2009.01.20
'...the best president ever, baby!'
More than 300 children paraded from the school to a nearby church to watch the inauguration. The school has no auditorium or wide-screen TV, so neighboring Valley View Wesleyan Church opened its doors to the kids.
"Thank you for walking with grace and courtesy," principal Kathleen Tate said as students poured out the front door into the 30-degree day.
The pre-kindergarten through second-grade students wore hand-made construction paper hats, carried posters and flags, blew party horns and shook various noisemakers as they "marched" about 300 yards to the church. Susan Duhon's second-grade class made a flag by using red hand prints for stripes and thumb prints for stars. One boy had written on his paper hat, "We have the best president ever baby!"
Inside the church, the students were well-behaved as they watched the inauguration ceremonies patiently. They applauded heartily when they got their first look at Barack Obama on the church's wide, pull-down screen. Whenever the crowd applauded on TV, the children clapped, too.
Following the ceremony, the students rose from the pews and sang along with "The Star-Spangled Banner," before making a return trip to the school.
- Ralph Berrier
