Student-created calendar honors teacher faced with cancer

Sisters Middle School student Skye Ling-Scott took the cover photograph of the Three Sisters for the students' 2005 calendar. photo by Susan Springer Sisters Middle School students packed a lot of lessons into a recent class.

They learned about digital photography, how to make computerized special effects, and how to reach out to a teacher in need. The students' "Faith, Hope and Charity" calendar honors cancer patient and Language Arts Teacher Kim Dunaway.

Sisters Middle School students learn the basics all through the school year. Then twice a year, teachers and professionals from the community offer special instruction ranging from golf and knitting, to community service and academic activities.

Teacher Isolde Hedemark is enthusiastic about Web design, desktop publishing and digital photography. So for the school's Fall Interim Week classes, she taught a three-day class on digital photography and how to turn photos into masterpieces using computerized effects.

She thought, "Maybe we can do something with a better purpose," and she set about focusing her students' photography efforts around the calendar project. She said it was a perfect fit since the school chose citizenship as an over-riding theme this year.

Students took photos of the Three Sisters because the mountains represent qualities important to overcoming great difficulties. Now called Middle, South and North Sisters, the three mountains were once called Faith, Hope and Charity.

Hedemark was amazed to learn that a medical study found those three attitudes important to healing for cancer patients.

Patients who managed best had faith in their doctors' expertise, hope to carry on with life and showed charity to their fellow patients.

Student Skye Ling-Scott took the Three Sisters photo that will grace the cover of the 2005 calendar.

"I like nature photos," said Ling-Scott. He shot through a fence to get a clear shot of the mountains then used a watercolor effect to perfect his photograph.

"It makes it look like an artist did it," he said.

Students learned to use other computerized effects such as charcoal, and pen and pencil.

Ling-Scott said there are a few tips to making good digital photographs. He recommends taking many angles of a subject so you can see which one you like best. He said the photographer should take as close-up a shot as possible. Also, experiment with different computer effects because it can make photographs look "really cool," he said.

Hedemark praised the efforts of the 14 sixth, seventh, and eighth graders from her special Interim Week class. She said Ling-Scott and the other students learned to make impressive digital photographs.

"I'm really enthusiastic about it because you can make something spectacular!" said Hedemark.

Teacher Kim Dunaway will give the 2005 calendars to Dr. Stephen Kornfeld so he can share them with her fellow cancer patients.