WESTYN MILLS read his story, “Granny’s Past: Life Before 2025,” during an Author’s Spotlight at the Woodford County Library on Aug. 18. Fifth graders at Huntertown Elementary School wrote stories about family and community members. The Author’s Spotlight was a celebration of their book, From Me to We, being published. Their teacher Rebekah Gooslin is pictured behind Westyn. (Photo by Bob Vlach)
A BOOK SIGNING concluded an Author’s Spotlight at the Woodford County Library on Aug. 18. Pictured, from left, are Wyatt Mills, Ella Brown, Katie Divine, Emerson Caudill, Carter Waltz and Mason McDonald. (Photo by Bob Vlach)
EMMA YOUNG read “The Parade of a Lifetime” during an Author’s Spotlight at the Woodford County Library on Aug. 18. Emma’s story and others written by her fifth-grade peers at Huntertown Elementary last school year were published in From Me to We: A Collection of Community Stories from Versailles. Teacher Rebekah Gooslin and Tommy Dennison, the adult programming coordinator at the library, are also pictured. (Photo by Bob Vlach)
By Bob Vlach
Woodford Sun Staff
Before her fifth graders moved on to middle school this year, English and language arts teacher Rebekah Gooslin said she wanted them to have an authentic project-based learning experience.
Being a storyteller herself, Gooslin asked 62 fifth graders at Huntertown Elementary School to interview family members, neighbors or people in their community and tell their stories. Those stories have been published in a book, From Me to We: A Collection of Community Stories from Versailles.
The Woodford County Library hosted an Author’s Spotlight for Gooslin, her student-authors and their families on Aug. 18. Before students signed a copy of their book that will be placed alongside books written by other local authors at the library, they were invited to read their stories.
First up, Westyn Mills read “Granny’s Past,” which, as he wrote, “shows that life changes, responsibilities grow and dreams can be reached through hard work. Her journey from working in an apartment to retiring … reminds us that determination can build a meaningful life, and her story is still just beginning.”
Sam Crawford also wrote about his grandmother. She was in attendance, but her grandson was unable to be there, so Gooslin read “Who Needs a Kindergarten,” where he shared Jean Crawford’s story of determination when she helped start St. Leo School’s first kindergarten. He writes, “She reminds us that ordinary people can create extraordinary change when they choose to help others.”
In “A Farmer in Versailles,” Mason McDonald wrote about his Papa, Gary McDonald. “It became more than a farm,” he writes. “It became the heart of our family’s story, a place built with courage, sacrifice and love.”
In “The Beauty of Dance,” Marin Darland wrote about dance teacher Megan Dragoo and Jane’s School of Dance, which is “more than a place to dance; it is a place where dreams begin to come true.”
Ximena Castro Alonso also wrote about dreams coming true in “An Artsy Beginning,” sharing a story about Huntertown art teacher Sherry Young’s determination and imagination to transform a rundown Victorian cottage into a beautiful home that was featured on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens with “hard work, patience and creativity …”
Writing these and other stories was a meaningful project-based learning experience for students because they had an opportunity to share the struggles and triumphs of everyday people that may not otherwise be told, Gooslin said. Asking students to talk to family and community members was also a valuable learning experience, she added.
Tommy Dennison, the adult programming coordinator at the library, opened the program by telling attendees, “This is the most authors we’ve had” for an Author’s Spotlight program.
Now in her 21st year of teaching, Gooslin said she has taught in three states and in Woodford County Public Schools since 2020. She spent three years at Southside Elementary before coming to Huntertown, where she spent the last three years. This school year, she oversees the School-Within-A-School program at Woodford County High School.