Crowded together at a lab table in the science room, the three girls passed around the sample slides, small bottles and clear, plastic trays in front of them.

Locked arm to arm, they compared skin tones and skin types – debating which materials they would personally need and eagerly awaiting their chance to get started.

The school day was long past, yet they were joined by a dozen fellow classmates at Brandon Middle School. Each was giving up her afternoon to stay at school and learn some new lessons…

About makeup.

It was one of the more than 30 “pop-up classes” that Brandon staff members have offered to students throughout the year. These classes, which have varied from makeup tips and cupcake decorating to computer coding and piñata creating, are hosted voluntarily by staff members who have offered to stay late to teach classes that are personal hobbies/interests.

The idea for these classes came after Meghann Scott, Brandon’s gifted resource teacher and Ellen Nesbit, Brandon’s instructional technology specialist, took a trip to the 757 MakerSpace, a community workshop in Norfolk that offers training and open workshops on a variety of skills to the public.

“We were walking around and saying, ‘Well, we have this and we have this,’” Scott said. “We could do these classes.”

The timing also perfectly aligned with one of Brandon’s goals this year, which was for staff members to work on relationship-building in the classrooms. Scott said the school was already hosting lunch buddy and mentoring programs, so the idea of pop-up classes worked right along with those initiatives.

Staff members generated a list of classes they were willing to teach. One session was on how to make Rice Krispie treats, another was on making cards for the military. Students received a list of class options available during the month and selected the ones they would like to attend.

About two dozen staff members at Brandon have hosted pop-up classes, and Scott and Nesbit said more than 150 students have come to at least one, though many have come to multiple.

That includes students like Jordyn Butler and Kyla Turner, who say their group of friends come together to the classes to hang out and learn things.

“I just think they’re fun and they’re cool,” Butler said. “We try to get to one every month.”

“From day to day, you go to normal classes,” Turner added. “Pop-up classes are a chance to relax and have fun.”

Fun being the operative word.

In addition to the classes giving students and teachers another chance to bond during the week, it also helps showcase the joy of learning. The classes have been held since September, and, with their popularity, they will continue through the end of the year. Coming soon, there will be classes on baking cookies, playing dominos, creating vision boards and building leprechaun traps.

“We wanted to ignite a passion for learning and show them learning can be fun,” Scott said. “It doesn’t have to be all SOLs.”

Gabriella Machado, for one, was all smiles as she was the guinea pig for an eyeshadow demonstration.

“My sister taught me how to do concealer, I’m just not good at it,” she said. “The eyeshadow – I didn’t know!”

Between the before and after photos, the mini-facials and the YouTube tutorials, there was no doubting everyone was enjoying themselves

Well, except for maybe one person.

In the back corner, Nesbit watched the presentations, almost wincing.

“They’re all so beautiful. They don’t need makeup,” she said. “But, at least I know they’re learning how to do it the right way.”

 

 

 

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