STUDENTS CHANNEL THEIR CREATIVITY TO ENHANCE SCHOOL EVENTS
STUDENTS CHANNEL THEIR CREATIVITY TO ENHANCE SCHOOL EVENTS
When Jahdiel Smith Jr ., a student at the Elizabeth Smith Innovative Learning Academy , first heard about Quad Squad , he knew he had to join as soon as he could . In Quad Squad , students get to be creative by designing posters , making T-shirts , and decorating for school events .
“ I like to be creative ; that ’ s my favorite thing to do ,” Smith said . So far , his favorite part of the club has been blowing up balloons and building the balloon arch for Elizabeth Smith ’ s Hispanic heritage event .
The Quad Squad , a project management club at Elizabeth Smith , was created by Kendra Logan , the SPED inclusion teacher . She launched the club during Innovation Week three years ago and later expanded it into a yearlong program . Logan said Quad Squad was designed to bring collaboration and beauty to the campus while fostering pride in the school and increasing family engagement .
“ We have a lot of family engagement events , and I wanted to increase our family engagement ,” Logan said . “ By having our students help decorate and create these things , they go home and tell their parents , ‘ Hey , come see what I did ,’ and it ’ s just helping us grow as a campus .”
Some of the events the Quad Squad has supported include the Hispanic Heritage Read-In and the first Stallion Shindig . For 4th-grade Quad Squad member Monisa Zia , the Hispanic Heritage Read-In has been her favorite project so far .
“ My favorite part of Quad Squad is meeting new people and building a community together ,” Zia said .
For the Hispanic Heritage event , Quad Squad students created a backdrop for a photo booth , decorated the library with a Spanish theme , and set out conchas and other Mexican pastries . During the event , they guided student performers to the library and led readers to their classrooms . For the Stallion Shindig , they built a balloon arch and a photo booth backdrop .
For students , Quad Squad provides a way to take ownership of school-sponsored events and make new friends .
“ I really wanted to meet new people , communicate more , and design some stuff , and that ’ s why I signed up for Quad Squad ,” said Annabell Molina , another Quad Squad student .
Over the past three years , Quad Squad has become a vital part of the Elizabeth Smith community , empowering students to develop essential project management skills . Thanks to Logan ’ s passion and guidance , the club has become a space where students can shine , grow , and have fun .
12 MANSFIELDTODAY