Gallery — SEMIS Community Forum 2022
Welcome to the SEMIS Coalition’s annual Community Forum Gallery Showcase!
Here you will find student stories, examples, projects and more from SEMIS Coalition member schools, teachers, and community partners across southeast Michigan. This Gallery is a public space where children and young people develop their voices as community leaders and where you can come to get a glimpse of Place-Based Learning that is happening across our region.
We are proud of everything that students and their adult learning guides have posted during this very challenging year and hope that you take the time to visit each exhibition. The youth who have submitted projects have a lot to teach! We thank them and their teachers for helping us to populate the SEMIS Gallery and for their willingness and courage to share their insights. The gallery is a grid of small previews—click on any of them to travel to the page where the individual submission lives.
A Note on Commenting: You can comment on any submission, but will need to enter an email. This email will not show in your comment. All comments will be ‘waiting for approval’ and then once approved, will post. Refresh your page to see your comment.
If you have any questions about this space, please contact us at semis_coalition@emich.edu.
A huge thank you to Nick and Amy at ClairvoyAgency for the design of this gallery! You can learn more about their digital media agency here: clairvoyagency.com
You can view Gallery artifacts by ‘browsing the tags’ below. Search by teacher, theme, grade, or any other tag that interests you! Thank you for stopping by.
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Community Forum 2022: Witnessing students express the appreciation of the humanity and brilliance in each other, by Audra Carson
It is a pure delight to share my experience at the 2022 SEMIS Coalition Community Forum held at Bob's Lake House on the campus of Eastern Michigan University. Before I go any further with how wonderful the day was, please allow me to introduce myself. I am Audra D....
WELCOMING REMARKS: 2022 Community Forum
Welcome to this year’s SEMIS Community Forum and the third event in our Forum series this week! This is the first time we’ve had an in-person Community Forum in 3 years and the first time we’ve ever had it outside, so this is a very happy moment for all of us in the...
OPENING REMARKS: 2022 Community Forum
We want to welcome everyone to the first day of our Community Forum events and thank you for being here today. We know that, especially during this phase of the pandemic, showing up in community, especially online, takes effort and commitment. The fact that close to...
Youth Voices: Why climate change is bad for the earth
By Annalies “Anni” Messner, Wylie Elementary School, Dexter, Michigan Climate change is bad for the Earth because it makes the surfacewarmer, it can kill plants by drying them out, and most of all, it’s caused by humans!!! One reason climate change is bad for the...
Youth Voices: How climate change affects my life
By Juliette Dubuque, Wylie Elementary School, Dexter, Michigan https://planetdetroit.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Natalie-Hanlon_01.mp3 My name is Juliette, and I’m in fourth grade. And right now, climate change is affecting my life. It’s real hot, I’ll tell you...
Youth Voices: Do I think about climate change? If so, what are my thoughts?
By Alice Meek, Wylie Elementary School, Dexter, Michigan What are some of the things I have heard about climate change? What has inspired me to take action? I noticed a problem in my school. There’s trash all over the playgrounds. One day my friend and I thought of...
Youth Voices: 5 things you can do about climate change
By Livielle Peters, tree, water, and earth lover, Wylie Elementary School, Dexter, Michigan You, me, trees, water, and our natural world, need each other. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, which we can’t breathe. The more trees that are being cut down, the more...
Youth Voices: Climate change has been a part of my reality for as long as I can remember
By Stella Ruby Hughes, Age 14, Hamtramck High School Climate change has been a part of my reality for as long as I can remember, and for as long as I can remember I have been worried about climate change. So many other beings rely on this Earth to survive, and each...
Hand
"This diagram is a hand representation of our Voice Level chart at The James and Grace Lee Boggs School. For younger kids who find it harder to understand the current chart, I think it would be best to have a diagram that is familiar to them and appealing. I hope this...
Paradise
A voice chart illustration shows three birds, a sun, a palm tree, and a house with footprints leading away from it. Labeled "Level 0/zero through Level 4/four with examples of the different sound levels "This diagram is for K – 2 classes for the hallway. I made it...
Flower
A voice chart diagram in the shape of a flower. Labeled "Stay Safe!, with 5 petals of a flower illustrating decibel levels 0 -5. "This diagram was created as a flower because the design would grab the attention of little kids. The petals present the order of loudness...
Wylie Water Walkers; Spark News
Wylie students were inspired by Mother Earth Water Walkers to bring awareness to the importance of clean fresh water, here in Michigan.Note: Student projects may be difficult to hear in spots. Please stay tuned while full written transcripts are being prepared! By:...
Wylie Wonder World: Be Kind!
This project was inspired by Wylie students expressing concern about the first day when masks would become optional. Our class found that there were students that were so excited about the opportunity to be maskless at school and others that were very anxious and...
Pyramid
A voice chart that's labeled "3-5 Hallway Voice Level Chart", with 0-4 decibel levels, with 4 at the bottom of the pyramid. Side note: "Without a mask, when you breathe droplets travel 1.5 meters. That's decently far. When you cough, to travels 2 meters. But when you...
Beaverology
This group will present information about what we have learned about pertaining to our exploration of beavers who have taken residence near a local creek. By: Carson Creehan, Dez Meiers, Hudson Perrine, Kaya Rossi, 3rd Grade Teacher: Betsy Schmidt, Wylie Elementary,...
Beavers are Ecosystem Engineers
Third graders at Wylie Elementary school became aware of beaver activity on Mill Creek in downtown Dexter after reading an article in the SunTimes News. Our class invited expert guest speakers to teach us about the importance of beavers in an ecosystem and did lots of...
