Design show to be held

in Moroni tonight

 

By Linda Petersen

Staff writer

Jan. 11, 2018

 

MORONI—Students at North Sanpete Middle School will spotlight their recycled designs at a student design show tonight.

Seven eighth graders involved in exploration/textiles in Family and Consumer Sciences (BayLee Burr, Brynlee Butler, BryLee Combs, McKinnly DeMill, Alexis Hansen, Jenna Hill and McKenna Mikkelsen), along with seventh grader Chelsea Haveron, will model or show items they have designed and constructed from recycled materials.

Those items include a rug, bag, skirt, dress, tank top, pocket organizer, washcloths and more.

As they have worked on their projects, students chose from a variety of options they are graded on to earn points but had to earn at least 30. Those options include such things as effectiveness of product design, overall workmanship, creativity/imagination/innovation, developing a slogan or jingle and creating a marketing plan.

Tonight, while judges are tallying up their points, attendees will be served a free bowl of soup by Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) members. The soup will be served in souvenir handmade bowls that attendees can take home with them—made and donated by the school’s art department.

Participating in the design show is part of each student’s grade.

“I find there is a push for them to do better when they have to present it,” teacher Laura Tenney said.

Tenney brought the design show to the school when she joined the faculty four years ago.

“I modeled it after a recycling design show by Dr. Lindsay Shepherd at Utah State who taught a dress and humanities class when I was there,” Tenney said. “It was so much fun I wanted to bring it into my teaching.”

Tenney said the most unusual project she has seen in the class over the four years was a basket a student wove from strips made from plastic bottles.

Tonight at the show, the students will also showcase a new program Tenney has introduced this year.

The 20 Percent Project is named for a Google practice of giving its employees 20 percent of their time to develop projects they’re passionate about.

In Tenney’s program, students get to choose their own project to work on each Friday.

“It’s a great way for students to reconnect with their creativity and work on their own idea. There’s a lot more passion when they come up with it,” she said.

One student made her own Halloween costume, while another made her mother a dress for Christmas. Others, comfortable with hand-tying quilts, have accepted Tenney’s request to challenge themselves and are working on machine-quilting some quilts. The focus is on the process, so the student may not finish the project during the semester.

At the design show, the students will share a video they have made documenting the 20 Percent Project process.

The design show, which will be held in the school’s little theater from 6-7 p.m., is open to the public.

Admission is a donation to the Sanpete Pantry, the county’s food bank.

North Sanpete Middle School is located at 3000 E. 17120 North in Moroni.