Westminster students show spirit of Christmas through science
When he teaches his Advanced Lab Techniques class at Westminster at Oak Mountain, Dale Carrell encourages students to apply what they are taught, rather than simply memorize information.
“You can follow a recipe and be a short order cook, or you can be a chef and do your own thing,” Carrell said. He encourages the seniors in his student-driven course to be “chefs” — taking the concepts they learn and applying them to projects they conceptualize and construct.
This school year, students have gone “pendulum bowling,” where they made a bowling ball pendulum and used it to knock over pins. They are also constructing a wind tunnel, where they are learning about materials, working together as a team and coordinating their efforts. For the Christmas season, however, the application of their lessons got more festive — the class built a Christmas tree.
The Christmas tree — constructed of garland, fishing line and other materials — now stands in the atrium of the school, visible as soon as you walk in. To build the tree, students had to figure out weight limits, proper angles, spacing between the pieces of garland and how to suspend the final product from the railing in the upper atrium. The project incorporated physics and trigonometry concepts, Carrell said, and required the students to work together.
“I am very proud of them,” Carrell said. “It did take a lot of vision, and they overcame a lot of obstacles in the installation. They learned a lot about team work.”
Students asked for donations and help from other members of the senior class, but Carrell said overall the project is a gift for the whole school.
As a Christian school and ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church, Carrell said they work to incorporate lessons from the gospel throughout the school. Building the tree for the school without asking for all grade levels or students to contribute is what makes the tree a gift, Carrell said.
The tree’s construction is also representative of remembering the true reason for Christmas, Carrell said. Because it is see through and the presents are on the inside of the tree rather than around it, the project represents “Christmas inside out,” making sure the gifts are not the focus. In a world where Christmas is heavily commercialized, Carrell said the tree shows that is not the most important part.
“They consider it a gift to the school and a gift to the community in celebration of Christ’s birth,” Carrell said.