Professional storytellers Lorna MacDonald Czarnota and Merri Lee Debany delivered a dramatic program about the Civil War for eighth graders from eight local school districts during a recent Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Honors Program event.
“Students participated in follow-up workshops developing their own written and verbal presentations to demonstrate how the Civil War affected every facet of American society, then and now,” Herkimer BOCES Honors Program Coordinator Deborah Schoff said.
The “Letters Home” Herkimer BOCES Honors Program event took place on March 3 at the Herkimer BOCES Gateway Center in Herkimer. Eighth graders from Central Valley, Dolgeville, Frankfort-Schuyler, Herkimer, Little Falls, Owen D. Young, Poland and West Canada Valley attended.
Czarnota and Debany performed and worked with students.
“They portrayed two American Civil War female soldiers, one Confederate and one Union, who disguised themselves as men in order to fight,” Schoff said. “The two storytellers acted out a dramatic and thoughtful monologue that showcased the women from the day they decided to become soldiers, through their hardships and their journey to Gettysburg. The characters they portrayed were fictitious, but the battles, locations and hardships they faced were factual.”
The Herkimer BOCES Honors Program is open to students in Herkimer BOCES component school districts and is designed to support the potential of students in grades 3-12 who have above average interests and abilities in a particular area. Programs allow for interaction with like-minded peers. Students learn by engaging in educational activities with presenters who are noted in their field. Exploration and programs provide for different learning styles and include topics in the arts and sciences as well as literature and history. Ongoing evaluation of all programs by teachers and students assures their relevance and quality.
Professional storytellers Lorna MacDonald Czarnota and Merri Lee Debany put on a performance about the Civil War for eighth graders from eight local school districts during a recent Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Honors Program event at the Herkimer BOCES Gateway Center in Herkimer.
