GHS Hosts Second Annual 'Terrifying Tales'
ELA teachers and specialists at Grenada High School hosted students at the second annual Halloween-themed literacy event, “Terrifying Tales." A block of classrooms at the high school were transformed into immersive environments inspired by the fantastical science-fiction stories of Ray Bradbury. Several of the author's stories were read aloud by community members.
ELA teachers and specialists at Grenada High School invited students out for an evening of “Terrifying Tales” at the second annual Halloween-themed literacy event on Thurs., Oct. 19.
Approximately 50 kids with more than 100 parents, volunteers, and community sponsors turned out to take part in the event.
A block of classrooms at the high school were transformed into immersive environments inspired by the fantastical science-fiction stories of Ray Bradbury. Teachers and students dressed in 50s attire, donning retro sci-fi accessories such as light-up glasses and Martian antenna headbands.
Participants were divided into four groups and rotated among classrooms to hear dramatic readings of four Bradbury tales by community volunteers.
In a room sponsored by Renasant Bank, Grenada School District Board of Trustees member Kevin Carnathan read “All Summer in a Day.”
Students from the GHS Theatre class enhanced the presentation of “The Pedestrian,” read by Ben McAnally, minister at Southside Church of Christ in Grenada.
Retired GHS English teacher Dorothy Watson read “Zero Hour” in a room sponsored by the Grenada Association of Educators and the University of Mississippi Teachers of Tomorrow.
Emily Noble of Mississippi State University’s Writing and Thinking Institute read “There Will Come Soft Rains,” sponsored by the Kiwanis Club and GHS Key Club. GHS’s Pure Imagination robotics team livened up the reading with a demonstration of their robot mice based on a key point in the story.
Pam Briscoe, ELA Specialist for the school district, said students at GHS enjoyed the retro-futuristic work of Bradbury. The author’s best-known work, including the novel Fahrenheit 451, was published in the 1950s and ’60s. Briscoe said students identify with his work because so much of what he imagined and wrote about has come true.
“For this event, we like to focus on one author’s work so that as kids progress from room to room, they can learn about craft and style,” Briscoe said. “They can gravitate toward certain topics that the author explored, and they begin to put together a larger picture of his work and ideas.”
Students and families completed their round of stories by convening for a reception, featuring thematic refreshments including cake pops from the Culinary Arts class at Grenada Career and Technical Center. Kids were invited to pose for photos with their families and teachers in front of a UFO backdrop. Students also took home a bucket of Bradbury-inspired treats, including a set of trading pins designed by North Carolina artist Kaysha Siemens.