News

Walking Through The Pages Of History In PCA's Wax Museum

It's a rite of passage in PCA lower school. On Friday, the Welcome Center was filled with fourth grade students dressed as queens, baseball players, heroes of war, famous actresses, and everyone in between. The annual Living Wax Museum event, which has been a tradition for more than 20 years at PCA, was in full swing. 

Each year students choose a person in history who made an impact on society, to bring back to life for the day. They read a biography on the person, create a detailed tri-fold board showing facts about their person's life, and then present their findings to their class. After that, the fun really begins as students bring their research to life dressing up as their historical figure and presenting their work to PCA students, staff, and parents by way of the Living Wax Museum. Students had to hold very still, like a person made of wax, as visitors walked by to take in their displays and learn more about each person. 

Madelyn Sapp, who was Anna Pavlova, really enjoyed the experience. “I chose Pavlova because I like dancing and ballet! I liked when we got to say facts about ourselves and drawing the pictures!!”

Fourth Grade teacher Mrs. Liz Jarvis said, "The Wax Museum gives students the opportunity to not only study history, but to immerse themselves into it."

This “Rite of Passage” and favorite PCA tradition is sure to live on for another 20 years.

Spaghetti Math Anyone?

Just when you thought spaghetti was meant for eating, Rachel Tisdale’s Honors Pre-Calculus class found a new way to use it.. for math!

"We did a great activity to introduce the connection between the Unit Circle and Sine and Cosine waves,” explained Tisdale. “We used dry spaghetti to measure either sine or cosine values that correspond with the given arc-length on the unit circle. We then used that length to graph the corresponding ordered pair on the coordinate plane. By physically moving the spaghetti from the unit circle to the sine/cosine plot, the students gain a better understanding for where these values come from as a function. The group work and hands-on interaction provide for great discussion and keep it interactive and engaging. It's so much fun to see God's order through mathematics, and we begin to appreciate the works of God in His creation.”

Jordan Benfield agreed, "Being able to do the spaghetti activity allowed for me to have a deeper understanding of the different function and why they are graphed the way they are, but in a fun way!”