Lacey’s Spring School celebrates Alabama Bicentennial with Alabama author

Lacey’s Spring School welcomed Alabama author Irene Latham as part of their Alabama Bicentennial celebration. The author gave a special presentation on her books and enjoyed the “wax” museum presented by the junior high students on her book Leaving Gee’s Bend.

Stephanie Cagle is the sixth to eighth grade social studies teacher and worked to head up the wax museum display with the students. Each of the students selected their favorite character or scene and then acted out the scene when someone pushed a “button” on the ground. Before the button is pressed, the students stand still as though they are wax figures. According to Cagle, the practice allows students to get involved with the story they have been studying. “They buy into it. If they are able to be part of it, they remember it. This is a lesson that will be a lifetime memory they won’t forget,” Cagle said.

Enquirer photo/Lauren Jackson
Students posed as their favorite characters for the wax museum.

Matt Adams is the principal at Lacey’s Spring School, and said he was impressed with the work that the students and faculty put into the event. “It has absolutely blown me away how much work the kids have put into it,” Adams said.

During her walk through of the wax museum, Latham said she was overcome with emotions. Although not based in Lacey’s Spring, they were able to draw several parallels with the setting in her novel. “We are connected as human beings. Most of these kids are not African Americans, but that is part of the power of literature to connect us together,” Latham said.

The students at Lacey’s Spring have studied an age appropriate book by Latham as part of the Alabama Bicentennial Celebration. The school was named one of 200 bicentennial schools after applying for a grant. April Childers is the art teacher at Lacey’s Spring School and authored the grant. She said she focused on the importance of being able to make it cross curricular. The students used geometry to make quilt squares, science to study the fibers of cotton, social studies to study the region and draw comparisons to Lacey’s Spring and literature to study the characters. The students also are participating in art projects to make paper quilts. “These kids only get to see one bicentennial celebration, and I wanted to bring it to life here,” Childers said.

Enquirer photo/Lauren Jackson
Students acted out their favorite scenes for Irene Latham and other community visitors.

Childers said the idea for the celebration began small and grew with the ideas of her fellow faculty members and students. She said that it was one of the enjoyable parts of being an educator. “”It is an amazing thing to start a spark and it to grow into a wildfire,” Childers said.

The students have been working two months for the event. “Since August we have been studying and learning about Gee’s Bend. We have related to that story because we have several valuable resources here as well. We did a cross curricular study. Each of the subjects used the story as a basis,” Cagle said.

Latham said that she was impressed with the attention to detail and the creative use of her book. She said it has always been her goal to teach others about Gee’s Bend. “It is an author’s dream to see kids engage in my story in this way. It was always my goal to be an ambassador for Gee’s Bend. I have so much admiration for the educators. To think you can get that much subject matter from my story, it is creativity breeding creativity breeding creativity,” Latham said.