Pine Point Student Authors Write StoneRidge Residents' Bios

Seventeen seventh grade students from Pine Point proudly presented biographies that they had authored to 15 residents of StoneRidge yesterday. The narratives were created after six weeks of one-on-one meetings with their counterparts at StoneRidge Senior Living Community. This 22-year tradition was created to apply classroom based English skills and concepts, to develop better understanding of American history in the context of world events and to honor the residents with narratives that depict their life stories.

“The value of this exercise is to promote cross-generational understanding, communication and respect,” said StoneRidge Executive Director Kathleen Dess. “It is beneficial to both the children and to our residents who are sharing their life stories.”

After early introductions, the students were paired with a StoneRidge resident who shared their memories of life in the 20th century. Students touched on travel, work ethic, immigration and global conflicts, along with cultural values in their interviews. The safe and nurturing environment at StoneRidge provided a relaxed atmosphere where reflections were made and friendships developed over the six-week period.

Students learned about life during the Great Depression and World War II, and the tumultuous 1960s. They learned about the different challenges faced during each generation and the benefits of growing up before global terrorism concerns.

While the students practiced etiquette, interview and narration skills, the seniors challenged their memories. The result was a lasting record of residents’ lives to be shared with fellow residents and their own families.

“The biographies are priceless and the journey to get to the finished product was equally valuable,” added Dess. “Face-to-face socialization is vitally important to seniors’ quality of life and this project provides a refreshing way for our residents to meet new people and share a wonderful afternoon together reminiscing.”

One student was assigned to each resident. During the first visit, students recorded information about their partners’ experiences in a log. To help organize interview questions, the students focused on one of four life stages at each meeting: childhood, adolescence adulthood and retirement. The students held brainstorming sessions before and after each visit, they pieced together stories from their notes into paragraph format.

The Pine Point students were guided in this experienced-based learning assignment by teachers David Smith and Erin Call.

About StoneRidge

StoneRidge is a senior living community in Mystic, CT. StoneRidge, situated on 32 acres, is next to 100 acres of conservation land at the corner of Jerry Browne and Pequotsepos Roads. A few miles from historic downtown of Mystic, CT, StoneRidge is conveniently located close to Olde Mistick Village, the Mystic Aquarium, the Mystic Seaport, the Nature Center and the Mystic Museum of Art. StoneRidge is managed by Life Care Services (LCS®), the leader in developing and managing senior living communities nationwide.