Inspired by the vision of our Head of School, Joan Holden, the St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes History Department designed a signature Oral History Project. Together with the assistance of our IT Department students create a polished 10-12 minute documentary based on recording the oral history of a family member at least one full generation removed. Using Blogs, Macs, iMovie and the internet students are fully supported in this endeavor. Established benchmarks must be met during the process including selecting a subject, researching the time period of the subject’s life, composing at least 20 questions, and filming 45-60 minutes of raw video footage. Once these benchmarks are reached students use class time to edit their projects, integrating images and music to form a cohesive documentary theme. This project has replaced the midterm exam for our 11th grade students in a school wide effort to equip our graduates with the 21st century skills of communication, creativity and digital literacy.
