Logan’s finest
Katheryn Chicka spoke softly as she answered Sarah Kim and Lyubov Sokolova’s list of questions during an interview in the lobby of Logan Elementary School recently. Chicka, now in her 80s, has lived in the Logan neighborhood for more than 50 years. The girls asked her how the neighborhood has changed over the years while Adam Lague and Sam Shastany filmed the interview.
The four students are part of Logan Elementary’s tech team, a group of 19 sixth-graders who are the leaders of a schoolwide project – a documentary and book about the Logan neighborhood.
“The purpose of the project is to celebrate the neighborhood and inspire the students so that they know they can make a difference in the world,” said technology teacher Vicki Soderberg.
The book and video will be produced with $65,000 worth of technology equipment the school received in October through a grant from the Beaumont Foundation of America.
The school received 30 laptops, two wireless storage cart stations, two wireless access points, two laser printers, two LCD projectors with document cameras and six digital cameras.
Soderberg believes that art and technology can reach students who otherwise may be difficult to engage.
“Developing a story board, writing and editing a script and the book are all real learning experiences. At the same time they are learning about technology and building relationships with their community,” said Soderberg. Sixth-grader Uniqua Si John thinks the video and book will be useful to newcomers to the Logan neighborhood. “The history of the neighborhood is interesting, and it’s fun learning how to work with the new cameras. We’re learning step-by-step,” said Uniqua.
During her interview, Chicka held Joe Ormsby’s hand. He grew up next door to “Mrs. C,” as he affectionately calls her. Ormsby’s mother still lives in the family home where she and her late husband raised eight boys.
Ormsby, 43, lives a block from the house he grew up in. He and his wife, Kathy, are members of the school’s parent/teacher organization, LEAP, one of the project’s collaborative partners.
“The exposure to this technology is the key. It’s a new reality. For some kids, school is the only place they’re going to see it,” said Ormsby.
Gonzaga University student mentors work with the tech team after school twice a week. They are teaching the students how to use digital cameras and recording equipment and how to transfer the work to computers. The tech team will then share what they’ve learned with their classmates and younger students.
Each class will be assigned a segment of the video and book in connection with that class’ social studies curriculum. The students’ contributions to the project will depend on their age and abilities. The completed video will be available at various school functions.
This curriculum begins in kindergarten, as students learn about themselves and expands to family, community, city, state and world as they move up through the sixth grade.
Students are learning about people from the Logan neighborhood who have made contributions to society at all of those levels.
“This is a tremendous project. There’s such a rich history here. So many things came out of this neighborhood. There’s a tremendous amount of pride here, but without history, how would you know?” said Ormsby.