Life Stories & Legacies

One of the main goals at Oak Lake Community School is to foster a relationship with our community members. One of the greatest resources in our town is our citizens, and what better way to celebrate community than to share and present the life stories of our local elders. As an extension of our school’s philosophy of community building, our grade 7/8 class will complete the Life Stories & Legacies project, presenting biographies on local seniors. This is an annual project at our school, and our goal is to record, present and preserve as many seniors’ life stories as we can, from year to year.

Students will select an elder (hopefully a grandparent), and conduct a formal interview gathering facts for a written biography. They will also conduct background research relevant to local, national and international events that took place during the elder’s lifetime. Pictures, maps and diagrams will be used where available and appropriate.

A bound anthology of biographies will be published. A copy will be presented to each elder. As well, a copy will be added to our school’s library collection and presented to our Oak Lake Museum.

As a closure to the project, these life stories will be presented at a special event hosted by the school. Families, dignitaries and community members will be invited to attend this event, and celebrate the lives presented in the biography projects. This will be our opportunity to honor our senior’s achievements and formally present them with their biographies. All students will be actively involved in every aspect of the project, from developing initial questions for their first interview session with the elder, to the hands on planning and organization of the final event. Students will be encouraged to work together throughout the writing process, as they edit and provide feedback on each others work. They will be making democratic decisions as a group to complete this exciting citizenship-building project.

Update (April 30, 2014)

Oak Lake Community School students have been working very hard, making their way through the writing process, on their biography projects. Each student has selected a special elder, and in most cases this person is a grandparent. Students have made a list of questions, and have completed interviews. The information gathered in these interviews have been written in biography format, chronicling life stories (so far). These biographies are a delight to read, and the elders participating have shared precious memories for families to cherish. Students have also discovered a great deal of historical significance in these interviews. Photos have been scanned, and final drafts have been handed in for the teacher to assess and edit.
We are now at the stage where we will be compiling the final biography anthology, and will have it ready for publishing at the print house within the next couple of weeks.
As an additional activity, students had the opportunity to visit the Holocaust Education Centre in Winnipeg. They were able to participate in a Holocaust Survivor Presentation during which an amazing life story and legacy was shared, full of bravery, hope and determination.
We appreciate the grant funds which make this very special project possible, and look forward to completing the finished, published project and sharing it with our elders and community.

Update (June 22, 2014)

Students have completed their Life Stories & Legacies biography projects, and they have been published in a treasured anthology book. We held a special celebration, including the grandparents and family friends interviewed for these books. We shared three video presentations, and each individual was formally introduced and the book was formally dedicated to him/her. It was a very successful program again this year. Books have been shared within our community, and will be cataloged in our school library and local museum. As well, links to video projects will be posted on our school's website.