Monday, November 12, 2007

McGowen Elementary students travel to Austin with Education in Action’s “Proud to be Texan” program

By Pegasus News wire

AUSTIN – Fourth grade students from the McKinney Independent School District’s McGowen Elementary School recently took a trip to Austin with Education in Action’s Proud to be Texan experiential learning day program on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007. The students visited the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum and the Texas State Capitol and experienced what they are learning in fourth grade Texas History.

Caption not provided by MISD.

"Why are we proud, again?" asked the students.

On the way to Austin, the students discussed why Texans are so proud of their unique heritage and participated in activities and games in preparation for their visit. While in Austin, the students visited the State Capitol where their legislators, State Senator Florence Shapiro, District 8 and State Representative Ken Paxton, District 70 currently hold office. The students saw first-hand where Texas laws are made as they toured the State Capitol including the Senate and House of Representatives chambers.

At the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, students explored exhibits about Texas’s earliest inhabitants, the Texas Revolution and events that created the Lone Star identity. The students’ visit to the museum concluded at the multi-sensory Texas Spirit Theater with the Star of Destiny where they saw and experienced the history of our great state including Spindletop and the 1900 Galveston hurricane.

“Education in Action’s programs are based on the understanding that the most effective way for students to learn is through experience,” said Jennifer Pasteur, Education in Action’s Executive Director. “Student activities during Education in Action’s Proud to be Texan programs reinforce and supplement the fourth grade Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills learning objectives with a focus on why Texans are so proud of their unique heritage.”

Education in Action is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to fostering educated and involved Texans. For more information about Education in Action or Education in Action’s programs, call 817-285-8961, email information@educationinaction.org or visit www.educationinaction.org.

McGowen Elementary School, one of 19 elementary schools in McKinney ISD, opened its doors to students for the first time in August of this year. The school, located at 4300 Columbus Drive is named after Jessie McGowen, a former educator with the district.

Source: MISD

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