Inauguration Festivities Under Way In Wicomico Schools

Inauguration Festivities Under Way in Wicomico Schools, Many Learning Activities Planned for Jan. 20

Presidential Inauguration learning activities have already been taking place in Wicomico Schools, and Inauguration festivities began Thursday as Pinehurst Elementary School held an inaguration rally with special guest speaker Dr. John Fredericksen, superintendent of schools. The event at Pinehurst included a parade and a mock swearing in as part of the assembly, and staff members performing patriotic songs.

Most events will take place Tuesday, the day the actual inauguration will occur just a couple of hours away from Wicomico County. Wicomico County students will learn more about their country's government through hands-on activities, and participate in the swearing in of a new president by viewing the actual events and taking part in elections and inaugural parades and balls. Each teacher and school was invited to design their own activities.

Inauguration Learning Activities Scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 20

West Salisbury Elementary

West Salisbury has planned age-appropriate learning activities leading for the Inauguration. As the Obama children look forward to getting the promised new puppy, our prekindergarten and kindergarten students will learn of the responsibilities in caring for others and pets at home and in the community. In addition to receiving a visit from Linda Lugo of the Humane Society, the students will oversee a school-wide fund raiser entitled “Pennies for Pets, ” with the money awarded to our local Humane Society. Students will also create a Pet Picture wall for all to enjoy. First-graders will experience an online tour of the White House and learn about why new inhabitants of the White House often redecorate to best represent themselves and their nation; students will then participate in an activity where they will decorate and design a classroom that would best serve their learning needs and make an appropriate representation of our school. A wall of classroom designs will be on display for our school to view and enjoy. First graders will also nominate names for our hallways that relate to good citizenship and our school-wide Positive Behavior Intervention and Support plan. Second-graders have learned about the purpose and history of the Inauguration and they will participate in the celebration process. Students will have a formal luncheon, an Inaugural Parade and an Inaugural Ball. At the Ball, children will perform dances that represent the many cultural experiences of President Obama. All students and staff are encouraged to show their patriotism Jan. 20 by wearing Red, White and Blue, and the entire school will view the televised swearing in of the new President.

Prince Street Elementary

Wauchilue Jackson-Snyder, principal of Prince Street, will be attending the Inaugural event in Washington and will be reporting back to staff and students via the morning announcements when she returns. Supplementary materials have been provided for all students, consisting of a coloring activity book for primary students, and activity packets for intermediate students. Teachers will be completing activities utilizing these materials and various other technology-based instructional resources to supplement their instructional activities in progress this month, leading up to the inauguration on the 20th. Student elections have been timed by grade level teachers to coincide with the actual inauguration. The Inaugural event will be televised live to all classrooms and common areas via our closed captioned televisions. All students will view the inaugural event including the swearing in of Mr. Obama and his speech. Inauguration learning activities will be going on in classrooms throughout the day Jan. 20, as they have been in the days leading up to the historic event.

Pemberton Elementary School

The school has been using its morning announcements to have regular pieces highlighting the inauguration. At 8:55 a.m., Pemberton will have a Culminating Quiz Show using the school-wide televised broadcasting system for this interactive event. At noon, students and staff in our entire building will be tuning in to watch the Inauguration Ceremony. Teachers have created engaging and elaborate inauguration lessons leading up to and including the day of the event.

North Salisbury Elementary

North Salisbury will recognize this unique moment in the nation's history by broadcasting a special NSS Live Inauguration 2009 presentation on the school's closed circuit television channel. NSS staff and students have worked in collaboration to devise this special program to be broadcast at 9 a.m. school-wide. The program will begin with our grade 4 reading intervention students presenting a skit noting the significance of this historic event while highlighting Inauguration facts. Following the skit, North Salisbury's Obama impersonator, fifth- grade student Dante Barnes, will take the presidential oath of office. (Dante played Obama in the NSS campaign rally in October and was elected overwhelmingly by the student body to be president.) Finally, the program will conclude with members from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade chorus singing "Hail to the Chief."

Glen Avenue Elementary

Having elected a President and Vice President from current Student Council members, Glen Avenue will hold its own Inauguration ceremony. The Student Council president-elect and his/her running mate will be escorted to school by administration. The president-elect will take an oath of office during the morning announcements and then proceed through the building with a parade. Following the parade, the president will proceed with an inaugural address and the national anthem will be shared. At noon the school focus on Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony and celebrate this historical event as a school. Students will view the televised event, and classroom discussions will follow.

Westside Primary

Lunch shifts have been adjusted so all students at Westside Primary can watch the Swearing in Ceremony in their classrooms on our large Promethean screens. Teachers have been given a great number of resources from which to choose activities. Some of the activities that will be occurring here on January 20th include Promethean Activity about events on inauguration day, Obama Poster, pre-kindergarten Travel Buddy is from Chicago and "knows Obama," use of periodicals, symbols of Washington and map skills, President Song (Dr. Jean Song), and books from the media center.

