After school on Thurs., Dec. 7, freshmen in the world history classes invited their friends and family members as well as other staff members for the annual Family History Night.

For months, these students have been working on projects for this night, picking an ancestor to research and learn more about. They interviewed their family members to gain their perspectives.

The end result was a tri-fold board that presented what they had learned.

Two freshmen have shared their experiences with Family History Night and the preparations they had made.

Maria (Marilene) van den Berg:

What is your favorite aspect regarding long-term projects?

My favorite aspect about long-term projects is the flexibility. I can finish the project the night I get it, or procrastinate and still get it done. I don’t have an assignment hanging over my head for a night, but I know that I have a longer time to do it, so it makes me less stressed out.

Do you believe you learned more through this project rather than textbook readings?

I definitely learned more than through a textbook. I got to research a lot of interesting things about my country: the Netherlands. I also got to learn a lot about my grandma that I would have never known before! Overall, this was a pretty awesome experience.

Give a few examples about how you learned more about your family/history from your Family History Project.

I got to interview my grandma personally, practice my Dutch, and learn more about my grandma’s past from my dad. I learned interesting facts and pieces of history of the Netherlands, and it was especially interesting to see how that tied into my grandma’s life growing up.

How did you dress for Thursday night? What food did you bring to represent your country?

I wore my clogs and my grandma’s socks and brought plenty of Dutch food. I come from the Netherlands, so my mom can make any meal from there. I brought Appeltaart (Apple Pie), Stroopwafels (Caramel Wafers), and Hutspot (Dutch Christmas Meal). My clogs are from the Netherlands, bought there since my family visits there frequently. My family actually wears them there, so I thought it would be fun to show people that people really do wear clogs in the Netherlands.

Grace Zhang:

What is your favorite aspect regarding long-term projects?

As odd as it sounds, I actually enjoy long-term projects. It allows me to plan ahead and gives me room to do work whenever, depending on my schedule. In addition, I won’t need to worry about many assignments in a certain class since the long-term project is the primary focus.

Do you believe you learned more through this project rather than textbook readings?

While textbook readings are definitely beneficial, I learned a lot more from the Family History Project – mainly because the topic was more interesting, so I was able to retain more information.

Give a few examples about how you learned more about your family/history from your Family History Project.

I never really knew a whole lot about my grandma other than a couple bits and pieces from other family members. By talking to my grandma, I learned so much more about her, realizing just how similar we are.

How did you dress for Thursday night? What food did you bring to represent your country?

Although food and dress are extra credit, I decided to keep it simple by only dressing up in a traditional Chinese dress: a qipao.