Global Cardboard Challenge

What a magnificent day Schechter4-8th graders and faculty had this past Monday. All the students participated in the Global Cardboard Challenge.

What does that mean?

It means we filled the gym with cardboard of all shapes, and thanks to Puritan Furniture we had two truck loads of HUGE cardboard delivered to our doors. We had 40 rolls of duct tape, hot glue guns, box cutters, popsicle sticks, plastic cups, crayons and straws. Then, after watching a short video Caine's Arcade Two in which the students learned about the inspiration for the challenge, they were off and running and ready to build.

Several challenges were posted on the walls:

• Build a Kosher Sukkah (With Halachic instructions for size posted in which the students had to measure the structure with their hands)
• Connect two tables with a bridge that can hold an 8lb weight
• Build an arcade game
• Make a Ball
• Build the highest structure that can stand alone

While some students chose to work on one of these specific challenges, the majority focused for two hours, in small groups, and built multi-room houses with furniture, castles with drawbridges and look-out towers, catapults, basketball games, and one beautiful sukkah complete with a lulav and etrog.

It was a perfect example of 100% engagement while students worked collaboratively and creatively, exploring structure and engineering. When not involved in the cardboard challenge the students, in multi-age groups, had an opportunity to engage with the middle school faculty on making compases, playing a probability game, writing found poetry, playing Twister in Spanish, and dancing Israeli dances with Noam the young Israeli Emissary.

The day was an incredible success. Thank you to a fabulous parent committee that helped us form the idea and to the parents who came and helped make the day happen. Thank you to the Schechter Alumni who came to help out on their day off from school. Thank you also to an incredible faculty team for their creativity, excitement and hard work.

To view the Channel 61 news coverage of Schechter's Global Cardboard Challenge, please click here .