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UCHS students celebrate Shakespeare

UCHS students celebrate Shakespeare

By: By RYAN CHAPMAN, Special to The Messenger

The Messenger 06.05.08 By RYAN CHAPMAN Special to The Messenger Teachers of the Union City High School English Department recently organized a festive celebration to honor one of the world’s most popular playwrights, William Shakespeare. Because the Bard is believed to have been born on April 23 and christened three days later, the English faculty chose the 25th on which to commemorate his life by designing entertaining lessons in which students were actively engaged in the process of learning. The English department is currently staffed by the following four instructors: Marsha Houston, who teaches English 9; Tara Kendall, who teaches English 10; Andrea Byford, who teaches English 11; and Joanna Wisener, who teaches English 12. A week prior to the celebration, school administrators — including principal Barry Duncan, assistant principal John Easley and assistant principal Jacob Cross — sparked the student body’s interest in the upcoming festivities by challenging them to answer daily trivia questions during the morning announcements. Then, when the special day arrived, UCHS English teachers dressed for the occasion by wearing their matching T-shirts which bore the message: “All the world’s a stage and I’m a major player.” Mrs. Byford, Mrs. Houston, Mrs. Kendall and Mrs. Wisener enthusiastically seized this opportunity to prepare awe-inspiring lessons for their students. The day’s activities included a study of Elizabethan life and insults, an exploration of words and phrases used today but coined by the Bard himself, a re-creation of the witches’ scene from “Macbeth” and a lively production of moving to the groove of Shakespeare’s beat (iambic pentameter). Although Shakespeare left this world over 392 years ago, the lessons concerning his life, his time and his works were carefully designed to transcend all ages as students enthusiastically participated in the progressive learning experience presented by Union City High School’s English staff. Duncan expressed his support of the schoolwide activity by attending several sessions throughout the day, as did various other advocates of the school system. “As the principal of our school, I am proud to work with high school teachers who work tirelessly to submit and implement new ideas for classroom instruction that involve every student in the learning process,” Duncan said. Editor’s note: Ryan Chapman was among the UCHS students who participated in the Shakespeare celebration.

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