Eighth graders visit with Veterans

OXFORD HILLS – Eighth grade students from the Oxford Hills Middle School recently went to Cole’s Transportation Museum in Bangor to learn from live veterans, as opposed to ones in a textbook.

Tara Pelletier teaches social studies and language arts and was involved in this on-going trip to Cole’s alongside Carlene Treadwell and Cheryl Lang.

“We have been going for a few years now,” said Pelletier. “Interviewing the veterans fits our curriculum perfectly. The eighth graders study World War II to the present and Cole’s gives us a grant to take our students there.”

The goal of the trip, from a social studies standpoint, is to listen to the oral history that veterans tell, and to connect the students directly to a veteran. From the language arts standpoint, the students work on interviewing skills as well as follow-up writings.

All eighth grade students participate, and they sit down to a question and answer period with a veteran for about one hour, and then spend the rest of the time touring the transportation museum.

Once back to school, walls were plastered with posters, stories were written, and thank you letters were sent to each veteran.

“It is amazing, the learning that comes from interviewing a real veteran,” smiled the teacher.

In conjunction with the class trip, the seventh and eighth grade art club is designing and creating two American flags and two peace signs using the mosaic glass-on-glass technique. The technique involves taking an existing window and applying the mosaic pieces onto the window and grouting in between.

According to the art teacher, Sue Moccia, all of the materials for the projects were funded by DonorsChoose.org, which is an online charity. Donors to the website pick the classroom projects they wish to donate to and DonorsChoose delivers the materials to the class.

“I developed a lesson in which the students would design windows that evolved around the theme of PEACE and I submitted the idea to DonorsChoose.org.,” said Moccia. “The hope was that we would use the ‘broken pieces’ of glass to create the windows that would convey the message of peace in our community and the world.”

“We thought that it would be nice to give something back to Cole's in the form of a tribute to the veterans,” she added. “So we decided to create an American Flag window for them,” smiled Moccia.

Last month the class received over $250 in mosaic glass chunks in assorted colors and tile nippers.

“Supporters of the project through the website were the Build-A-Bear Workshop Foundation, the Karyn Button Memorial Foundation and a staff member from DonorsChoose.org,” said the art teacher. “We are currently working on two windows; an American flag and a peace sign.”

Students are learning how to cut the glass pieces to fit the design and how to adhere the pieces to the clear glass window.

“When these steps are complete they will grout the spaces to mimic a stained glass design,” she said. “The two American Flag windows will be presented to Cole's Transportation Museum and the Veteran's Home in South Paris.  We hope to hang one peace sign window here at the Middle School. The other may go to a public space in the community or we may try to raffle it to raise money for the art club to buy more supplies for future project.”

Cheyanne Henderson was one of the students that visited Cole’s and she learned a lot from her visit.

“I learned that people are willing to give up their life for us to have freedom. They are willing to leave their family and friends and their normal life that they loved to help us get the life we all wanted. I realize some of them never come back, but that’s the part that is so amazing to me. They all leave knowing that they might not come back. Some are lucky enough to be able to come back home and live with the change they and so many others had made. They should be very proud with what they did because we all are, and we all should be very thankful for what they have done.”

Student, Randi-Lynn Conley has changed due to the visit.

“I feel like the experience of going to Coles changed me in a few ways. I have a completely different view of the army now. I understand a lot more about the army now, and I understand more about the jobs they had to do. I respect and honor the people who fight for our country so much more now, knowing what they truly go through to keep us alive. What I do know though, is that it was an amazing experience.”

Kaitlyn Baily wished to share a veteran’s story.

“When John Moore was flying a helicopter with one of his friends, he looked over and saw his friend dead. He didn't know what to do. He was just sitting there, motionless. His friend was bleeding and he couldn't do anything. When he got back to the base he told them that his friend was dead. They got him out and they sent him to his hometown where he was buried. John Moore was really sad after that. He couldn't stop thinking about his friend; they were like brothers. They had to come get the helicopter because the whole front end was gone; they shot it off!”

Visiting Photo:

VISITING VETERANS – Eighth grade students from the Oxford Hill Middle School recently visited veterans at the Cole’s Transportation Museum in Bangor. They were all able to spend an hour with them before touring the museum.

Class project Photo: Jackie Rybeck

CLASS PROJECTS – Eighth grade students at the middle school display some of the projects they worked on after visiting veterans at Cole’s Transportation Museum. L-R: Brandon Pelletier, Mary Bryce, Monica Harthorne and Charley-Jean Hilligoss.