Eighth graders take a closer look at the Civil War

Six Jarvis Middle School eighth graders took a deeper and more personal look at the Civil War during the “Letters Home” Herkimer BOCES Honors Program on March 3.

The day featured professional storytellers Lorna MacDonald Czarnota and Merri Lee Debany. They recounted a fictional tale of two female American Civil War soldiers, one Confederate and one Union, who disguised themselves as men in order to fight. Their dialog traced the women from the day they decided to become soldiers, through their hardships and their journey to Gettysburg. Although the personal stories were fictional, the battles, locations and hardships they faced were factual.

“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 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.