Water Consumption Survey Results
My name is Uriel and I have created two survey questions that could help our school further understand the data collected from our water fountain regarding 20 oz bottles saved. By: Uriel, 8th Grade Teacher: Charlene Jones, The James and Grace Lee Boggs School, Detroit...
Water Consumption Contest
The 7th graders studied data from the school water fountain about the amount of 20 oz bottles have been saved. Students studied trends, predicted daily amount saved, and challenged the student body to analyze a graph to predict amount saved by 5/31/22. The students...
Caring for Air
A voice chart that's labeled "How Loud Am I?", with 0-4 decibel levels "This diagram was created to represent my influence as an older student in the school for good! This will help the 3rd-5th graders regulate their voice levels in the hallway so as not to disrupt...
Power of Water: Paint Creek
Students share data collected from nearby Paint Creek including Google maps and photos of erosion from water. By: Ashton Alexander, Amin Campbell, Luiz Figueroa, Aawaiz Khan, Ali Mahmoud, Langston Singleton, Trenton Szymchack, Kevine Tengo, Furious Turner, and...
Rain Garden FAQs
Students share knowledge about rain gardens. By: Robert Caddell, Kamren James, Damarko Jordan, Muneeb Tahir, 11th Grade Teacher: Paula Sizemore, Ypsilanti Community/ACTech HS, Ypsilanti Subject: Earth Science/Environmental Science Theme: Climate Change Resilience and...
Detroit River
The Detroit skyline with a bridge and the Huron River in front of it, view from the highway This image was chosen because this picture looks like home to me. I was born and raised here, and it will always be my home. I was told growing up that “Home is where your...
Cleaning Up Around Our School
What can we do to take matters into our own hands and care for our school/community? Check this out to learn what one class did and how it morphed into so much more. By: Leander, Xuily, Phoebe, Erin, Ryan, Dom, Yuika, Iris, Ellis, Tenzin, Henry, Ily, Madison, Gabby,...
Sacred Heart
A grassy cemetery filled with gravestones of various sizes and trees This image was chosen because cemeteries are a sacred place and I had a recent connection with the sacred nature of a cemetery. This is a poem from a student inspired by how they connected to...
Recycling – A PSA
Many people don't pay attention to where they throw their trash and recycling. We want to teach people how to properly get rid of their "disposable stuff." By: Ben Prall and Brady Gross, 4th Grade Teacher: Anouk Weiss, Wylie Elementary, Dexter Theme: General...
A Greener Detroit
A greener Detroit means more trees in our public parks and better air quality.Note: Student projects may be difficult to hear in spots. Please stay tuned while full written transcripts are being prepared! By: Jacento, 8th Grade Teacher: Kimberly Finley, Bates Academy,...
How does Bullying Impact Student Learning?
For our presentation we will be talking about how bullying has a negative impact on student learning. When students are more concerned about others opinions of them, they can be distracted them from getting an education.Note: Student projects may be difficult to hear...
Beautiful
A color image of a pond with a rocks around the perimenter. A gravestone is on the right side. This image was chosen because while at the cemetery for the field trip, I had the impression that when people come to Bloody Run Creek they think of the ugly past, instead...
Ugly
Close-up of a half burned cigarette laying in a groove on a white piece of plastic This image was chosen because I felt like the cigarette was nasty and ugly because smoking harms us and nature. This is a poem from a student inspired by how they connected to...
A Crime Against Nature
Yellowing grass and a chainlink fence with trees and a grey sky behind it This image was chosen because I felt like the fence in nature was a crime against nature. The fence is dividing the land and the vines are rebelling against it.This is a poem from a student...
Birds of a Feather
A flock of 21 birds flying across a grey sky This image was chosen because birds are important to nature. They are creatures that can do anything; they are like humans but are freer.The following is a poem from a student inspired by how they connected to nature during...
My Shell Broke
A black and white pencil drawing of an egg with a hole cracked into it, laying on the ground The is a drawing from a student inspired by how they connected to nature during a fieldtrip to test the water at the Detroit River, and Bloody Run Creek this school year....
Seagulls on a Lamp Post
A black and white drawing of a seagull sitting on a lamp post, with two clouds in the background This is a drawing from a student inspired by how they connected to nature during a fieldtrip to test the water at the Detroit River, and Bloody Run Creek this school year....
Sacred
Black and white drawing of a tree of two geese on Belle Isle, with a chainlink fence in the background This is a drawing from a student inspired by how they connected to nature during a fieldtrip to test the water at the Detroit River, and Bloody Run Creek this school...
Tree
Black and white drawing of a tree with a chain link fence in the background This is a drawing from a student inspired by how they connected to nature during a fieldtrip to test the water at the Detroit River, and Bloody Run Creek this school year. Enjoy! "This image...
Litter of Cigarettes
A colored pencil drawing of a cigarette in grass This is a drawing from a student inspired by how they connected to nature during a fieldtrip to test the water at the Detroit River, and Bloody Run Creek this school year. Enjoy! "This image was chosen because it makes...
Water, Water, Everywhere
By: Rowan C, Avery J., Ava H., and Kaitlin M., 5th GradeList of all students involved Do your choices on land impact the health of our waters and the critter who live there? Fifth grade students at George Long Elementary will show you what they've learned as...
Humans of Ypsilanti
Lynwood Powell by Ta’Naija T’oliver-Jones Lynwood Powell was born on August 18, 1981. He has 3 kids, 2 boys and 1 girl. Lynwood grew up in Ypsilanti and went to YCS schools. He played football, basketball and ran track. Lynwood graduated from...