When AP Biology students at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) thought outside the box recently, they created a winning situation for all involved.

Faced with the task of completing an end-of-year project, the students embraced a novel idea suggested by their teacher Valerie Kilar — to share what they had learned with students in kindergarten through third grade at nearby Deane-Porter School in Rumson.

“My six-year-old daughter Madelyn is a student at Deane-Porter, and she enjoys attending events at the high school with me and interacting with the ‘big’ kids,” said Kilar. “Since the end-of-year project should be something fun and meaningful, I thought it would be perfect if my students created science books and taught lessons to the students at Deane-Porter.”

Kilar contacted Madelyn’s Kindergarten teacher, Gina Varanelli, about organizing the visit. Varanelli worked out the logistics and connected Kilar with other teachers at the school.

The RFH students worked in groups to create lesson plans and produce books describing scientific terms and processes in a way that could be comprehended by elementary school students.

The participating RFH students and their assignments …

• Jack Luby and Jackson Reid – Venus Fly Trap, Shellie Miller’s kindergarten class
• Willie Freeman – Litter/Pollution, Brooke Huff’s kindergarten class
• Oliver Heins, Ted Schroeder, and Chris Tuttle – Butterfly Metamorphosis, Sara Stanziola’s kindergarten class
• Jen Andreacchi – Biomes, Karen Newman’s Kindergarten Class
• Robin Green and Emma Paulus – Symbiosis, Gina Varanelli’s kindergarten class
• Charlotte Miller and Fini Satzke – Genetic Traits, Carissa Azzaro’s first grade class
• Abigael Donohue and Olivia Rosenberg – Clouds, Bridget Albrizio’s second grade class
• Jessica Browne and Jackie Kho – Food Chains, Keri Lecorchick’s second grade class
• Shea Davis and Sean Dunphy – Astronomy, Colleen Henrikson’s second grade class
• Tristan Kilper, Noah Tucker, and Brianna Worobel – Water Cycle, Ken Grasso’s second grade class
• Clara Eskwitt – Levels of the Ocean, Jill Cox’s third grade class
• Katherine Hill, Megan Klem, and Campbell Lee – Challenges for Living Things, Megan Manney’s third grade class

Kilar hopes to make the event an annual collaboration.

“I am proud of all the thought and creativity the RFH students put into their children’s books and lessons,” said Kilar.

— Rumson School District press release