Pittsville Elementary and Middle

Leading up to Inauguration Day, the assistant principal has done daily announcements to share with students historical inauguration quotes, the Presidential oath of office, and other inaugural facts. Students could earn prizes by accurately answering challenge questions on the 2009 Presidential Inauguration and previous inaugurations. Inauguration Day will be a school-wide Dress-up Day, with students and staff encouraged to dress their best and prizes given to the best dressers. Students have learned about Presidential Inaugurations in the days leading up to the 20th and will continue to do so on this day. Hyperlink resources and lessons have been provided to teachers from education and government websites. Teachers will actively engage students in reflection upon the personal meaning of the Presidential election process and Inauguration, including the significance of the first African-American president. The entire school will view the Oath of Office and the Presidential Inauguration speech via television and online streaming.

Charles H. Chipman Elementary

Leading up to the Inauguration, students heard an age-appropriate biography of Barack Obama. On the morning of the 20th, the entire school will conclude the morning announcements by singing "Hail to the Chief." Inauguration Day will be a school-wide dress-up day. Students will use the current Weekly Reader issue to learn more about the new president and he inaugural process. Classes will watch the inauguration ceremony, and some parents will join their children for the event. Viewing other Inauguration Day events and conducting other activities will be done at the discretion of the teacher or grade-level team. Students may discuss the three major events of the inauguration (ceremony at Capitol, parade, Inaugural Ball), compare/contrast symbolism of the Seal of the President and the Great Seal of the United States, write a letter to our new president, discuss how President-Elect Obama may have prepared for the Inaugural Ceremony, discuss current issues and how the new administration will affect the American people, discuss the theme "Renewing America’s Promise" and make a collage, banner, or other item showing what the theme means to them.

Fruitland Primary

Throughout the week before the Inauguration, teachers have been reviewing the election process, discussing the historical impact of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and getting to know the incoming president and vice president. On Inauguration Day, students will create portraits of President Obama in art class, experience music from the Inaugural Ball in music class, write about what they would do as president, become TV anchors to ask questions of the new president, and watch the swearing in.


Willards Elementary

Student anchors have been sharing inaugural and presidential information on the morning announcements. In classes, students of different grade levels have learned more about the president, the inauguration and leadership. Prekindergarten students learned about Barack Obama and his family and where they will live, put together an Obama puzzle, and talked about why a president is needed. Kindergartners created a presidential coin. First- and second-graders used the internet to build their knowledge about the Inauguration. On Jan. 20, the entire school will demonstrate its patriotism by wearing red, white and blue. Everyone will participate in an Inaugural parade using banners, flags and hats. Students and staff will watch the swearing in either in their classrooms or in the cafeteria.

Beaver Run Elementary

Inauguration Day will be Red, White and Blue Day at Beaver Run. Classroom teachers will conduct social studies lessons in the morning, building background knowledge in preparation for the inauguration of the President. The school will tape the inauguration as it occurs so that students may see it, one grade at a time, in the media center. Tables will be cleared so that they may all sit together to view the actual swearing in of the president. "Hail to the Chief" will be played as students arrive. A facilitator will discuss what they are going to watch and why it is significant. In the cafeteria, another grade level will make a foldable book craft to take home as a memento. Another grade will be in the gym to dance at an Inaugural Ball. The grades will rotate to do all three activities. Every child who participates in these activities will receive a souvenir, a Barack Obama silicone bracelet with card.

Northwestern Elementary

Throughout January, students have learned about the democratic process, elections, inaugural trivia and the president-elect in classroom and grade-level lessons. One reading group is developing a biography of Barack Obama. Students will watch the swearing in Jan. 20.

Delmar Elementary

The school will have a mock inauguration swearing-in ceremony. Students will provide musical selections and self-developed speeches. This will be performed for the entire school at approximately 9 a.m. and 10 a.m.. This will prepare students to watch the actual inauguration ceremony beginning at 11:30 a.m. In addition, students and staff will wear red, white and blue to celebrate this historical event. Prior to this day teachers have been utilizing lessons to prepare students for the inauguration.

Westside Intermediate

Students will be working on Obama activity booklets and bookmarks. They'll be learning about the Inauguration, the Constitution, past elections and other historic inaugurations. The students will all be eating a bag lunch together and then watching the swearing in ceremony from the cafeteria. Two teachers are going to the Inauguration and they will be bringing back pictures and information.

Salisbury Middle

Students have been asked to dress on Jan. 20 as if they are actually attending the ceremony. At 7:53am, students will arrive to the strains of "Hail to the Chief" and enter a school building decorated with streamers. Students who have dressed professionally for this day will be able to have their picture taken giving their own inaugural speech or standing with a life-size picture of Barack Obama. Students will watch the swearing in and inaugural speech in their classrooms. Parents and alumni have been invited to visit the school to watch the inauguration, and parents and children can watch together in the cafeteria.