WALTHILL UPPERCLASSMEN MAKE INSTRUCTIONAL BOOKS FOR LOCAL HEAD START

Juniors and Seniors of small school on Omaha Reservation educate preschoolers in community involvement project.

For Immediate Release

WALTHILL, NE --- Upperclassmen from Walthill High Schools Computer Applications class last Thursday delivered educational books to youngsters enrolled in Walthills Head Start Program. According to their instructor Joann Schmedding, this was the culmination of a six week-long unit on desktop publishing.

All in all, Schmeddings students produced three books of which they delivered 20 copies each.

We gave the books to the kids," Schmedding explained. and one to the (Head Start) Center. We made a counting book, an alphabet book, and an 'I can do book."

The project began with a week-long planning session, during which Schmedding and her students decided on the books content. On January 15, they went to Head Start and photographed the children at various activities.

I told them what books we were going to make," Schmedding explained. But the students created the content. They did the photography, the writing, and the layout."

The Head Start children were excited about the books, she stated, adding, They really enjoyed seeing themselves in the books."

She felt her students also enjoyed the project, although, she admitted, it was also a lot of hard work. Schmedding herself was enthusiastic about this project, and she plans to do something similar in the future.

It was a good opportunity for community involvement," she said. Next year, I want to take it a step further and incorporate (the childrens) culture."