McKenny Elementary Students Make the Governor’s Christmas a Little Brighter

mckenney ornaments
Ms. O'Halloran's students proudly share their bird feather ornaments
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By Lynn West

putnam lieb logoThe Christmas tree at the Governor’s Mansion is truly a work of art.  Walking past the imposing Evergreen was even more impressive knowing that K-12 students from around the state had created many of the ornaments. I might never have heard about this project if I hadn’t been eating breakfast with my fourth grade granddaughter one recent morning. With a forkful of pancakes in mid-air, she intently looked at the woods behind our house.  Knowing her Grandpa was into birds, she asked, “Is that a Scrub Jay on that branch?” None of us were as quick as she, so we missed it, but we certainly haven’t missed seeing the beautiful Scrub Jay ornament Lucy made for the Governor’s Christmas tree.

mckenney ornaments
Ms. O’Halloran’s students proudly share their bird feather ornaments

Lucy’s fourth/fifth grade classroom at McKenny Elementary in the Olympia School District is one of the eight schools chosen to participate in the ornament project.  Her teacher, Janet O’Halloran, suggested I contact Ann Banks, the Program Supervisor of the Arts at the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to learn more. Ann explained that Washington State’s first lady, Trudi Inslee, contacted her a year ago hoping students could help decorate the Mansion tree. She suggested a nature theme for 2013, and the response was good. However, according to Ann, “it was nothing like the overwhelming number of applications this year.”

Nisqually Middle School in the North Thurston Public Schools district was the other Thurston County school chosen to create the 2014 ornaments with the theme of Washington States’ native birds.

mckenney ornaments
Students place duplicate ornaments on their classroom tree.

Ms. O’Halloran invited me into her classroom to hear first hand from the student artists, and, of course, to see their ornaments.  In merging history, art and school pride, Ms. O’Halloran focused on Margaret McKenny’s (1885-1969) love of nature, and especially birds, in initiating the project with the students.

Sharing information about their school’s namesake became a flowing narrative. Fourth grade student, Allison Temple proudly told me she was not attending our city’s first McKenny Elementary School.  Many years ago, Margaret had started a school on the first floor of her home in downtown Olympia. Classmate Ryan McCabe agreed that was an important accomplishment, but reminded us that Margaret saved two of Thurston County’s most popular parks, Watershed and Nisqually.

Sam Hacker asked me, “Did you know that Margaret McKenny bought a car with mushrooms?”  My look must have been my answer, so he continued. “She was an avid mushroom hunter and wrote an important book on the subject.” More interesting to Sam was how she sold her bounty to local restaurants and purchased a car with her profits. Trying to top that one, Jackson Philbrook, a fifth grader, explained how Margaret McKenny’s passion for saving the wilderness and wildlife ran counter to her father, Brigadier General T.I. McKenny’s, constant desire for urban expansion. The pride all the fourth and fifth graders shared in their school’s namesake was evident.

After they learned more about McKenny’s efforts to save bird habitats, Lucy Brotherton, like the other fourth graders, was paired with a fifth grader, for their own native bird research.  After checking out books and websites, some teams, like Lucy and Bess Briggs chose one bird, the Scrub Jay in their case.

mckenney ornaments
Sam Hacker shares his Mom’s sample ornament.

Other students worked independently on two different birds.  Livia Ragan, like many students in the class, chose a specific bird because of personal experience. Livia said she sees many Black Capped Chickadees in her neighborhood, Sam said he never passes a pond without observing a Mallard, and Jackson’s mom had pointed out a Northern Flicker to him in their back garden.

However, drawing the entire bird was not possible because the specifications for the ornament were too small. The students researched the wings of their birds, starting with the website, The Feather Atlas.  After studying primary, secondary, and tail feathers, they began drawing a feather. To help them conceptualize the actual ornament, Sam’s mom Stephanie Hacker, who organized the art portion of the project, made a sample.  Once the feathers were drawn and pasted on to the ornament shape, the students began researching again.  The website 1001fonts helped them find the perfect script to replicate the bird’s name on the back of the ornament.  Some of the students chose to make an extra ornament to place on their little classroom tree.

When the Governor’s family room tree is taken down, the ornaments will be archived for future generations to enjoy.

If you haven’t seen the mansion tree yet, tours are available through December 17. To make a reservation, call the Department of Enterprise Services Capitol Tour Office at 360-902-8880.  It is almost a wildlife adventure, with all those amazing birds perched on beautiful green branches. An added bonus is they won’t fly before we can spot them.

 

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