Wilshire Park Elementary Hosts Elders’ Wisdom, Children’s Song™ Celebration
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Community Celebration of Place and Wilshire Park Elementary Present Elders’ Wisdom, Children’s Song™
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 29, 2010
Community Celebration of Place and Wilshire Park Elementary Present Elders’ Wisdom, Children’s Song™
St. Anthony, MN – Wilshire Park Elementary will host a community celebration at the Wilshire Park Elementary gymnasium on Thursday, February 18, 2010 at 7:00 pm. The 3rd grade students will honor four elders with strong ties to the St. Anthony Community. The Elder Wisdom, Children’s Song™ community celebration will be hosted by America’s Troubadour, Larry Long, and is free and open to the public. Elders’ Wisdom, Children’s Song™ is an educational process developed by Long, which honors history and celebrates diversity through writing and performing songs.
Long has been working in partnership with the West Metro Education Program (WMEP) to provide the Elders’ Wisdom, Children’s Song™ process for schools that are members of the WMEP consortium. Each Wilshire Park third grade classroom interviewed one of the elders, and with Mr. Long’s assistance, wrote a song to celebrate their elder’s life story. Third graders also colored fabric squares that will be assembled into a quilt to be presented to each elder. The community elders who will be honored are:
Sandra Rabine: Moved from Fiji to Canada to America, now working at Wilshire Park.
George Wagner: A passionate volunteer within the school and community.
Andrea Stephens: Raised by a hard-working single mother, she instills values in her own daughters and has built her career.
Dave Evans: St. Anthony Village school board member; a story of being a teacher and coach.
Contact Information:
Community Celebration of Place
Larry Long, Executive Director
3357 – 36th Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612-722-9775 / larryl@communitycelebration.org
Wilshire Park Elementary School
Becky Olson, Student and Family Specialist
3600 Highcrest Rd
St. Anthony, MN 55418
612.706.1222 / bolson@stanthony.k12.mn.us
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Founded out of demand for Long’s work across the country, Community Celebration of Place is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that uses oral history, music and art to strengthen communities and foster reconciliation. For more information visit www.communitycelebration.org.
Larry Long, called "a true American Troubadour" by author Studs Terkel, has made his life work the celebration of American stories and heroes. In a curriculum called Elders' Wisdom, Children's Song,™ he has brought these heroes to the classroom to share their oral history with our younger generation. A Smithsonian Folkways recording artist, Larry has sung at major festivals, concerts and events throughout the U.S. and internationally. Long is a recipient of the prestigious Bush Artists Fellowship, the Pope John XXIII Award and In The Spirit of Crazy Horse Award for his work in forgotten communities. (www.larrylong.org)
The West Metro Education Program (WMEP) School District was formed in 1989 to cooperatively address integration issues in the west metro area. The mission of WMEP is to build the collective capacity of its members; to raise the achievement of all students; to eliminate the racial achievement gap; and to prepare all learners to thrive in a diverse world through regional leadership, integrated learning opportunities, shared resources, and mutual support.
Member districts of WMEP are: Brooklyn Center, Columbia Heights, Eden Prairie, Edina, Hopkins, Minneapolis, Richfield, Robbinsdale, St. Anthony/New Brighton, St, Louis Park, and Wayzata.