Lakota students display rain‑barrel art at zoo auction and present a Holocaust museum project

The Lakota Board of Education on April 28 heard student spotlights from Ridge Junior and Hopewell Junior that showcased arts and English language arts projects, including handcrafted rain barrels auctioned through the Cincinnati Zoo fundraiser and a student‑created Holocaust Museum.

Ridge Junior teacher Amy Pantalone and student Kira Zubit described the Rain Barrel Art Project. Pantalone said the project has participated in the zoo program for several years and that rain barrels are auctioned to raise funds for zoo educational and conservation programs. She told the board the zoo‑wide program raised about $12,000 this year and Ridge’s proceeds were roughly $700. Student Kira Zubit explained the process: she sanded the barrel, measured layouts to wrap artwork around the cylinder and applied multiple paint layers plus a clear coat. “It took me about, I’d say in total about 48 hours between school days to working,” Kira said when asked how long it took.

Hopewell Junior advanced ELA teacher Tanya Webber brought students who explained a Holocaust Museum project tied to their reading and performance of the dramatized Diary of Anne Frank. Student Brooklyn A. Lisencourt described the group trifold board on concentration camps and named Bergen‑Belsen, Birkenau and Westerbork as topics the team covered. Savannah Marshall researched Westerbork and produced a student newspaper project modeled on prisoner‑produced camp publications; Nathan Lee described building a three‑dimensional model of Buchenwald as his individual project.

Board members praised the students for research, presentation skills and cross‑disciplinary learning. Trustees invited students for photos and thanked teachers for coordinating the projects.

Discussion versus decision: this portion of the meeting was a student showcase and informational; no board action was required.