On Monday, Feb. 9, fourth graders at CCS welcomed special guests of their choosing for a Valentine's Day celebration that blended learning with fun. Students and their guests gathered in the multipurpose room for a morning of hands-on activities, rotating through three interactive stations designed to foster connection while reinforcing academic concepts.
At the math station, students and guests tackled fractions, multiplication, division, factors and multiples, and basic geometry – all with the help of conversation hearts. The sweet treats transformed traditional worksheets into engaging collaborative exercises, allowing students to demonstrate their mathematical thinking while working alongside their guests.
The art station featured two activities centered on connection and creativity. For the Love Chain project, each pair wrote what they love about each other or the CCS community on strips of paper, then linked them together. By the event's conclusion, individual chains merged into one collective display now hanging in the school.
Students and guests also created tissue paper flowers using paper, pipe cleaners, and safety pins, exchanging them as Valentine's gifts to take home as keepsakes from the morning.
At the STEM station, teams faced the Heart Bridge Challenge. Armed with popsicle sticks, straws, tape and paper clips, pairs worked together to engineer a bridge strong enough to support small heart erasers. Teams tested their designs by gradually adding hearts, discovering which structures could bear the most weight.
The morning offered fourth graders a meaningful opportunity to invite their special guests into their school world, demonstrating their learning while celebrating Valentine's Day together. The rotation of academic and creative activities allowed students to showcase their skills across different disciplines while creating lasting memories with the people who matter most to them.
