District News

Students in the Lancaster Healthcare Academy collected baby items for the community as they held a baby shower in their anatomy class.

The Lancaster High School academy class, working with fellow students in Life Skills class, organized bags of items including clothing, diapers, wipes, and toys for the WNY Foster Closet.

“We focus so much on the medical side of pregnancy, but in pregnancy there’s a lot of celebration too,” said teacher Angela Brooder, who leads the academy. “This is a way to make the lesson a little more fun, and to bring in a community service element.”

The shower was held as part of the Fetal Friday series of lessons, in which the seniors in Anatomy 2 class learn about reproduction and development by following a fictional patient week by week through 40 weeks of pregnancy. Sydney Sala, a senior at the high school, said she hoped to eventually work in pediatrics, and that the series helped think about working with patients in the future.

“It’s cool we get to learn what a patient would go through and what a patient needs,” Sydney said.

Amelia Molinar, a senior in the class with an interest in orthopedics, said the lessons are “something we look forward to.”

Among the highlights of the shower was having teams of students play games such as identifying baby terms spelled out with emojis to guessing the prices of baby items from a jar of baby food to a swaying chair.

“Are babies more or less expensive than you thought they would be?” Brooder asked students during the game.

The Lancaster Healthcare Academy is designed for students who are interested in exploring health-related careers. During the three year curriculum, classes will visit health care facilities, host various health professionals, and discuss current trends in health care. Students are also required to complete volunteer service work in the community as part of their studies.

More information about the academy can be found at https://lhs.lancasterschools.org/academies/healthcare-academy. Additional information about the WNY Foster Closet can be found at https://wnyfostercloset.com/.