Straughn Elementary School and W.S. Harlan Elementary School both received a commendation from Gov. Kay Ivey this week for being an Alabama Bicentennial School Participant.

“This is very exciting,” SES Principal Bettye Anne Older said. “We will fly our bicentennial flag in December of 2019 when the capitol holds the closing ceremonies.”

The fourth graders at SES have been doing projects and learning about Alabama history all semester.

“They have notebooks that they have put together filled with several different things including research about famous Alabamians, who our congressmen and women are, and little details about the history of Alabama,” Older said. “They have also been taking several field trips and went to a Walk In the Forest at the Conecuh National Forest, to learn all about it.”

WSHES has been celebrating the state’s upcoming birthday by recording public service announcements that are featured on WOPP and on the school’s webpage.

“It is an honor to be recognized,” fourth grader Ellie Odom said. “Especially by our state’s second female governor.”

The Alabama Bicentennial Commission encourages all K-12 schools to participate in the commemoration of the state of Alabama’s bicentennial.

Schools can still fill out the school participation form at www.alabama200.org and will receive a commendation from Gov. Ivey that they can frame and display at their school. Schools will also receive access to official bicentennial logos and a special flag.

Schools can also apply to become a Designated Alabama Bicentennial School and receive a $2,000 grant. To achieve this, schools must develop a proposal that engages in community outreach and improvement projects to connect their classrooms with their local communities.

Up to 200 schools will be selected to be an Alabama Bicentennial School.

Twenty-one schools, three from each of Alabama’s seven Congressional districts, will be recognized as Bicentennial Schools of Excellence and will participate in commemoration ceremonies in Montgomery.

In order to qualify, all schools designated as Alabama bicentennial schools have to submit a final report on their school project.