Project by: Dana Katz (10th Grade)
Project Advisor: Heather
Student(s)’s Advisor(s): Ann Caroll

Final Update:

 I have been working on my project The Secrets of Canaraise for most of the year. The project involves WWII survivors. Since 7th grade I have been helping out with JCC of Canarsie, working with Holocaust survivors. I have a strong interest in these valuable stories and I want to share the history of these inspirational people. You can learn more about the project and the people I interviewed by visiting the website I created to document this work:

====================================================================

PROJECT PROPOSAL

Please write a description of the project you are proposing. Why do you want to take this on, and what do you hope to learn?

The project I have been working on involves WWII survivors. Since 7th grade I have been helping out with JCC of Canarsie, working with Holocaust survivors. I have a strong interest in these valuable stories and I want to share the history of these inspirational people. My interest in this subject has grown after the previous trimester. After conducting my first interview I have become more comfortable interviewing survivors. I now have more of an understanding of how a formal interview flows, specifically, the importance of breaks. When interviewing Simon, I found that he got overwhelmed when I asked many questions, so instead of “bulleting” questions at him, I waited for him to speak to me.  This allowed the interview to be more of a conversation. I also want to document these stories seeing that the survivors do not live forever, however, the internet does. My project would to interview these survivors, make a website and document the stories online so that generations below me can learn about these amazing people. I want to do this project because the stories of these survivors are absolutely remarkable and they deserve to be shared with the world before it is too late.

Critical thinking, creativity, citizenship, and courage are essential LREI learning values. Explain how you’ll draw on at least one of these values to complete your proposed project?

Creativity is definitely a learning value I will practice; the website that displays the stories has to be designed in a clear and engaging fashion, forcing me to be creative with the setup.

What is your proposed outcome? How will you be able to demonstrate successful completion of this Project? How do you plan to share your learnings with the larger LREI community (e.g., exhibit of work, poster of learnings, performance, etc.)?

long term goal: The outcome and completion of this project would be a polished website where the public would be able to access 4 or more stories of a WW11 survivor

In the previous trimester, my goal was to conduct one or two interviews along with the creation of my website, and I met that. I will not be completely done with my project by the end of trimester 3, because I eventually plan on making a documentary. However, by the end of this year, I will still make a poster to show the interviews and websites I have conducted.

Please provide a general outline that indicates your work plan for the trimester? What are some of the key project benchmarks (i.e., goals that will help to ensure that you finish the project)?

Trimester 3 Goal: Having 4 stories posted by the end of the trimester.

When do you plan on meeting?
Lunch on Fridays

===========================================================================

TRIMESTER 2 UPDATE

In the second trimester, I interviewed a survivor and posted his story on the website I created. At the beginning of the trimester, I conducted a lot of research on how to perform a proper oral history interview. After weeks of reading, collecting, and annotating I had a solid understanding of how to interview and report someone’s story. I took my knowledge and wrote the information on to a document, where I had 10 pages worth of questions, guidelines, agreement forms, and overall tips. Then I created a website with a polished main, about, mission and contact page. A specific moment in my trimester two project that was most powerful was when I first met the Holocaust survivor. Talking to a 101-year-old man, really put time into perspective: time is the one weapon that we cannot control, but will always succeed in solving our problems. Simon (the survivor I spoke too) also taught me an important lesson on the power of forgiveness. He told me that he has forgiven Hitler and his army because forgiveness will never harm or make any situation it worse. When someone forgives another, they feel empowered, free and overall a better person. As someone who can occasionally hold grudges, this made me realize how immature and dumb it can be.  Additionally, when conducting the interview, my communication skills improved. This being one of my first formal interviews, I learned how to make the interview smooth and not awkward. By having different levels of questions, it ensured that Simon was not overwhelmed by “heavy” questions.  Overall, I believe I had a very successful and efficient trimester. I am excited to continue my project in the final trimester.

===========================================================================

TRIMESTER 2 PROJECT PROPOSAL

Project by: Dana Katz (10th Grade)
Project Advisor: Heather
Student(s)’s Advisor(s): Ann Caroll

Please write a description of the project you are proposing. Why do you want to take this on, and what do you hope to learn?

The project I have proposed would be one where I worked with WWII survivors. Since 7th grade I have been helping out with JCC of Canarsie, working with Holocaust survivors. I have a strong interest in these valuable stories and I want to share the history of these inspirational people. I also want to document these stories seeing that the survivors do not live forever, however, the internet does. My project would to interview these survivors, make a website and document the stories online so that generations below me can learn about these amazing people. I want to do this project because the stories of these survivors are absolutely remarkable and they deserve to be shared with the world before it is too late.

Critical thinking, creativity, citizenship and courage are essential LREI learning values. Explain how you’ll draw on at least one of these values to complete your proposed project?

Creativity is definitely a learning value I will practice; the website that displays the stories, has to be designed in a clear and engaging fashion, forcing me to be creative with the setup.

What is your proposed outcome? How will you be able to demonstrate successful completion of this Project? How do you plan to share your learnings with the larger LREI community (e.g., exhibit of work, poster of learnings, performance, etc.)?

long term goal: The outcome and completion of this project would be a polished website where the public would be able to access 4 or more stories of a WW11 survivor

Please provide a general outline that indicates your work plan for the trimester? What are some of the key project benchmarks (i.e., goals that will help to ensure that you finish the project)?

Trimester 2 goal: conduct at least one interview, and have a rough draft/layout of the website (using Wix)

When do you plan on meeting?
Maybe during her office hour

===========================================================================

ORIGINAL PROJECT PROPOSAL

Project by: Dana Katz (10th Grade)
Project Advisor: Heather
Student(s)’s Advisor(s): Ann Caroll

Please write a description of the project you are proposing. Why do you want to take this on, and what do you hope to learn?

The project I have proposed would be one where I worked with WWII survivors. Since 7th grade I have been helping out with JCC of Canarsie, working with Holocaust survivors. I have a strong interest in these valuable stories and I want to share the history of these inspirational people. I also want to document these stories seeing that the survivors do not live forever, however, the internet does. My project would to interview these survivors, make a website and document the stories online so that generations below me can learn about these amazing people. I want to do this project because the stories of these survivors are absolutely remarkable and they deserve to be shared with the world before it is too late.

What is your proposed outcome? How will you be able to demonstrate successful completion of this Project?

The outcome and completion of my project would be a polished website where the public would be able to access the stories of the survivors.