Friday, we finished our first week at VAMPY! Friday morning, students took their first assessment over Presidents Nixon, Ford, & Carter including the major court cases of their administration. Students then read an article over today’s Supreme Court. We also watched two students (Lily & Tiffany) recreate the 1980 debate between Jimmy Carter & Ronald Reagan. Their peers changed history & gave the victory to Jimmy Carter. We then went to the Library where students took two surveys to find out which supreme court justice & likely presidential candidate they agreed with the most. After returning back from the library we studied the different factors that led to the rise of the conservative movement in 1980.
After lunch, we watched several clips from the news that featured three major court cases that the Supreme Court ruled on this week involving cell phones, abortion clinics, & President Obama’s appointees. We then watched a short clip of how the World Cup has impacted international politics. We then examined the major issues of the 1980 presidential election & the major domestic & economic issues that President Reagan supported. Students then watched a funny comedian, Steve Bridges, do impersonations of Clinton, Bush, & Obama. After watching some funny political satire, students then researched & reported on what they considered to be funny information about one of four presidents they picked from a deck of cards. We ended class by examining the 1984 presidential election & students completed a task rotation activity involving current events where their group rotated to five stations. Right before we left for the weekend, students were entertained with a card trick involving all of the presidents!
Students will not have study hall again until Sunday night, where they will begin to research information for their Study Hall project that will be due the last week of camp. This weekend students will participate in a variety of fun activities that their residential counselors have prepared for them in addition to going to Preston Center tonight.
Next week we will study the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, George H.W.Bush, Bill Clinton, & George W. Bush.
Have a great weekend!
Dennis Jenkins