MITCHELL – In part with Project-Based Learning opportunities included at Mitchell Junior High School (MJHS), one student has etched her name in the history of the City of Mitchell, following the selection and creation of her design into a commemorative pin for the 75th Annual Persimmon Festival.
Bryleigh Littrell, an 8th Grader at MJHS, participated in Mrs. Jeri Brown’s Computer Science class, where they took the time to work through problem-solving measures, to make the festival better, which resulted in creating artwork to commemorate the 75th festival.
“We were assigned a class project to design things for the Persimmon Festival, to help raise money and bring more awareness to the festival,” Bryleigh remarked. “I talked to a bunch of different people about what some of their favorite foods and things were about the festival, and a lot of people seemed to like the persimmon pudding, which seemed like a classic dessert to do.”
When asked what she thought about her design being chosen and made into a pin, Bryleigh said, “I think it’s crazy really, it’s exciting. I was surprised.”
Persimmon Festival Chairperson Tonya Chastain presented the finished pin to Bryleigh during a presentation at the Junior High school, as a way to partner with students to make the festival better for attendees.
“This was in part with the project-based learning at the Junior High and we took one of the ideas, which just so happened to be the design by Bryleigh, and we made it a pin,” said Tonya Chastain. “They were working on ways that we could make the festival better, ways we could change things, make guests feel more comfortable or ease the carnival lines to make it easier to get through the carnival.”
The pins will be available for purchase at the Persimmon Festival for $5 each from Monday, September 19 to Friday, September 23, at the Mitchell Chamber of Commerce tent on Main Street, near the 6th Street intersection.
