Flat Rock Middle School

There’s a festive buzz floating around the halls of Flat Rock Middle School this week! As an International Baccalaureate (IB) candidate school, the school community has embraced the concept of becoming a global school. One activity that has become a tradition is their “Holidays Around the World” door decorating competition. Each grade level is assigned a continent and the teachers and students are tasked with decorating the classroom door to represent the holiday traditions of a country within that continent. The winning door for each grade level earned a popcorn party for that homeroom!

This year, the door contest was combined with a Color Party thrown by the PTA for the end of quarter celebration. Each hallway had to incorporate their assigned color in addition to their international holiday traditions. The whole school gets involved and creates a beautiful display of cultural appreciation that is enjoyed throughout this last week before winter break!

• Sixth grade is green and celebrates African traditions. 

• Seventh grade’s hallway is white and portrays Asian culture. 

• Eighth grade is decorated in red and highlights traditions from North, Central, and South Americas. 

• Office Staff and Encore classes are encouraged to participate and are responsible for European traditions. 

The doors are judged by guest judges who volunteer to participate in our festivities. This year’s judges included Katryna Jacober (WS/FCS IB Director) and Kim Pardue Parsons (Director of School Improvement). They selected a winner using an Middle Years Programme style rubric designed for the activity, shown below. This rubric models the rubrics that are being implemented in the classrooms from the IB Middle Years Programme practices. 

The winners for this year’s “Holidays Around the World” Door Decorating Contest are: