Youngsters at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School doubled their birthday fun on Nov. 16.
Toward the end of the school day, the Wildcats cut into special cakes as they commemorated not just the Oklahoma centennial, which honored 100 years of statehood, but the school's 50th anniversary as well. Students, parents and staff members flooded an outside playground area toward the back of the school for all of Wilson's special events, which included an assembly featuring singing and square dancing among other activities.
“The students have thoroughly enjoyed our celebrations,” said principal Sandra Kent. “We sang ‘Happy Birthday' to both Oklahoma and Wilson.”
While Wilson marked a dual milestone on Nov. 16, students throughout the Bartlesville Public School District took the opportunity to celebrate their state. Elementary school students and staff members dressed up in their favorite attire circa 1907 and enjoyed birthday cake and other special treats. The Operation Eagle dancers made their way out to a few buildings while students at Jane Phillips Elementary posed for a special photo opportunity outside of their school.
With a chalk outline of the state of Oklahoma , students grouped themselves within the boundaries as teachers and other Jane Phillips staff members helped to comprise the northern border. The students were dressed in tye-dyed T-shits, which they had made themselves.
“You could tell by the smiles on their faces that the students were really having a good time,” said Christina Rigdon, the school's family support coordinator. “We had a lot of parents who came out to the school and celebrated with us.
“It's not every day that you get to have birthday cake and have your family with you.”
Bartlesville High School and the Bartlesville Mid-High School got a jump on the centennial by holding special assemblies on Nov. 15. At the Mid-High, snippets of songs from Sooner State artists as well as the musical “Oklahoma” played between classes.
The younger children at the Will Rogers Early Childhood Center, which features pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students, read books about the Sooner State and discussed different facts about Oklahoma on Nov. 16. Even the Little Ropers' lunch was centennial themed.
State representative Earl Sears, the former principal at Central Middle School, spoke during an assembly at Jane Phillips while ConocoPhillips' Lanny Seals, dressed as Phillips Petroleum Company founder Frank Phillips, served as the master of ceremonies at Wilson.
The morning assembly at Oak Park Elementary School – put on by the fourth and fifth grades – focused on famous Oklahomans.
As the school day wound down at Wilson, parents and students still lingered in the playground area as the celebration neared its conclusion. Youngsters in cowboy hats and bandannas merrily consumed cake as their weekend got off to a noteworthy start.
“The students were very excited,” said Kent. “And, they were very engaged.
“They enjoyed being a part of history.”
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Students at Jane Phillips Elementary School form the shape of Oklahoma in celebration of the state centennial on Nov. 16. Below, students and staff members throughout the Bartlesville Public School District - including those at Wayside Elementary School (pictured below) - recognized the 100th birthday of the Sooner State.
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