Stratford Students Win Prize For Story

Leigh Dowden's 2006-2007 fifth-grade class, now at the Middle School, show-casing their prize-winning book, Just One Can, which the students wrote, illustrated, and assembled, at the September School Board meeting with Mrs. Dowden, Stratford School Principal Diane Hopkins, School Board President Kenneth J. Monaghan, and School District Superintendent Robert Feirsen.

A one-of-a-kind book entitled Just One Can created last year by Leigh Dowden's fifth- grade class at Stratford School has won second place in the NYS Senate's 17th Annual I'm A Green Nation contest. NYS Senator Kemp Hannon an-nounced the winners this summer. The Garden City School Board viewed the book and met with students at the September School Board meeting.

The students wrote, illustrated, and assembled the 25-page, hard-bound book about a girl named Sally who doesn't think twice about littering. But one day something unusual happens: Sally heedlessly tosses a soda can into a nearby bushand the can magically comes to life. So begins Sally's journey from disrespectful litterbug to responsible citizen. The now animated can teaches Sally facts about recycling, and Sally soon realizes the importance of doing her part to preserve and protect the environment.

"The wonderful thing about this book is that each student in the class helped to write the text, and then each author illustrated his or her own page," Mrs. Dowden said. "I'm very proud of all the young author/illustrators who contributed to the project."

To compose the text, Mrs. Dowden took notes on her computer, racing to keep up with 25 brainstorming students. The class then distributed the text over 25 pages for editing and refinement, with each student receiving his or her own page. The students also brainstormed about what Sally should wear. The result is that she dresses in the same outfit throughout the story, but each child illustrates the ensemble in a different way on his or her page, creating continuity along with a great deal of variety.