By Nicole Vincent, Office of Curriculum & Instruction
In recent years, service learning has become an integral part of the curriculum for many students and teachers at Lewiston Middle School. Service learning gives students opportunities to apply academic skills and knowledge to meet specific needs in the community. Each project is also strongly tied to learning standards and curriculum requirements. Throughout the winter and spring, LMS staff and students have been involved in various projects that successfully connect the classroom to the community and enrich the overall educational experience.
French teacher Michel Courchesne and art teacher Kay Allison are working to complete service-learning projects involving video production. These projects provide unique opportunities to enhance the curriculum in specific subject areas while also integrating the use of technology into academics. Students in both classes have been working with Huey Coleman, an independent filmmaker from Portland, to learn the ins and outs of filming videos.
As part of their exploration of the history of French-speaking Canadians in the community, Courchesne’s eighth-grade French class is working on a project titled “Les Moulins a Lewiston.” Students will produce a video chronicling the contributions of Franco-Americans to the mills of Lewiston and Auburn. Two students’ family connections have enriched this project as well. Sarah Pelletier and Julie Boucher interviewed their grandfather, Armand Boucher, at the Bates Mill. Boucher shared what it was like to move from Canada to Lewiston and work in the mill for over 30 years. The students’ final video, which will recount the experiences of Boucher and other community members, will be shown at a presentation at the Franco-American Center later this spring. Students, school officials, individuals who participated in the video, and board members of the center will be invited to the celebration. The video will then be archived for future use in a history museum being created at the center.
Grade 8 students in Kay Allison’s S.P.A.R.K. art class are working on a project to record the experiences of Somali students who recently moved to the community. Students interviewed Somali students at the middle school who described their lives in Somalia and explained how they have adapted to the culture and their new lives in Lewiston, Maine. Students will edit together multiple interviews to create a final video that can be used by middle-school students and staff to understand and appreciate some of the diversity in their community.
Billie-Jo Brito’s Career Prep class presented their successful fall service-learning project at the Student Summit held in late March at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham. Elementary-, middle-, and high-school students from schools all over New England attended the summit to share their service-learning experiences, participate in skill-building workshops, and celebrate learning. Lewiston Middle School’s Civil Rights Team led one of the workshops, and Brito’s class presented their project called Dimes 4 Dinners. During this project, students collected money in the school to help feed needy families at Thanksgiving. Students used their academic skills to create advertisements and banners, and to write personalized letters to teachers and staff explaining their objective. In eight days, students raised $583, enabling them to provide dinners for 26 families in Lewiston. This group has been invited to present their project at the upcoming KIDS (Kids Involved Doing Service) Consortium spring regional meeting.
Sue Weber’s grade 8 language arts class has been working with Advocates for Children on a project to prevent bullying. Their objectives are to raise awareness among parents, peers, and the local community about the dangers of bullying; to promote nonviolence; and to educate about the importance of respecting others. In April, students invited parents and teachers to an after-school event featuring skits, an oral presentation, and a question-and-answer session. They also made anti-bullying magnets and bookmarks to give away to staff and students. They have additional plans to go out into the community to spread their message and educate members of the community about bullying.
Three eighth-grade language arts teachers – Sue Weber, Danielle Bilodeau, and Sherry Smith – and their students are collaborating on a major service-learning project to plan, promote, and implement an end-of-the-year Celebration of Learning Fair to showcase this year’s learning and projects at LMS. Students made a presentation at a staff meeting in March to introduce the idea and invite teachers to participate. They have created posters and brochures to publicize the event, and will be sending invitations to local dignitaries as well as advertising the event in the community. The celebration is already scheduled to include at least 40 booths, exhibitions, learning games, project displays, presentations, a literary coffee house, and other activities that can be enjoyed by students, teachers, and community members. Students in the three classes have been helping staff plan their displays, and they will also be working with the Parent Teacher Organization on jobs related to setting up, manning booths, and cleaning up. KIDS Consortium has worked with students and staff on team-building strategies. The Celebration of Learning Fair will take place on May 28 at the Lewiston Armory, and teachers, students, parents, and community members are invited to attend. Students are very enthusiastic about this fair and their goal of demonstrating to the community what they know and can do.
Lewiston’s service learning program is supported by a grant from KIDS Consortium, a non-profit organization that works with schools across New England to promote service learning in education. Educational consultants from KIDS provided training and technical assistance to the middle school staff and students to help them successfully develop and implement their projects.
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