Sierra Crest students begin year with digital time capsule

Sierra Crest Academy students began their new year compiling a digital time capsule.

Founded in 2004, the Minden academy is a project-based charter school sponsored by Douglas County School District. The tuition-free school has 71 students.

"This is a way to team-build and a way for the students to get to know each other," said Alisa Kuniya, assistant administrator of Sierra Crest.

Students were split into groups and given local, national and international topics to choose from, all from the year 2007.

After reports were generated, students used computer programs like Power Point to combine their findings into a final product, a video montage serving as a historical record for the future.

"People can look back and see what we all liked," said 15-year-old student Megan Dowd.

Dowd's topic was fashion and music. She was especially interested in the current state of rap and hip-hop music.

Friday afternoon, students sat in the front room of the school to view the results of their hard work.

The video began with biographical tidbits on each student. Then, set to a soundtrack of alternative music, the video dove straight into current events, showcasing local issues, like Nevada's serious fire season, national issues like the mass introduction of hybrid cars and international issues such as the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

"The students had complete choice in what to do and how to present it," said English teacher Amy Sando.

Sando said that students of Sierra Crest utilize new technology in their projects. She said students perform research on a daily basis and integrate all areas of learning, English, science, etc., in the projects their doing.

When the video ended, students asked each other questions about their respective contributions to the project and all the students looked pleased with what they, as a whole, had contributed to the world.

-- Scott Neuffer can be reached at sneuffer@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 217.