AMESBURY — In lieu of a traditional Halloween Parade, Cashman Elementary students showed off their smarts Thursday during a STEM Festival that took over the school to end the day.
“I think it was a good idea cause that way we don’t have to do school work and it’s Halloween, so we deserve a day off,” fifth-grader Elias Corjay said.
The festival went from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., with dozens of parents coming to proudly watch their kids display their STEM knowledge.
STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics – which has been a part of school curricula for years and seen a recent spike in popularity.
While third- and fourth-grade students displayed their projects inside the school, fifth-graders marched over to nearby Woodsom Field where they launched plastic pumpkins from homemade catapults made from popsicle sticks, plastic spoons, rubber bands and tape.
“Basically what we did was we created a triangle with some popsicle sticks and used elastics to attach them together. Then, we attached another popsicle stick to one side of the triangle, so it kind of looks like a triangular popsicle,” fifth-grader Gwen Monell said.
Using their creations, the groups fired mini plastic pumpkins, each getting three turns to see how far they could go. Kids excitedly rushed after each shot, screaming about how their group would definitely be the winners.
Before firing their first shot, Monell’s group-mate Annika Lennon explained that they needed to be extra careful with their catapult.
“We broke it before, so then we had to replace the spoon,” Lennon said.
The group managed to shoot their pumpkin 24 feet and 5 inches on their first shot.
Natalie Girouard, a parent of a Cashman fifth-grader, said she was not sure what to expect at first but quickly warmed up to the new event after seeing how excited the groups were to compete with each other.
“They’re having fun, so that’s all that matters,” Girouard said.
She said she was proud to see her daughter work so hard.
“I was not involved at all. It’s been all her,” Girouard said.
Another person proud of the work exhibited by students was Principal Amy Mitchell.
“The collaboration among the students when they’re creating their catapults today has been incredible. All the STEM activities that are happening inside and outside this afternoon have been beyond belief,” Mitchell said.
The festival was organized after school district officials announced on Monday it was canceling the school’s annual Halloween parade – a decision that left many parents upset.
Students did not seem to miss the parade as fifth-grader Savannah Wilson said the STEM Festival was a blast.
“It was cool working with my group. I really hope we win,” Wilson said.
Her group-mate, Rowan Decoste shared what he viewed as the key to making their mini pumpkin go the furthest.
“Try to make it go straight without it breaking,” Decoste said.
Ultimately it was not Monell or Wilson’s groups that won, with the furthest shot on the day going 50 feet and 4 inches. The winning group ended the day firing a real pumpkin from a larger, roughly 3-foot catapult as their classmates cheered them on.
Matt Petry covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: mpetry@northofboston.com.