In support of its organization’s mission – to build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place – the Girls Scouts of America developed an award program to commemorate the completion of each level of the program. The Gold Award is the highest level, earned by Seniors and Ambassadors, that encourages Girl Scouts to develop and carry out lasting solutions to issues in their neighborhoods and beyond.
San Juan Hills junior Madeleine Castiglione has been a Girl Scout since she was in kindergarten at San Juan Elementary, and decided she wanted to do something involving her alma mater for her Gold Award project. She set out to curate an exhibit that showcased the history of San Juan Elementary, the oldest school in Orange County.
“I selected this issue because it is important to understand the culture and traditions in history that shaped the students and faculty of the oldest elementary school in Orange County,” Madeleine said. “It is important to teach these things because it will strengthen our community. According to Fitchburg State University, knowing our culture and traditions will ‘help us feel less alone and connect with those around us’ and ‘help us gain appreciation for our own culture and the cultures that surround us’ ’’.
Madeleine gathered photos of San Juan students dating back to the early 1900’s, as well as items used to teach throughout the years, including typewriters, Macintosh computers and even an old telephone from 1913. She worked with San Juan’s current principal, Dr. Manzanilla, former principal, Sra. Pule , and custodian, Mr. Jesse, to collect the items from storage spaces around campus. After cleaning and refurbishing the items, she created the display in the school library.
“My goal is to share the importance of history, spark students’ interest in history , and to spread the knowledge of San Juan Elementary’s history,” Madeleine said.
A key aspect of the project was to create an interactive learning environment for students. When she was a student at San Juan Elementary, Madeleine would often walk past a display of artifacts in the MPR, but there was no explanation of what the items were or their significance to the school. She noticed that the opportunity to preserve and learn about the school’s history was being overlooked and with the help of her team she knew she could do something about it. With the new exhibit, she made three videos that highlight the story of each of the artifacts. Students can scan a QR code to watch the videos and take a quiz that could earn them the recognition of a San Juan Elementary Historian. The distinction also comes with a 10-point Roary ticket that can be used in the school store.
“The videos were created to involve the students in learning more about the history of their school,” Madeleine said. “I want them to enjoy this exhibit and share the fun facts they learn with their families and community.”
