Students at Hyde Park Elementary are ready to "Tackle the FCAT" after attending a pep rally at their school on Friday, January 30.
School staff were looking for ways to make their students 'Feel Comfortable About the Test.' In October, the school hosted an FCAT Fright Night to take the fear out of the FCAT, so to continue the momentum, they decided to have a "Tackle the FCAT" pep rally surrounding the theme of football in time for Super Bowl weekend.
The second graders kicked off the event by presenting the character traits of the month and leading the school in a song surrounding the theme, 'we shall overcome.'
Next, the fourth-grade students spoke to their classmates about using strong verbs, rather than weak ones, for the writing portion of the FCAT, and also reviewed other helpful test-taking strategies.
Barry Milligan, an athletic director at Jacksonville University (JU), accompanied by the school's mascot, Duncan the Dolphin, stopped by to encourage the students to get fired up about the test. He also donated free tickets to everyone for the weekend’s JU basketball games.
Hyde Park's leadership team comprised of teacher and staff presented a skit entitled, "Seven Dwarfs Meet the FCAT." Some of the dwarfs were too grumpy, sleepy or sneezy to do well on the test, and were taught how a good attitude, plenty of sleep and healthy eating habits could help them on test day.
In true form during a pep rally, students were cheered on by their school's Wildcats cheerleaders and dance group, as well as Andrew Jackson High School's cheerleaders and drumline.
When asked why visiting the elementary school was important, one Andrew Jackson cheerleader said, "We know how critical this test is for these students. We took it when we were in elementary school and we are still taking these tests now as high school students. We are here to encourage them to do well."
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