One of the events I always look forward to each year is going down to the Lower School to take in the presentations our 4th graders make for the Living History Museum. This year was no exception. As you enter, you quickly see these youngsters dressed up in their colonial garb as some of the famous dignitaries (or not so famous in many cases) of the period. One thing that struck me this year was the inclusion of some historical figures of whom I’d never heard. Racheal Ballenger regaled me with a very thorough recitation about the extremely interesting and groundbreaking life of a slave from the era, Mum Bet. Likewise, Isala Leksrisawat enlightened me about the “female Paul Revere,” Sybil Ludington. Lucas Snow took on the decidedly unpopular King George III – what a brave choice! When Hawa Muse gave her talk about Molly Pitcher, I asked her what she took away from Pitcher’s life, and she exclaimed, “Women can do anything!” And I earned a $100 Ben Franklin buck from Luke Walden, so I’ve got that going for me. But seriously, this is such a worthwhile project for our 4th graders and parallels the experience they will have as 8th graders doing their Capstone Project in four years. Congratulations to all of our 4th grade scholars and teachers Sarah Dewberry and Joanne Brock for guiding them with hands-on and off expertise. Here is a quote from Sarah on the process:

“After two months of hard work and research, the 4th graders presented their Living History Museum on Tuesday. Each student chose a person who had an influence on early American history, specifically during the 1600s and 1700s. In addition to the obvious George Washingtons and Thomas Jeffersons, we also had Benedict Arnold, King George III, Sybil Ludington, and Benjamin Banneker. After lessons in how to find safe and reputable websites during digital literacy class, the students supplemented their information with some online research. Students took notes and organized their information into a biographical report, then created a visual project to go along with their presentation. On Tuesday, they presented their projects to their parents and the entire Goshen Campus community. This is a great example of one unit that incorporates content from many classes: language arts, social studies, and digital literacy.”

I also wanted to take a moment to congratulate 6th grader Molly Waggener for her participation last weekend in the ACDA National Honor Choir in Kansas City! Yes, national honor choir! Molly was one of 13 students selected from Kentucky out of 300 students nationwide to receive this experience and accolade. It says a great deal about Molly and the SFS music program (which we know is top-notch!) that she earned this exclusive ticket. I’m sure it was a weekend she’ll never forget!