Citizenship Breakfast – Honoring Remarkable Citizens

During the month of May, fourth-graders explored and researched what it means to be a good citizen. We studied the impact that people from history such as Susan B. Anthony, Thurgood Marshall, Abigail Adams, and Sojourner Truth had on citizenship. Narrowing it down, we focused on our beautiful Santa Barbara community and asked ourselves Who are the game changers in our neighborhoods?

As a class, we determined that being a good citizen boils down to strong character. Recognizing the six pillars of character: respect, trustworthiness, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship was a crucial step in determining who our honored guests for the annual Citizenship Breakfast would be. After identifying a person in the community who has/had made an impact in their lives, students wrote and mailed formal invitations, made phone calls from the classroom, and prepared speeches for their noteworthy guests.

Today, as a culminating event to our unit of study, we celebrated and honored these valuable members of our community. As we shared a delicious breakfast, we listened to our wonderful keynote speaker, Victoria Strong, who founded the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation and NEVER GIVE UP. nonprofit apparel brand with her husband. Her powerful message encouraged us all to have the audacity to believe that we CAN make a difference!

We would like to thank our amazing guests, who are listed below, for taking time out of their busy schedules so we could recognize their influence in our lives.