Jamaica students win second contest

BY VICTOR G. MIMONI

Tuesday, February 10, 2009 6:30 PM EST

They say that lightning never strikes twice in the same place, but you can’t prove it by class 6-1 at the Immaculate Conception School in Jamaica. Since October, they’ve landed first-prize in two citywide contests.

Last fall, the class entry walked away with first prize in the citywide Central Park Scarecrow contest - no mean feat for a scarecrow, or the pre-teens at the school, located at 179-14 Dalny Road in Jamaica Estates.

Not long ago, social studies teacher Carl Ballenas approached the class with information about the 2009 “International Polar Weekend” Student Poster Contest, a citywide match up held at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan.

According to the project chronicler, Aquinas Honor Society Student Tarah Anne Rancy, “He gave us a challenge to come up with a poster and explained the theme, “Climate Change - Why the Poles Matter!”

After a careful reading of the rules and a class discussion, the kids not only settled on a design and subject matter, in line with the environmental basis for the content, but also resolved to employ the dual principle of “recycle/reuse.”

“It was decided to create our own tag board using strips of recycled [newspaper]” Rancy explained.

The class made a base of aluminum foil and glued up the strips with a brush and diluted glue to create their own poster board. “It is a tiny bit bent but an excellent example of recycling,” Rancy said.

A classmate, Fred Buato came up with the idea that they could make their own paint by grinding up the little bits of used-up chalk that would otherwise be thrown away.

“Mr. Ballenas lent us his great-great grandfather’s mortar and pestle,” Rancy said appreciatively as she recounted how the class mixed the powdered chalk with glue and water to create paints.

After a great deal of class input, they selected the concept - of the earth, surrounded by children of different cultures and animals that live near the poles, holding up signs naming threats to polar ecology.

Rancy credited classmates Julian Merlin’s influence on the design, class artist Anie Baker and Erma Duarte for the detail drawings. “Armant Singh came up with the best title, ‘We Can Hold the Earth Together’,” she said.

For added impact, they used hot glue to make it look as if the poster was melting.

“It was a fun project and a great way to learn about recycling, global warming and why the poles are important to all of us,” Rancy said.

Photo by Carl Ballenas, the Immaculate Conception School
Immaculate Conception School sixth graders (left to right) Tarah Anne Rancy, Anie Baker and Erma Duarte show off their prize-winning entry in the American Museum of Natural History’s “International Polar Weekend” Student Poster Contest. Last October, Class 6-1 also won first place in the Central Park Scarecrow Contest.