By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

HELENA–A number of Helena students showed off their final projects on June 26 at Helena Intermediate, as a two-week English as a second language camp concluded.

Over the course of the two-week camp, the students worked on slideshow projects where they named different animals and did research to describe things such as their habitat, weight, appearance and more to help them gain a greater knowledge of the English language.

Students used the program Blabberize, which used a picture of an animal and moved its mouth as if it were talking, and the student’s then recorded themselves speaking, which caused some laughter in the audience.

Some of the animals students described included a Bengal tiger, sloth, gorilla, toucan and more.

Janie Blackstone, Helena Elementary School ESL teacher, helped lead the camp and she believes the camp is a great asset to students.

“This is the first time in the Helena community for this camp to happen,” said Blackstone. “Today marks the end of the camp and the students are presenting everything they’ve been working on to their parents and family members.”

As the families of the students looked on, students presented the projects with the theme “Wild Kingdom.”

To recognize the students for their hard work during the camp, they were awarded certificates of completion.

To celebrate the end of the camp, authentic Mexican cuisine was prepared and provided by parents and family members.

The other teachers who helped students in the camp were HIS third grade teacher Mary Stackhouse and Helena Middle and Helena High School ESL teacher Julie Caine.