The Family Engagement Team at Wolcott Technical High School put its plan for an Art Show into action to showcase the school’s talented students and staff. As part of a focus on the Healthy School, the ATP at Wolcott conducted a fun and affordable student-staff-family engagement activity at City Climb, a wall climbing gym.

Torrington, CT

OWTS Art Show

The city of Torrington is alive with the arts.  The Family Engagement Team at Wolcott Technical High School put its plan for an Art Show into action to showcase the school’s talented students and staff.  At this highly diverse school, students have many talents and take different technical training programs.  They collaborated to organize and display their diverse art forms.  Most were created by students, but the staff also displayed talents.  Some were well known and others unknown until the OWTS Art Show. 

At the show, art-related classes also were offered to give all attendees—young and old—a chance to enjoy the arts. Some were linked to the trades that students were studying.  Hands-on lessons included canvas painting, heat-transfer-designed T-shirts, chromatography tie-dye, nail painting with art designs, and cupcake decorating.  Students led some of these classes, along with teachers.  Staff and students at Wolcott provided entertainment throughout the evening.  About 200 people attended to enjoy the art show, lessons, live music, and refreshments.

OWTS Art Show is featured in Promising Partnership Practices 2015.

City Climb

To build greater trust and appreciation between students, parents, teachers, and administrators and to challenge students to work together as creative problem solvers, two partnership activities were planned.  As part of a focus on the Healthy School, the ATP at Wolcott conducted a fun and affordable student-staff-family engagement activity.  A group went to City Climb—a wall climbing gym.  There, each teen and adult set a personal challenge for climbing, and, ultimately, everyone was successful.  They also challenged each other to press forward in height and difficulty for the fun of it.

At City Climb, another team-building activity was The Magic Flying Carpet.  Each of two groups of 15 people were placed on a tarp and instructed to flip it over.  One of the easiest ways to complete this task was for all participants to get on one tarp, flip the other and then repeat.  The groups’ problem solving skills and speed required cooperation and shared leadership.  During a debriefing session, facilitators discussed how this concept could be brought back to the school.