It is an exciting time at the National Park in Oyster Bay’s own backyard. After almost four years of renovations, The National Park Services is getting set to re-open President Theodore Roosevelt’s home on Sagamore Hill to the public on July 12.
The kindergarten and first-grade students at the Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School were given a sneak peek inside the house this June. National Park Volunteer Nancy Hall said that even though the house is currently closed for renovations, there is still plenty to be enjoyed at Sagamore Hill with the nature trails and beautiful grounds.
The Oyster Bay–East Norwich School District has partnered with the National Parks Service Sagamore Hill site. In the year 2016, Sagamore Hill will celebrate its centennial. To coincide with the centennial celebration of the National Parks Service, the Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School will participate in a three-year “Adopt-a-Class” program sponsored by the National Parks Service and the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, which features both school visits and field work at Sagamore Hill.
Each year, students will learn some aspect of being stewards of the National Parks and how to care for Sagamore Hill in particular. As second-graders, they will assist in giving a tour of the house that President Theodore Roosevelt and his family lived in during their years in Oyster Bay.
As part of a new collaboration between Sagamore Hill and the Oyster Bay-East Norwich School District, last year all of the kindergarteners were treated to a visit by park rangers Josh Reyes and Scott Gurney and park volunteers Kathy McLeavy and Nancy Hall. Gurney’s daughter Jane is a second-grader at Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School.
They visited each of the kindergarten classrooms and gave the children an introduction to Sagamore Hill and to the concept of students becoming stewards of national treasures. The park volunteers read the book Care for Our World by Karen Robbins to the kindergarteners.
The Rangers introduced the students to the Theodore Roosevelt family, Sagamore Hill and the National Park Service how they all “care for our world.”
This year, as first-graders, and the following year as second-graders, students will deepen their study of the National Parks with additional lessons at school and at the site. This opportunity for these students was coordinated by Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School Principal Tami McElwee and Oyster Bay High School Assistant Principal Lara Gonzalez.
“This is our second year working with Sagamore Hill’s ‘Adopt-a-Class’ program sponsored by the National Parks Service and the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site,” McElwee said. “Each year our students will learn some aspect of being stewards of our National Parks and how to care for Sagamore Hill in particular. As second-graders, they will assist in giving a tour of the house that President Theodore Roosevelt and his family lived in during their years in Oyster Bay. This year our kindergarteners began their experience with Sagamore Hill and our first-graders continued their work from last year. Next year, we will have our first cohort entering second grade to complete the full cycle of the program. This is a beautiful connection for our students to build from a young age as they learn about the roots of their hometown.”
