On May 1, 2011 at 3 pm, 6^th and 8^th grade students from Katherine Brennan and Worthington Hooker Schools of New Haven, CT will convene at the May Day Festival on the New Haven Green to celebrate labor history with a reading and musical performance.  The performance marks the culmination of the “Family Work History Project,” a collaboration between the Greater New Haven Labor History Association and New Haven Public Schools which began in February.  The performance is free and open to the public.

Students will read excerpts from essays they have written about mentors in the labor force, based on material they have gathered through oral history interviews about their mentors’ work experiences.  Following the reading, music educator and song-writer Mike Kachuba will lead the students in song with “They Did Their Part,” an original composition he has written based on the students’ collective stories. 

Kachuba is known for his curriculum-based work with children across Connecticut.  When writing the song, he sought to incorporate common themes from the students’ essays, including immigration, struggle, perseverance and lessons learned from those who came before us.  He says: “I think the music has a bit of a ‘cool’ factor to it, and I think it's also easy for people to sing.”  For more information about Mike Kachuba, visit http://web.mac.com/mikekachuba.