STERLING — Dozens of adorable owls paraded through the hallways at Houghton Elementary School on Dec. 15 and swooped into the gymnasium for some song and dance.
The event concluded the annual unit the first-graders do on the mostly nocturnal creatures. The unit encompasses several subjects, including science, music, art, and physical education. The Special Agents — art teacher Kate Blehar, music teacher Jess Wilke, and phys ed teacher Mike Walsh — helped to organize the parade program and herded the parliament of owls through the school, where students in other grades and staff lined the hallways to watch the spectacle.
The owl costumes made and worn by the youngsters came in all different colors and shapes of feathers, beaks and eyes, one-of-a-kind creations that came to life in art class. Blehar said the students learned about the main features of owls and even dissected owl pellets, and that students in grades two through four helped out by making the photo station’s backdrops — starry night and snow globe — that were set up in the gym for pictures.
The art teacher thanked the parents who helped with the owl costumes and getting the students into them for the parade. Afterwards, the Special Agents led the first-graders in a song and dance for the parents and family members gathered. Everyone took pictures, and the kids got to bring their owl costumes home.
Blehar said that when she first introduced the idea for the costumes to the first graders, “They gasped.”
“The kids were really excited; they were into it,” she said with a smile.
She has plans to do other art projects that piggyback on what the students in each grade are studying, including rocks and minerals for the fourth-graders, plants for third-graders, Africa for second-graders, the Arctic for first-graders, and birds for the kindergarteners.
“Whenever I can bring something from the classrooms into the art room, that connection enriches the experience for the students,” Blehar said.
