Melbourne High

The halls took on an Olympic-inspired touch during Literacy Week as Melbourne High School held its annual door decorating contest. One door that especially stood out belonged to Mrs. Miranda Korpus, whose classroom combined Olympic imagery with literacy and IB-style learning traits. The contest was part of Melbourne High School’s third annual Literacy Week, which aimed to get students more engaged with reading in a fun, interactive way.

According to Mrs. Carrie Friday, the media specialist at Mel Hi, the contest winners were chosen through a mix of student input and technology. “The students evaluate, and this year I used AI evaluation and it confirmed the student choice,” Mrs. Friday said. She explained that the Olympics theme was inspired by the state’s “read white and blue” idea but was adjusted to match upcoming global events. Mrs. Friday also shared that Mrs. Korpas’ door earned points “for creativity, bonus for literacy, and extra bonus for IB,” helping it secure first place.

Mrs. Korpas, who was in her second-year teaching at MHS, said the door was designed with help from a few of her students and completed in just two days. “We wanted to combine an Olympic theme with literacy week and our MYP learning traits,” Mrs. Korpas said, later adding, “We wanted to inspire students to be readers and grow in their personal goals.” While she had won door decorating contests at other schools before, Mrs. Korpas said she was “mainly focused on creativity and collaboration.” In the end, the contest highlighted not just competition, but the shared effort of teachers and students to make Literacy Week meaningful.

Going for Gold: Mrs. Miranda Korpas’ door highlights Literacy Week with an Olympic-themed design that combines reading, goal-setting, and MYP learning traits. The door was created for Melbourne High School’s annual Literacy Week door decorating contest, which had been held for three years and followed an Olympics theme inspired by the state’s “Read White and Blue” initiative. Media Specialist Carrie Friday said students evaluated the doors, and AI evaluation later confirmed the results, with Mrs. Korpas placing first overall, followed by Mrs. Boos, Mrs. Reynolds, and Mrs. Blackmon. Mrs. Friday explained the winning door stood out because of its creativity and literacy focus, saying she awarded “points for creativity, bonus for literacy, extra bonus for IB.” Mrs. Korpas said the design was brainstormed with a few of her students and completed in two days, explaining, “We wanted to inspire students to be readers and grow in their personal goals,” and added that she was not expecting to win and was mainly focused on having fun and being creative with her class. Photo by Lily Majors