• Students partnered with colleagues in Hawaii

Several Social Science and History students at Star Valley High School have been working in a program offered through the Smithsonian Institute titled Democracy in Dialogue. They partnered with schools in Pahala, Hawaii to explore the history of their communities and lands within a specific theme.

Ka’u High School and Pahala Elementary School in Pahala are on the Big Island in a rural community, so “we were a fun fit,” said Sharolyn Stauffer, Social Science and History teacher at SVHS, who serves as the advisor for this project.  “Since we are both rural and have quite a bit of tourism and economies tied to our land, we thought this would be a great theme to connect us.” Both groups of students explored aspects of their community histories related to their land and it’s use, and  discussed ideas for protecting the environment.

Democracy in Dialogue’s objective is “to connect students across the country to think about ways we have collectively, and in communities, participated in the American experiment over the past 250 years,” Stauffer said.  Students have been working in the virtual exchange from the beginning of the school year, exploring the topic of “Community Engagement with Our Natural Environments.”

Stauffer’s students made videos “exploring an object that is tied to the history and environment of our communities.”  These videos will be sent to the Smithsonian Institution for inclusion in the institute’s digital museum.  SVHS students “explored everything from the Star on the mountain in Afton, including creameries, the Elkhorn Arch, a peace medal given to Native Americans, and an old milk jug that has a beloved place in Ty Draney’s classroom and a history with the cross country team.”

Kimber Aitken, who chose to learn about a Jefferson Peace Medal that is currently found in a collection with the Jackson Hole Historical Society, found that the medals were used as a “bridge between two different cultures and two different peoples,” said Aitken in an interview with SVI Media last week.  “We try to emulate that here at the high school when we compete with other schools. There was a lot of mistreatment of the Native Americans, but there was also a lot of effort made to try and preserve their culture.”

Peyton Hokanson’s project involved the study of a milk jug, lovingly nicknamed Stanley, that currently serves as a doorstop in the classroom of  Ty Draney who teaches Spanish at SVHS. “We tied it into the dairy farming industry and how it’s impacted Star Valley and how the first mascot at SVHS was the Cheesemakers.” Hokanson’s group recognized that the dairy industry significantly shaped the history of Star Valley and the group came to appreciate the various roles that the jug has played throughout its existence – from transporting milk to serving as a trophy for a cross country race. “Now it’s a doorstop in Mr. Draney’s room.

Stauffer’s students have shared their videos with other students throughout the country who are involved in the project, and she is pleased and proud of the quality of their work. “Star Valley’s students submitted “impressive work and demonstrated a lot of effort and skill with digital technology. We are really proud of the work we have done and the ways we connected with our partner school in Pahala, Hawaii.  We discovered ways we all participate in the greater story of the United States with our connections to our natural environments.”