Northview — Walter Leedy took dozens of photos of his grandson Miles’ Language Arts project, one of many that were displayed recently in the Crossroads Middle School cafeteria and library.
And what made his interest all the more touching: seventh-grader Miles Kapanui’s project was all about his grandfather.
“I’m trying not to (get choked up),” Walter Leedy told this reporter. “I think he deserves an A++ for the entire year for this. I expected he would hang some pictures, but this …”
Miles had constructed a tri-fold display that depicted key moments in his grandfather’s life — playing on a baseball team as a boy, fishing trips with his best friend since childhood, his work as hay farmer and then a dispatcher for a trucking company, holding his grandchildren.
‘It’s important to understand the older people in your life so you know what they’ve been through.’
— seventh-grader Laila German
“He’s got a lot of good stories,” Miles said of his grandpa. “He’s a hard worker. He just doesn’t quit. He doesn’t like to leave stuff undone.”
Miles’s project also included a timeline of Leedy’s life so far, a multi-page biography Miles created from interviews with multiple members of the family, and even a few dozen German chocolate cupcakes.
“I made those,” Miles said. “German chocolate is his favorite.”
Hundreds of life stories like these were told at the recent Legacy Showcase, the culmination of a project undertaken by all seventh-graders at the school.
History of the Legacy Project
The months-long project started with eighth-graders in 1994 as a way to incorporate writing for an audience outside the classroom. English Language Arts teacher Andy Gamish, whose own children missed out on the showcase when the coronavirus pandemic shuttered school buildings in 2020, spearheaded its return this year.
ELA teacher Kathy Vogel, who introduced the project to her students in 1994, said this was the first year all seventh-graders have had the opportunity. Eighth-graders did a mini-biography at the beginning of this school year.
The project develops from a letter each student writes to a grandparent or a special adult around November to explain the project and ask to interview them. Once that interview happens, they interview another family member, then learn about the overall periods in history their grandparents have lived in and try to incorporate some of that history into their written biographical drafts, which are revised.
Next, each creates an “about the author” card about themselves, and makes a visual aid for their showcase presentation. Some bring family recipes, others share small heirlooms, and there’s a scavenger hunt for families.
“We hope students see this as more than just an assignment, but as a way to preserve family history and to honor their families,” Vogel said.
Laila German expressed just that after the event. Her legacy project was about her grandmother Monique Williams.
“She’s had a lot go on in her life,” Laila explained. “I wanted to give her some recognition.”
Laila and classmate Grace Atkinson said they found it most difficult to choose which information gleaned from interviews to keep in their projects and which to cut. Grace’s project was about her grandfather James Spears.
“It was really hard to narrow it down to the most important details,” she said.
In self-reflections students wrote following the event, both girls recalled what it felt like to be able to display their projects for their grandparents and their school families.
“It was just really nice to see my grandma come to my school, to be in my environment,” Laila recalled. “It was very heartwarming to see a bunch of older people come to their grandchildren’s schools and be proud of what we did. It’s important to understand the older people in your life so you know what they’ve been through.”
A Moving Legacy
Vogel has seen the project’s impact since it began.
“Throughout the years, we have families who reach out looking for a copy of their child’s assignment to use at various events,” she said. “While (the event) can be overwhelming, when I watched the students interact with their grandparents it made the work worthwhile.”
Seventh-grader Ashlynn Haven got to see firsthand how profound the project was for her mother, who teared up as she read the biography her daughter had created about grandmother Linda Haven.
Tiffany Haven was grateful her daughter was able to do a project about her mother-in-law, but it was bittersweet because “I lost my (own) mother a couple years ago, so this does make me emotional,” she explained.
Vicki Travis, whose grandson Dustin Klinker chronicled her life this year, now has been the subject of not one but three Legacy projects. Dustin’s older brother and sister both also featured her.
“Each child put a focal point on something different,” Travis said. “(Dustin) was pretty serious about it. And his words are just beautiful.”
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