When walking into their FOS 3 science class, Caitlin Smith had no idea that they’d come face to face with their teacher dressed up in a mole onesie and get to spend a class period playing a variety of mole party games instead of listening to a lecture to celebrate Oct. 23; Mole Day. Celebrated by FOS 3 students every year, Mole Day takes place on Oct. 23, the date representing Avogadro’s number: 6.02 x 10^23, or the number of molecules there are in a single mole of an element; what the students are currently learning. Smith believes Mole Day was a much-needed break from school at the end of a quarter.
“I have a math test next week, and all these things happening,” Smith said. “It’s pretty good to have some relaxing time and just chit chat with my friends and have a grand old time, especially because I understand the material pretty well, so I didn’t feel the need to have an intense study day.”
After the Mole Day celebration, there was a review and some extra study time to prepare for the upcoming test. Sophie Goetsch appreciated the extra time to review and credited Mole Day for making science more exciting.
“I think it’s important, especially in a hard class, to have a day and make learning fun, and have a day that incorporates what you’re learning, but also make it fun by having games,” Goetsch said. “It was fun to do stuff together and add a little bit of fun to the school week.”
Jaz Jennings agrees that Mole Day was a necessary break from school, but has concerns that having too many celebrations like Mole Day could be used as an excuse to avoid doing work. Regardless, she believes that the timing of Mole Day was perfect because it provided a break from the stress of the ending quarter.
“I was like, this is really fun and great, and we don’t have to do work, but then, is it really?” Jennings said. “But I feel like it’s fun to have it every once in a while, especially today, because it’s been really stressful.”
FOS 3 teacher, Marcy McCormick—or, for the day, Molesy McCormick—loves how the Mole Day project brings out the creativity in her students. Although the assignment was optional, plenty of students came into the classroom with mole-themed jokes, baked goods and art to share their spirit.
“I certainly saw some new ones. This year, I had one student use Sora AI to make some interesting animations,” McCormick said. “We had Mole-y Cyrus this year, there was Marilyn Mole-row in my block five, just a lot of very creative puns and silly fun.”
McCormick understands how challenging Chemistry can be and sees how having a day to take a break and have fun in class can make a lasting impact. McCormick knows that enthusiasm can make moments all the more memorable and hopes that students will look back on her FOS 3 class and remember a day where they could be silly, fun and simply enjoy each other’s company.
