Relying on the imagination and enthusiasm of students at Mahoney Middle School, the Volunteer in Police Services group in South Portland will be able to add a fun and engaging photo booth to its Halloween Open House event this coming weekend.

Kat Tinsman, who has been a member of the police services volunteer group for the past two years, said members were brainstorming about how to add interest to or improve some of its community events when she suggested the idea of a photo booth, using stand-up cutouts for kids and their families to take photos with.

“I am also a preschool teacher and know how much my own students enjoy getting their picture taken, such as with the apple cutouts at local apple orchards or at Santa’s Village or with super heroes. I know how parents love to commemorate special events with pictures. So, it seemed like an overall great fit,” Tinsman said.

That’s when she turned to her daughter, Kristi Raymond, who teaches in the science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) program at Mahoney, for help. Originally, Tinsman thought maybe one of the art teachers would like to get involved with the photo booth project.

“I never really imagined that a whole middle school class would be able to take on this effort, but (my daughter) was super excited about the opportunity and presented it to the principal and art teacher. The STEAM teachers just ran with the idea from there. They have been awesome,” she said.

This partnering of students at the middle school with a community group has several benefits, according to Tinsman.

“It’s a great way to show how community (members, including students), can get together to give something back to the community in which we live and work,” she said. “The children have taken pride and ownership of this project, and their efforts should be recognized. It is also a great opportunity to connect with both parents and children while they wait in line to have their pictures taken.”

For Raymond, and Mahoney art teacher Laurie Milton, the photo booth project was a perfect fit for the eighth-graders involved in the science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics program at Mahoney.

“We knew the students would be excited that they were building something that the community would use. It was also an opportunity for them to be a part of an authentic learning experience,” Milton said.

As part of the project, Raymond said that each student in her class was asked to design an idea. “They then voted on the top four designs (and) the students were then broken into groups, with some working on creating prototypes for the support structure, while others (traced) their designs onto transparency to be projected onto the wood to create a large image with the correct proportions.”

Raymond said that after that, the students started painting, “being sure to include the art elements of design – texture, space, value, line, color and shape.”

In addition, “Throughout the entire process, the students had to collaborate with each other, as well as use critical thinking skills. They also had to delegate tasks to be able to meet the deadline, as we only had about 10 classes from start to finish,” she said.

Overall, Raymond said her students “were so invested and wanted to be sure these photo-op stands were ready to be delivered before the event. When we introduced the project our students were so excited (and) we are hoping that visitors (to the open house) will be able to see a positive community-school connection.”

The students “have put a lot of time and thought into what they are doing because they know there is an authentic audience who will be using them. This is our first project of this magnitude, but we hope to collaborate with the community again on future STEAM projects,” she said.

A closer look

The local Volunteer in Police Services group will host its 2nd annual Halloween Open House on Saturday, Oct. 29, at the South Portland police station. The event, which is free and open to the public, runs 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and includes a costume parade, food, a photo booth, a K9 demonstration, a Halloween-based safety talk and more.

Students at Mahoney Middle School parterned with the Volunteers in Police Services group from South Portland to create a photo booth for this Saturday’s Halloween Open House at the police station. In back, from left, are Anthony Nixon, Colby Wyman, Ali Abad, Sarah Alexander and Em Reddy. In front, from left, are Brennan Yandell-Oliver, Erica Flink, Olivia Brown, Mackenzie Martin and Andrew Sardinha

Students at Mahoney Middle School in South Portland paint images for use in a photo booth they built for the local Volunteers in Police Services group, which will be debuted on Saturday at a Halloween Open House.

A closer look

The local Volunteer in Police Services group will host its second annual Halloween Open House on Saturday, Oct. 29, at the South Portland Police Station. The event, which is free and open to the public, runs 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and includes a costume parade, food, a photo booth, a K-9 demonstration, a Halloween-based safety talk and more.