TOWER- The arts, sciences, health, poetry, history, math, and more were on display during Vermilion Country School’s Spring Exposition Day on April 28.

And VCS students were more than willing to show off what they had learned to the parents, community members, and their fellow students who toured through the ongoing displays of student work.

The event was very hands-on, matching the educational mission of the school.

“We wanted to have VCS representing all our areas of strength,” said teacher Karin Schmidt, “from field trips, to math standards, to individual projects, and seminar learning.”

“The Expo showcased all the aspects of VCS at one time,” said paraprofessional Jess Hughes. She and Schmidt had been the main organizers behind the demonstration day.

“Kids were genuinely excited to be present,” she said. “There was so much variety on display.”

Hughes noted that even many students seemed in awe of all the “amazing things” their classmates had been doing this year.

“It was very, very rewarding,” she said.

While Schmidt was more focused on showcasing all the things students had learned over the year, Hughes said she was most impressed was the high level of communication skills that were demanded as students demonstrated their work.

“Those are such important skills as students enter college,” she said.

Visitors got to watch videos created by students, listen to original music compositions that had been recorded and mastered by students, see long-term science experiments that focused on the environment and animal behavior, and even see a demonstration on the dangers of smoking, which featured actual preserved pig lungs from both a healthy and smoke-exposed pig.

“The excitement that was being generated across our school’s open space was fantastic,” Schmidt said. “The energy level was over the top. There were so many great things going on.”

But in addition to just displaying their work, students were on hand to answer questions, and discuss what they had learned.

Ashley Hill, who sang a solo piece, was visibly nervous as she began her song, but easily hit her stride, impressing the audience with her mastery of the old folk song “Scarborough Fair.”

“It was my first time doing a solo,” she said. “It was a lot of practice, but Karin [Schmidt] is so awesome to work with.”

Schmidt said one of the most rewarding results of the Expo Day was watching her more introverted students share their talents.

“To see the joy on their faces when their performance was done and they were being applauded is priceless,” she said. “There is no feeling in the world like that.”

Lakota Chavez said it was “terrifying” to get up in front of the large crowd, but said once he started playing the piano, and his hands stopped shaking, it was a great feeling.

“I made amazing progress with my playing this year,” he said.

Students had the chance to participate in many ways.

A team of American history students competed with a team of teachers and parents in a Jeopardy-style game, easily trouncing the adult competitors. Another game teamed up students with community members to answer questions from Algebra I, II, and Geometry, with correct answers winning prizes.

Music students showed off their singing, piano, and guitar-playing skills. Drama students took the stage to recite Shakespeare monologues. Music teacher Karin Schmidt said students will be ready to compete in the Minnesota State High School League choir competition next year, and drama coach Clint Hughes said they hope to compete in the One-Act Play Competition. Drama students have been busy preparing a play that will be performed later in May.

Students also gave a presentation on a joint environmental project being done with the Sportsmen’s Club of Lake Vermilion. Students have constructed eight zebra mussel traps that will be set beneath docks at specific locations along the lake. The traps will be checked on a regular basis, to give planners an idea if this invasive species is gaining a foothold on Vermilion.

“VCS is helping the Sportsmen’s Club figure out what to do about invasive species,” wrote eleventh-grader Kenzie Oshea in the latest Vermilion Sportsmen’s Newsletter. “We hope to find zero zebra mussels…this is a proactive science experiment.” The students will be monitoring the traps, looking for any larvae that may attach themselves, and if any are found, seeing how quickly the mussels are able to grow. At this point in time, she wrote, zebra mussels have not been found in Vermilion.

Oshea is excited to be able to follow the experiment all summer long. She and her student partner, Jason Premo, will be placing the traps in late May, and then will be checking them for any signs of zebra mussels once a month throughout the summer.

Alyssa Pratt, who conducted a yearlong project on deforestation, said it was really fun to discuss her project with other students and adults.

“A lot of people didn’t know anything about this issue,” she said.

Every student at VCS has participated in a book group this year, and several groups of readers took to the stage to discuss favorite books.

Student poetry was on display, along with a huge selection of student artwork.

The educational program at VCS, besides meeting all the grade-based state requirements, allows students to study specific topics in depth. So instead of learning a little bit about a lot of different things and demonstrating what they have learned by taking a test, students can concentrate on a specific area of interest. Students then demonstrate what they have learned by producing a research paper, creating a visual poster, creating a multi-media presentation, or giving a lecture on the topic. Classes at VCS are organized on a six-week block system. Students take a mix of teacher-led classes that change each block (helping students meet state standards in areas such as science and history), along with individual and group project time. Upper level students are required to complete in-depth projects that can span most of a school year. Student participate in lifelong physical fitness, including martial arts and fitness boot camp, as well as completing environmental projects and community service. There is a school-wide language arts program, which focuses on reading comprehension and writing, and math is taught using an adaptive online program. The school has a full-time reading specialist/Title I teacher, who also conducts regularly-scheduled small-group workshops with students who are behind grade level. The full-time special education teacher also works one-on-one with students who require specialized instruction.

The school’s kitchen had a busy day, with almost 30 area seniors and community members stopping by for lunch before the expo program begin at 1 p.m.

School administrator Kevin Fitton thanked teachers and staff who had worked hard to organize the event, especially Karin Schmidt and Jess Hughes.

You can learn more about VCS by visiting their website at www.vermilioncountry.org.