Grade 4 Lighthouse Project Featured in Documentary Film

The Last Lightkeepers highlights preservation efforts on light stations across New England.

At GUS, students in the fourth grade have studied lighthouses for years. As part of their year-long thematic study of the sea, students learn about the history of life on and alongside oceans. They make trips to various local lighthouses like Eastern Point Light and Hospital Point Light, and tour local Coast Guard stations. For the annual Lighthouse Project, students select a New England lighthouse, research its history and architecture, and build a model replica. They are also required to write detailed research papers and to plan additional talking points for final presentations to their classmates, and parents in a non-pandemic year. Over the years lighthouses featured have ranged from well-known icons like Marblehead Light to those lesser-known, with personal connections to the students, like Bear Island Light. These models are proudly displayed in our lower school lobby each spring.

In October, Fourth Grade Teacher Laura Doyle read a story in the Boston Globe about an upcoming documentary film focused on lighthouses. The Last Lightkeepers shines a light on the individuals and preservation groups that have taken on the responsibility to care for light stations across New England. Interested in seeing if the film would be available for her to screen for her students, she reached out to the filmmaker, Rob Apse.

To Laura’s surprise, he responded almost immediately. As it turns out they were still finalizing the last section of the film, which focuses on getting future generations involved. Apse was interested to learn more about the Lighthouse Project, and, this fall, he and his crew visited the GUS campus to talk more with Laura and her teaching partner Fourth Grade Teacher Kelly Zaval, and to see the student lighthouse models in person.

We are thrilled to share that the film is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Keep an eye out towards the end of the film for some familiar faces - and perhaps lighthouse models.

“People find hope in (lighthouses). It’s almost religious. It’s a thing that draws people to places like this. In this divisive world, I think one of the cool things about a lighthouse is that it doesn’t distinguish between friend and foe. It doesn’t matter. It’s there to save your life. Or warn you. It’s kind of cool.” - Rob Apse