Second graders on the Bolles Lower School Ponte Vedra Beach Campus sharpened and shared their public speaking competencies at the school’s annual second-grade Wax Museum on March 4.
This year’s presentation was a little different than years past, but the “drive-through” visitor experience proved to be a wonderful enhancement to the event. Typically held onstage indoors, the 2021 Wax Museum was relocated to the carpool drop-off sidewalks where parents and other guests enjoyed a mobile tour of the exhibition.
The showcase demonstrated students’ grasp of research material and their ability to present it. Preparation for the annual Grade 2 Wax Museum event requires significant research and presentation skills of students, who spend weeks beforehand studying historic luminaries and readying accurate portrayals.
The event is a rite of passage for students on the Bolles Lower School Ponte Vedra Beach Campus. After selecting their historical figure, students began learning key facts about their characters — from their childhood interests to their biggest achievements in life. In art class, they painted portraits of their subjects. In the final weeks, students considered how they might portray their characters onstage — writing scripts and developing costumes and props that would best tell their story in a performance setting. This year’s event also includes a pre-recorded video production.
Some of the characters included Abraham Lincoln, Beethoven and Sacagawea among many others. About 25 second-grade students practiced the art of public speaking by sharing their historical findings with confidence and presence.
