Day 4: The day started with a tour of the US Capitol. The Rotunda was beautiful and full of our shared history. We followed that up with a visit to the Supreme Court. We didn't get to go in because they were in session on that day. Witnessed a group of people at a peaceful rally discussing copyright law. We also saw the Fox News Supreme Court correspondent getting ready for a live report. Next up was a trip to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum where we saw the Hope Diamond as well as the Selenite Crystal from The Great Salt Plains salt flats. We finished the day with a meal at the Yardhouse in Chinatown.
Baseball changes for tomorrow, March 25th. ⚾️
Day 3: Action packed with stops at the US Holocaust Memorial, Ford's Theatre, Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, FDR Memorial, and Thomas Jefferson Memorial at the Tidal Basin. These were all super moving tributes to some of the best of us. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garme nt of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly." Martin Luther King Jr. - Alabama, 1963
8th Grade Promotion Parent Meeting
Day 2 Night Tour: The group traveled to the Big Four (WWII Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and Lincoln Memorial) for a night tour on Day 2. During our trip to the Vietnam Memorial, we were able to locate Donald Yearout's name on the wall. Donald wa a graduate of Okeene High School and lost his life in Vietnam.
Engraved at the World War II Memorial: THE WAR’S END
TODAY THE GUNS ARE SILENT. A GREAT TRAGEDY
HAS ENDED. A GREAT VICTORY HAS BEEN WON. THE SKIES
NO LONGER RAIN DEATH – THE SEAS BEAR ONLY COMMERCE –
MEN EVERYWHERE WALK UPRIGHT IN THE SUNLIGHT.
THE ENTIRE WORLD IS QUIETLY AT PEACE. - Gen Douglass McArthur
Day 2 Part II: Day 2 was full to say the least. The group walked 12 miles on that day alone and covered a lot of topics and sites. After Arlington National Cemetery, the group traveled to the Smithsonian Museum of American History, then United States Holocaust Museum and Memorial. Here are just a few pics of that day.
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me. - Martin Neimoller
Day 2 of our G & T trip to Washington DC took us to several sites: Arlington National Cemetery, The Smithsonian Museum of American History, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Pentagon City Mall, and a night tour of the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and World War II Memorial. Live a life worth their sacrifice has been our theme for this school year. Today’s experiences were a moving connection to our school theme.
Ronald Reagan: Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on Earth. The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price….Those who say that we're in a time when there are not heroes, they just don't know where to look….Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery, with its row upon row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David. They add up to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid for our freedom.
Each one of those markers is a monument to the kind of hero I spoke of earlier. Their lives ended in places called Belleau Wood, The Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno, and halfway around the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam.
Under one such marker lies a young man, Martin Treptow, who left his job in a small town barbershop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division. There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire.
We're told that on his body was found a diary. On the flyleaf under the heading, ''My Pledge,'' he had written these words: ''America must win this war. Therefore I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone.''
A few more pics from Day 1!!!
Day 1 Gifted and Talented Washington DC Trip!!! The day started by leaving Okeene at 2AM in the morning to catch a Red Eye flight out of OKC. We caught a connecting flight in St. Louis and landed in DC at 11:00AM. First order of business was to teach the students how to use the Metro (subway) to get to the hotel. The first day was packed with activities including: The White House Visitor's Center, White House photo opportunity, The Smithsonian's Renwick Art Gallery, and dinner at Hill Country BBQ. We also stumbled onto a street that was being shut down for a Presidential Motorcade. Came within 20 feet of President Biden speeding by in the motorcade.
Full Day for sure, but more to come.
Time change for the baseball tournament today!
The kindergarten students were challenged to read 1,000 sight/AR words from January to March 13. They knocked it out of the park and they read OVER 16,000 words!! As a reward they got to pie Mrs. Knight, Mr. Regier, and Coach Booth!
Our Elementary Merrifield Office Supply Teacher of the Month for March is Mrs. Wardlaw!
Attention 8th Grade Parents
Our Elementary PE department is excited because these were donated by an anonymous donor. Thank you to them and Dtree Designs for this cool asset to our program!
Kindergarten students really enjoyed learning all about drones! Each student was able to fly the drone - and some learned to do tricks! Thank you Mrs. Hutchinson for making STEM so fun!
Cherokee Strip Conference Baseball Bracket ⚾️
Thanks, Mrs. Hutchinson, for teaching 3rd grade how to use drones! They had a blast!
Thanks to private donations, snow cone sales, and the support from our administration, nearly 1/3 of our student body was able to attend the Broadway show Wicked on Wednesday. Over the past few months, the dedicated students gave up their lunches to meet and learn about the story behind the Wizard of Oz, read additional books, watch videos, learn the songs, and learn the appropriate etiquette to prepare for our big day. They worked hard to earn this night and we are proud of them. Thank you to everyone that helped make this night possible. Great job to our students for going above and beyond.
We also enjoyed a great dinner together and had a few extra minutes to stop at the memorial and get a history lesson from Mr. Feely.
What a great experience for our Okeene students!
Congratulations! 📣
Mr. Woolley's 6th graders were privileged to have instruction from some very knowledgeable teachers in Mrs. Hutchison's STEM class.
