Mayor David Heintzelman was the special guest on a Zoom call with Saucon Valley third-graders Wednesday.
Saucon Valley third graders have not only been experiencing history-making changes in our community due to the COVID-19 crisis, they have been making history themselves!
On Wednesday, May 27 nearly 100 eager students met in a virtual, online Zoom meeting with Hellertown mayor David Heintzelman to hear him answer just a few of the 350 questions they had prepared for him.
Third graders had been diligently learning about Hellertown history through lessons created and taught by a team of third grade teachers. It wasn’t easy via the online platform, but students were able to experience a whirlwind virtual learning adventure through our great community–both past and present. The live interview marked the culminating activity for the unit.
Questions ranged from the personal such as “Do you have any pets?” to the practical such as “What are your responsibilities as the mayor?” But the students did not hold back, and Mayor Heintzelman was asked the most pressing question of all: “When will the pool open?” Our young, civic-minded students made a show of hands to communicate their concern for this issue. As you can imagine, it took a lot of scrolling to see all the faces of students leaning in to hear his answer.
Mayor Heintzelman’s passion for Hellertown’s history shone through in his answers, but the students were treated to so much more when our mayor was asked, “What makes us a great community?” Mayor Heintzelman paused for a moment and looked directly at his camera before replying, “You do. All of you do. You make the difference in our community. We are so proud that you are a part of it.”
Thank you, Mayor Heintzelman, for answering our students’ questions and for bringing history alive for them. Most importantly, thank you for reminding us all that community matters now more than ever and for including our students in that message.
Stephanie Hand is a third grade teacher at Saucon Valley Elementary School.
