Students are working to create environments and costumes appropriate to their characters in their own homes, truly proving that all the world’s a stage. These “sets” will be the backdrop for their recorded performances in which they deliver their speeches showing not only their character’s physical and vocal nuances, but also their own adaptability and creativity. The final interview portion of the project will also be transformed using Google Meets allowing students to group together to pose as journalists that can interview these amazing characters.

We look forward to sharing the results of the wonderful efforts of our students with our Middle School community in the coming weeks.