As the year ends, most students face a litany of finals ranging from tests to projects. Yet students in Ms. Nicole Ferguson’s U.S. History classes get to experience an entirely different kind of final in which each class gets to pick a project that will help them interact with their community and create history. For students in Ferguson’s fourth period class, this project includes creating a mural to commemorate all six of the students from this school who have passed away, as well as those from other schools like Rocklin High student Heidi Greenwood, and putting together a time capsule that will be buried in a secret location on the school grounds and will be dug up in 2023.
“The projects my students are doing are a part of a bigger project called History LIVE!. My job as a social science teacher is to help students discover how to be active citizens in this world, and part of that includes knowing your history, which is the obvious focus of any history class. This project gave them a chance to be a part of history and recognize what constitutes history in the making,” Ferguson said.
Students in each class began by selecting the projects that they wanted to work on, and then were divided into committees, each headed by a student leader. Each class chose a different project, with the students of sixth period choosing to build a picnic bench set for a preschool class of autistic children and to collect school supplies to donate to them as well. Eighth period chose to send care packages to Marines serving overseas, collecting items and letters to send in the packages.
“Our class chose the time capsule because we wanted to create history and do something that would be fun. Time capsules are something that you see on TV but never get to do, and we wanted to create one to show future students what it was like in 2013,” Amanda Carlson said.
The capsule, a locked metal box, is filled with notes and items from each student in the class.
“I put Katie Palin’s shirt (from her campaign for ASB president) in the capsule, because I want people in the future to see the neon shirt movement we started,” Carlson said.
Creating the mural required more supplies, leading students in the committee of community service and fundraising to reach out to students, faculty and the community to gather the supplies needed.
“We sent letters to Michael’s, Joann and Beverly’s, and then put up flyers to ask for donations from students. Mr. (Robert) Dorchak gave us canvas and paint, and Mr. (Alek) Ustaszewski is building us a frame to stretch the canvas on,” Allie Pihl, the commissioner of community service and fundraising, said.
The mural, a 16 square foot canvas, is being painted by Emily Miller to contain the names of the students and symbols that represent each deceased student. At the start of the project, students on the mural committee researched each deceased student in order to represent them by using their favorite colors, or by symbols of their faith. Its final location has yet to be determined by Ferguson and the students, and it may hang in a classroom.
“This mural is really important, since it brings respect to the students we have lost and to their families. It shows that WHS cares and that the students aren’t forgotten, and still live on, and it proves that people on campus still care,” Pihl said.
Despite the enthusiasm from some students, not all students are as committed to the project.
“The challenges we have faced are mainly that some students just aren’t invested in what the class is doing. I personally love helping other people, which is probably the main reason I ended up being a teacher, so it is just hard for me to understand why some people don’t want to,” Ferguson said.
For many, however, this project is a memorable experience.
“These are the coolest projects I’ve ever done in school,” Carlson said. “You never get to do anything in history yourself, but with this project, we get to make history, which is awesome.”
by KAVYA PATHAK
