Across Georgia, the James Edward Oglethorpe Tercentenary commemoration is being marked in different ways. One of the most ambitious is taking place at the Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School in Athens, Georgia. Earlier this year, school principal Dr. Robert Bluett was named by Governor Zell Miller to the James Edward Oglethorpe Tercentenary Commission to help plan and coordinate the celebration. This past summer, Dr. Bluett met with a team of teachers to discuss ways to mark the Tercentenary at Oglethorpe Elementary. Their decision was to involve the entire school in a year-long, multidisciplinary effort within the context of the state's core curriculum.
Prior to the opening of school, a team of Oglethorpe teachers traveled to Savannah to search for educational ideas and materials that could be incorporated into their school commemoration. There, they purchased a print of Oglethorpe meeting with Tomochichi and Mary Musgrove to hang permanently at their school.
Oglethorpe Elementary officially launched its Tercentenary commemoration on August 30, 1996, with a school-wide assembly organized by teachers Dr. Barbara Porter, April Chapman, and Dana Blair. There, Dr. Bluett told students why the Tercentenary was important and how the school would be celebrating it. Subsequently, fifth-grade students sang a chorus of "God Save the King" as a setting for the highlight of the afternoon-a visit with none other than General James Edward Oglethorpe. Dressed in full costume, local actor John Carson assumed the character of Oglethorpe and gave an exciting 20-minute account of his life. Students enjoyed Carson's animated presentationespecially when he brandished his sword to dramatically tell the story of how his soldiers repelled the Spanish attack on St. Simons Island in 1742. Following Oglethorpe's appearance, teachers unveiled the framed Oglethorpe print that will hand permanently at the school
In early October, Dr. Bluett will be traveling to England as part of an official delegation led by Governor Miller to mark the Oglethorpe Tercentenary in London, Oxford, Godalming, and Cranham-all sites associated with Oglethorpe's life. Each class at Oglethorpe Elementary is making something about themselves or their school for him to carry to their sister elementary schoolOglethorpe Primary Schoolin Cranham, England. In 1983, June Baldwin (then principal of Oglethorpe Elementary') accompanied a delegation of 50 Georgians to England to commemorate Georgia's 250th birthday. That group visited the Oglethorpe school in Cranham, which is located near the site of James Oglethorpe's grave, and the two schools have maintained a sister relationship since.
Other ways Oglethorpe Elementary is celebrating the Tercentenary include:
· a larger-than-life mural in the assembly area prepared by teachers Peggy Rowden and Melanie Elliott (with the painting assistance of their students). Portrayed in the mural are (from left to right) Nobel Jones, Mary Musgrove, Tomochichi, James Oglethorpe, Elizabeth Oglethorpe, King George II, and Sir John Percival
· a 25-foot Oglethorpe timeline on the wall of the assembly area (prepared by teacher Karen Scharps)
· a school assembly with a speaker giving a perspective on the life of James Oglethorpe
· "fish and chips" day in the cafeteria
· "share days" each month (classes will give 15-minute programs about what they have learned about James Oglethorpe and the era in which he lived)
· "Blast from the Past" time each Friday (organized by teachers Eunice Tritt and Angela Harris)
· English lunch days in the cafeteria
· English teas and treats (e.g., scones, sweets, crumpets, etc.)
· a special program on the commemoration for parents
· English Christmas celebration
· Birthday cake on Dec. 20
· Oglethorpe Birthday Celebration Day (with open house, dignitaries, and class displays)
· Georgia Day Celebration (February 12)
· Fine Arts Night celebration of fine arts during the time of Oglethorpe
· English fairy tales and poetry program (by teachers Betty Hope, Patty Jones, and Jayne Mendenhall)
· "High Tea" time
Other activities and events are planned during the 1996-97 celebration, but as you can see Oglethorpe Elementary is not only commemorating the Oglethorpe Tercentenary is a grand scale but within an educational, multidisciplinary context.
Dr. Bluett will be one of several presenters at a session on classroom strategies for commemorating the Oglethorpe Tercentenary at the 1996 annual conference of the Georgia Council for the Social Studies on October 24. The session will be held 1:00 - 2:15 p.m. in the Atlanta 2 room of the Radisson Hotel in Atlanta. Handouts will be available, including details on the Oglethorpe Elementary project.
Oglethorpe Elementary teacher Peggy Rowden encourages any
other teachers with ideas to contact her, as she is developing a packet
of materials on how schools can commemorate the Oglethorpe Tercentenary.
You can write her in care of Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School, 1150 Oglethorpe
Ave., Athens, GA 30606, call her at school (706) 354-1655, or e-mail her
at home (QNMX38A@prodigy.com).
