Warrendale Students Prepare for State Testing with Silent Party

The vibe was electric, the dance moves were plentiful, but no music could be heard in the gymnasium at Warrendale Charter Academy. Students, each wearing matching headphones with pulsing lights, strutted around, trying out their latest moves as they participated in a Silent Party to celebrate their preparation for M-Step testing.
 
Silent Parties are growing in popularity and create an atmosphere for participants to enjoy music while being able to socialize with others without the presence of loud music. Wireless headphones are worn by all, while a DJ broadcasts music to them.
 
“The Silent Party went really well,” Deyundraus Boyd, Dean of Upper Elementary at Warrendale said. “The scholars, teachers and staff were all excited and it truly boosted student engagement in preparation for state testing.”
 

The event took on dual themes, “To Proficiency and Beyond” and “Glowing and Growing.” Many students donned glow sticks and waved glow wands while others formed groups to coordinate their dance steps, their wireless headphones bobbing to the beat.
 
The event created a buzz to get kids excited and helped them keep focus when the time came to test, Boyd said.Warrendale Charter Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Detroit, Michigan, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies network, which includes over 95 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
 

Visit Warrendale Charter Academy's blog to read more stories like this.