Return to Headlines
The pre-kindergarteners at Columbian Elementary School celebrated the birthday and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with help from the president of the Pueblo branch of the NAACP.
The pre-kindergarteners at Columbian Elementary School celebrated the birthday and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with help from the president of the Pueblo branch of the NAACP.In the classrooms of Bethany Kostecka and Vivian Jesik, the foundation of Dr. King’s message – love, kindness, unity, inclusiveness and freedom – was honored through hands-on activities and the reading of two Dr. King-themed books by Roxanna Mack, President of the Pueblo branch of the NAACP, who was welcomed to Columbian by Principal Jimmie Pool.
“You all are the change we are hoping to see,” President Mack told the little ThunderBolts. “You are all somebodies, and don’t ever forget that.”
After President Mack offered insight into the life of Dr. King, the children engaged in activities designed to reinforce the positive message he worked so hard to provide the world.
The classroom of Ms. Kostecka saw the celebrants create shapes in red (representing kindness) Play-Doh; colored in patterned hands; and decorated cookies.
In Mrs. Jesik’s classroom, the cracking of a brown egg and a white egg reinforced the life lesson that “inside, we are all the same.”
After confirming that the albumen and yoke of each egg were identical, the youngsters completed an art project that reaffirmed this truth, with an application to humankind.
In gratitude for her visit, President Mack was presented with two large hand-made “thank you” cards and a box of chocolates.
The celebration of Dr. King’s Day continued Downtown, where representatives of the NAACP joined with members of the community for a march from the Rawlings Library to El Pueblo History Museum, where the annual program unfolded.
