Project Geometry is a new elective class that counts as a math credit for seniors and is only one trimester long. Teacher Karen Kurcz proposed this class as a more creative, hands-on version of regular geometry to expand students’ understanding of using interactive assignments and visual comparisons in real life, as the class just took a trip to Chicago last week as a part of the class.
Project Geometry hasn’t always existed; the class was created last year when Kurcz had the passion to create a class that students could take to get a better understanding of geometry.
“Project geometry is not exactly like geometry class, but it is close,” Chicago trip attendee Allison Schumann (‘24) said. “It is very in-depth, and you discover what shapes and designs mean and the patterns they create.”
One of the current projects that the project geometry students have done is a mosaic. The project is a little frame provided by the class, and you create a design out of shapes like squares, rhombuses, and triangles and put those together to make a design or image. Once that was glued down, the students then grouted them, which is the process of filling in spaces in between tiles to prevent cracks in the frame. Schumann mentions that she wants to go into architectural design after high school, so while taking this class, she gets the opportunity to use her education and get the experience of what working in agriculture and design is really like.
The Chicago trip was put into action for the students who were interested in diving deeper into geometry and the students who are invested in learning more about geometry for their futures. Going to Chicago was manageable time-wise; Kurcz ran fundraisers, got grants, got money from partnerships in Chelsea, and got money donations from Larry Antonelli Insurance Agency and the Kiwanis Club.
“This class is more experimental and based on things we’d do in geometry but don’t have time for.” Kurcz said. The city of Chicago itself is famed for its bold architecture, and that is what Kurcz was looking for to accommodate the learning on the trip.
Kurcz had a passion for the Chicago trip and the project geometry class. Last year she did the Chicago trip with her students, and it didn’t turn out just like she wanted it to, but this year everything came together due to the funding and support provided by the programs that helped her pursue her goal of giving students the education about architecture that they should have.
