OFE News Release
Students to Journey Back in Time During Colonial Day at the Capitol
January 31, 2012
OKLAHOMA CITY – Fifth-grade students from schools in ARDMORE, CLAREMORE, LITTLE AXE, MOORE, SAND SPRINGS and TULSA will be traveling back into American history on Friday, Feb. 3, when they participate in Colonial Day at the Capitol. Activities will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 1:35 p.m. on the second and fourth floors of the Oklahoma State Capitol building.
Highlighting this year’s Colonial Day will be special appearances by Colonial Williamsburg historical interpreter Darci Tucker, who will portray Lady Dunmore, the first lady of Colonial Virginia from 1770-1775; and Mount Vernon historical interpreter Tom Plott, who will portray Dr. James Craik, George Washington’s close friend and personal physician.
More than 500 Oklahoma fifth-graders dressed in colonial-period attire will journey back in time to meet historical figures and participate in such teacher-led sessions as colonial games, revolutionary soldier life, silver smithing, revolutionary spies and archaeology. The day will include a giant, student-led Bill of Rights rap musical performance at 9:30 a.m. in the House of Representatives Chambers and debates between young patriots fighting for America’s independence and loyalists faithful to Britain’s king.
Oklahoma is the only state in the nation to host a Colonial Day event at its state capitol. The annual event is coordinated by teachers who have participated in the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute through a fellowship program administered by the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. Teresa Potter of Fisher Elementary School in MOORE and Jan Morris of Cleveland Bailey Elementary School in MIDWEST CITY are coordinators of the annual event, which is presented in partnership with the foundation.
“Colonial Day is an engaging and action-packed day of learning that brings early American history to life for Oklahoma students,” Potter said. “By attending this event right in the legislative, executive and judicial chambers of our State Capitol, students also get to make connections between the founders of our Constitution and the freedoms and responsibilities we enjoy today as U.S. citizens.”
Other historical guests at Colonial Day include Benjamin Franklin, portrayed by Tulsa actor and educator Stephen Smith; Paul Revere and a Revolutionary War soldier, played by Oklahoma History Center education outreach staff members Walter Eskridge and Jason Harris, respectively; one of America’s first female political activists Penelope Barker, portrayed by Teresa Potter; and young patriot women Sybil Ludington and Tempe Wick portrayed by high school students Brooke Potter of Moore and Robyn Wheelock of Norman.
The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence will recognize winners of its Colonial Day Literature Contest during opening ceremonies at 9:30 a.m. in the House of Representatives Chambers. Lady Dunmore will present a plaque and $100 to literature contest winner Audrey Smith of Anderson Elementary School in Sand Springs. The theme of the annual contest is “What It Means to Be an American.” Audrey’s essay is about her great-grandmother, who pursued her college degree at the age of 50 and went on to open the first all-woman CPA firm in California. The essay acknowledges great women pioneers in American history who helped pave the way for Audrey’s grandmother and girls of today.
Elementary schools participating in Colonial Day at the Capitol are Dickson Elementary School in ARDMORE, Westside Elementary School in CLAREMORE, Little Axe Elementary School in LITTLE AXE, Briarwood and Fisher Elementary Schools in MOORE; Anderson Elementary School in SAND SPRINGS, and Monte Cassino Middle School in TULSA.
Colonial Day at the Capitol is made possible with support from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, Kirkpatrick Foundation Inc., the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Oklahoma, Charles L. Oppenheim of Oklahoma City, Residence Inn by Marriott Oklahoma City Downtown/Bricktown, Panera Bread, Mattocks Printing Co., Catherine Wootten and the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. The event is also funded in part by a grant from the Oklahoma Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed during Colonial Day do not necessarily represent those of the Oklahoma Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence encourages the creation of Colonial Day events throughout the state and has provided a resource for teachers at www.colonialday.org. For information, contact Brenda Wheelock, Colonial Day liaison for the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, at (405) 236-0006.