Falcons creating History Heard

Web site provides 1st-hand history interviews

Dr Robert Kahn who is considered a co-creator of the Internet

Imagine hearing Sgt. Sammy Davis talk about being the real Forrest Gump and winning a Medal of Honor.

Or how about listening to Drs. Vint Cerf and Robert Kahn talk about how they created the Internet?

“First-person accounts of history are impossible to come by unless you meet the person,” says Kathleen Addison, 17, of Bradenton.

So she and her 15-year-old sister Amy created History Heard — a Web site to preserve peoples’ stories and to make researching history projects for students more fun.

History Heard is the single largest attempt to chronicle modern American History ever undertaken. There are a few projects which have tackled different, much more limited, pieces of the process but History Heard is the first to try the “big picture”. Here’s a link to the site; www.historyheard.com

Mrs. Juanita Eaton with Addison sisters

The goal is to create an elaborate “tapestry” of video interviews with newsmakers who were first person witnesses to some aspect of modern American history.  Rather than read an account written by someone removed from the event, History Heard offers students a video account of what happened in the words of the people who were actually present.

The unique aspect of History Heard is that it is designed to be entirely managed by students in high school and middle school.  As of October 2009, our first group of interviews have been viewed more than 4,300 times!

Carl Misch, a WWII veteran with Addison sisters

So far, the sisters have interviewed 22 people, including some they went to see in Washington, D.C. They are choosing people who have made an impact in history. Amy’s favorite interview in Washington was Juanita Eaton, the widow of a World War II Tuskegee airman pilot.

“She talked about being in an African-American military family and wife of a military general,” Amy said.

Sgt. Davis is one upcoming interview Kathleen is looking forward to. Another is Bill Reinert, who invented the Toyota Prius. She wants to know his thoughts about how the vehicle has had such an impact on the transportation industry.

Because the girls want to continue building their library, their site allows students to add their own interviews.

Dr Eugenie Clark, “The Shark Lady” and founder of Mote Marine

The girls should be commeneded  for creating the site because it wasn’t an assigned school project.

They created it during their spare time.
As  inspired by  recent article  in the Bradenton Herald,Posted on Thu, Oct. 08, 2009 http://www.bradenton.com/news/local/v-print/story/1762863.html

 

1000 origami cranes….or what I did on my summer vacation…

Could it be a tribute to Sadako and world peace, or  is it an excellent example of  a student Falcon’s dedication to seeing a project through to the end?

Both, definitely. I am immensely proud of  all of my students, particularly those who show initiative and are self  motivated. Charlie is one of those  children.

In April 2009, our grade three class  read Sadako and the thousand paper cranes by E. Coerr as a compliment to their  social studies  program. As part of learning about Japanese culture as well as empathy towards the main character and her quest to fold  1000 origami cranes in order to  wish for good health,  as a class we attempt to fold a few paper cranes.  Origami is an art of  folding paper in precise  forms.  Valley folds,  angles need to match and such.

After our origami class workshop, I noticed Charlie was showing a particular interest in  the project.  I challenged him to  try to fold 1000 cranes over the summer vacation.   Admittedly, I did not think to much about it since that moment. On The first day of school,   Mum delivered two boxes  filled with chains of  ornate paper cranes.  Charlie has done me proud  by demonstrating  his self motivation, by providing something beautiful for others to look at.  Above all, he has given  school library visitors  a chance to pause and think about Sadako and her plight for world peace.

Bravo Charlie. I am so very proud of you and your accomplishment.

 

Saint’s Fund Campaign…..

Recently, I was given a great honor. I was asked to be the Faculty/Staff Chair of the Saint’s Fund.

To be sought for this responsibility is lovely, and I accepted without hesitation.  Below is the text from my speech during  an All School meeting, August  21st. I hope that it underscores the importance of this campaign in our school’s life.  Today, as of September 22nd, 2008, I can proudly announce that we have reached 100%  Faculty and Staff participation.  A thank you to all who have supported the Saint’s Fund.

Saint'S Fund: Get into the Spirit!

A thank you to the Development Office for selecting me as their Saint’s Fund Faculty/Staff chair. It is an honor.

I consider myself to be a rather lucky girl to land here at Saint Stephen’s. I am reminded of this notion each morning when I unlock the library door, underneath our world flags in the Breezeway. ‘Open the doors of our world’ is a wonderful theme to work with this year. In actuality, we work with this theme everyday of every year, as we expose our students to the world beyond.

We all have a part to play in global understanding. Many of use have traveled beyond America’s borders for leisure, to study abroad; some to adopt a child in Korea or in China. And some of us are foreign citizens from beyond. We each bring to our campus a part of our global exposure, making our campus a special place. I know that my Lower School friends love learning Spanish vocabulary from Senora Rogers and her talking parrot. Mrs. Mercier celebrates in Children’s Day and Korean culture with our Intermediate School children. Can you imagine campus without Marc Jones and his colorful British soccer jerseys? Or Madame Marshall’s French croissant cooking demo. I am sure that I have heard Polynesian music coming from Mr. Marshall’s room. Christina Pommer has demonstrated the Japanese art of Origami. Tony Haakman has a picture of Sidney Crosby in his room. (For those of you who do not know, Crosby is a Canadian phenomenon who plays Center position for the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team…..think a young Wayne Gretzky. He is one of our most famous exports; next to maple syrup and Anne of Green Gables of course.) We have a global laboratory on campus. Our experiences impact our teaching and thus make Saint Stephen’s a special place for our children to learn as well as gain a cultural awareness.

The Saint’s Fund covers a portion of what we do. It bridges the gap between what tuition covers and the actual cost of making our school run. It covers things such as the cost of Windex used to clean up after the French croissant cooking lesson, the fuel for the bus to get Mr. Jones’ soccer team to the away games, the batteries for Senora Roger’s parrot, Christina’s origami paper, the tape on the Sidney Crosby poster, the laptop and projector during Mrs. Mercier’s Korean presentation, the cost of faculty salaries. With the aid of the Saint’s Fund, these special things we do to enrich our learning environment, and that make our campus special, could not happen.

Your assistance, in whatever amount you can manage, is greatly appreciated. We are striving for 100% participation…such a message will demonstrate to our community that the Faculty and Staff are fully committed to what happens on our campus, to continuing the learning, to continue the global awareness instilled in our children.

Many of you are perhaps thinking “Sarah , have you looked at the cost of gasoline? Or bought a gallon of milk, recently?” I know that we are living in a challenging economic environment, though we are asking you to give what you are able. No matter what the amount. Consider payroll deduction, if that is easier for you. If you have given in the past, I thank you. Please continue this giving. Please help build upon the special learning and global awareness which we all bring to Saint Stephen’s by giving what you can. Thank you.