Deep in the heart of Texas: School celebrates Independence Day with music and special guests

Centennial Elementary School was transformed into a Texas hoedown on Wednesday in honor of Friday's state Independence Day.

Faculty and staff held the "Texas Day" festival, which engrossed their students in all things that make the Lone Star State the proudest in the nation.

The Plano school has held Texas Day since it opened its doors 13 years ago, and the event evolved it from fourth grade curriculum into a school-wide, day-long event. The celebration serves as a hands-on way for students to learn about Texas' rich history in a fun learning environment, while instilling that sense of pride every Texan is known for.

"We have such a diverse culture, it lets [the students] learn about Texas and where they are living in now," said Janet Napoli, principal of Centennial Elementary School. "I'm a native Texan and it's almost like we are different from other places. We had this big mass of country [in the beginning], we have a little bit of everything here and so we just have this pride about it."

Decked out in cowboy hats, bandanas, rhinestone belts and boots, students and teachers spent the day learning about Texas' heritage through educational performances that had them kicking up their heels and asking for more. From square dancing and banjo-picking to blacksmith lessons and washboard laundering, children visited multiple stations featuring various aspects of the Old West. Each event taught a little something unique about how Texas became the state it is today.

Each grade was assigned one of the six flags of Texas as the focal point for their lesson and craft project. For example, third graders built teepees in honor of the relationship that was forged between the French and the Native Americans, while fourth-grade classes painted maracas as part of their lesson on Mexico's influence.

Coordinator Angela Harris said she remembers learning about all things Texas in school and recalled how much of an impression the information made on her and how she wants to pass on this tradition to future generations.

"Each grade learns about what was big during that time period," Harris said. "The majority of the folks living here are transplants, so this really gives kids an understanding of the culture of Texas. There's so much to learn about Texas, it takes a long time to learn about all the parts that go along with being a Texan."

Students received their "passport to Texas," which included a map, coloring pages, the state pledge and autograph pages for their special guests to sign.

Civil War re-enactor Kevin Doughtrie and Sac & Fox tribal nation member Tony Conallis explained their historic roles in the making of Texas in the school's library. Both were pleased at how engaged the students were, and how eager they were to learn about a soldier's life on the frontier and a Native American's contrasting heritage.

"I enjoy working with children, they're great," Doughtrie said. "History is so important; you need to know where you came from to know where you are going."

Down the hall in the gym, the Levee Singers entertained the masses with old-timey hits like "You Are My Sunshine," "Cool Water" and "The Eyes of Texas," and have been a feature at the event since the school opened. Ed Bernet and Ralph Sanford had kids dancing and clapping their hands to the beat of the duo's four-string tenor banjo and acoustic guitar, a sight Bernet said makes every year all the more worthwhile.

"It shows them that music is fun and is an important part of our lives," Bernet said. "It's really fun for us to be able to please all ages. They have so much enthusiasm."

In between lunch periods that featured a serenading mariachi band, students rotated through several stations set up in the front of the school ran by staff and volunteers from the Heritage Farmstead Museum. Students tried their hand in washing clothes on a washboard and learned about how people made their clothes and tools with spinning and blacksmith demonstrations.

With school budget cuts eliminating third grade tours to the museum, events like these are a great way to reconnect with students, said Kathy Strobel, the museum's education director.

"We thought this would be a valuable way to give back," Strobel said. "All of our volunteers love this kind of stuff, it's like a dose of medicine for them."

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