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Brookside and Hamilton rock their schools with memorable and engaging learning experiences

Kindergarten students at Hamilton Elementary School meet Mickey Mouse during Rock Your School event(09/29/2023) Two schools in Anoka-Hennepin have made it a tradition to participate in Rock Your School events which take place worldwide, annually, in an effort to energize educators, engage students and celebrate learning. This year, the event was held Friday, Sept. 29, and was the fourth year for both schools to participate in the event.

Hamilton makes it a magical day of learning
Hamilton teachers and staff transformed the school into a fun and magically engaging environment while getting creative with their lesson plans. Hamilton’s theme for this year’s Rock Your School event was “Hamilton Goes Disney.” Teachers and staff decorated their classrooms and even the cafeteria with Disney-themed sets.

View photos from Hamilton’s Rock Your School event

“This is a really fun day where we celebrate student learning and student engagement,” said Julie Bowman, principal at Hamilton. “It’s about taking the learning standards that we have and adding a little Disney magic to it. It was a special day.” 

Brookside levels up engagement while educating
At Brookside Elementary, staff really embraced the idea of continuing to provide high-level instruction while infusing engagement.

For the event, each grade level has a theme. The first grade space was transformed into a carnival and in class the students participated in a popcorn game where they read and wrote sight words. In fifth grade, the students became detectives and had to solve mysteries. They used the theme to start a new unit in science where they had to make specific observations of evidence to solve a case.

View photos from Brookside’s Rock Your School event.

“The teachers have found great ways to take this out-of-the-box thinking and engagement to combine it with what they are already teaching,” said Jim Potthoff, assistant principal at Brookside. “In the past the students have been excited about the decor, but this year they are also excited about the content.”