Alabaster students becoming ‘Super Citizens’

Published 11:13 am Friday, February 1, 2019

By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Students at Alabaster’s Meadow View Elementary School and Thompson Intermediate School will work over the next few months to identify and honor local heroes in the community, as they kicked off the Legacy Learning Foundation’s Super Citizen program during recent ceremonies.

MVES held its kickoff event on Jan. 31, and TIS held its kickoff on Feb. 1 featuring a visit from Libby Liberty and representatives from the Legacy Learning Foundation.

“Me being here today is just the start of your involvement in the Super Citizens Program,” Libby said. “You are going to learn how you hold the most important title in the United States of America, and that is the title of citizen.”

During the kickoff, the foundation’s Libby Liberty portrayed a miniature version of New York City’s Statue of Liberty and explained the history behind the national landmark.

Students helped Libby to demonstrate the enormous size of the statue in New York, showcasing the statue’s 3-foot mouth, 4-and-a-half-foot nose, 8-foot finger and size 879 shoe. From pedestal to torch, the Statue of Liberty is taller than the length of a football field, she said.

Through the Super Citizen program, several classes at the two schools will learn the history behind America’s freedoms, and will select local heroes to honor during a ceremony at the end of the program.

In the past, Alabaster students have selected individuals such as teachers, principals, local military veterans and police officers as recipients of the Super Citizen designation. Those selected this year will receive a Statue of Liberty statue containing material from the actual statue in New York City.

Ally Jones with the Liberty Learning Foundation encouraged the students to thank their teachers and school administrators every day, and asked the kids to take their citizenship roles seriously.

“These (teachers and administrators) do what they do because they care about you. They don’t do it to be on TV or to make a lot of money,” Jones said.