Manaugh Elementary students and parents stepped into the school and into a different world Thursday night.

The school was decked out in rainforest scenery for the school’s third annual Spring Fling. Parents are invited to the end-of-year event to see what their children have studied throughout the year.

Manaugh Principal Donetta Jones said the school staff started hosting the event to get more parents involved.

“We’re keeping interest going to the end of the year,” Jones said.

Teachers and staff worked to incorporate education standards into a rainforest theme, Jones said. As a district, Re-1 is moving toward the 21st Century Learning model of education, which emphasizes application and experience to develop student skills.

“The kids are really excited,” Jones said.

Also Thursday, about 12 gifted and talented students from all four Re-1 elementary schools presented independent study projects they had worked on during the school year.

The students, who are in grades 3 to 5, picked a subject they were interested in and presented a report, said Re-1 Project Teacher on Special Assignment Bernadette Espinoza. The students presented on subjects such as Beethoven, the Wright Brothers and Harry Potter. Some of the students dressed up in costume as the people they were reporting on.

“We wanted to get them learning on their own with something they love,” Espinoza said.

As individual, independent study projects, the students were able to take on a task outside a school setting, Espinoza said.

“Their knowledge base grows with things they love more than we can teach them in the classroom,” she said.