Students from Burlington, Hunterdon and Hudson Counties
in New Jersey Named Winners
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – November 24, 2008 – The Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia today announced the student winners of its 2008 American Freedom Essay Contest.
The winner in the Elementary School Category (Grades 1-5) was Samantha Chong from the Theodore Roosevelt School #5 in Weehawken, New Jersey (Hudson County) for her essay “Freedom” (Teacher: Patricia Allegretta).
The winner in the Middle School Category (Grades 6-8) was Duncan Reehl from Holland Township School in Milford, New Jersey (Hunterdon County) for his essay “Basic Freedom, Big Impact” (Teacher: Sandra Ozgar).
The winner in the High School Category (Grades 9-12) was Gia Montemuro from Cinnaminson High School in Cinnaminson, New Jersey (Burlington County) for her essay “Freedom Is…” (Teacher: Daniel Matz). This marks the second consecutive year that Cinnaminson High School has won first place in the High School category!
The American Freedom Essay Contest received many wonderful essays from students attending public and private schools, as well as those being home schooled, all along the East Coast of the United States. In total, there were approximately 1,400 essays received from more than 90 schools which participated in this Constitution Day essay contest. Schools from the following states participated: Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. The winning essays will be posted online at www.theconstitutional.com/essay.
“We were overwhelmed with the response to our second annual American Freedom Essay Contest,” stated Jonathan Bari, President of The Constitutional Walking Tour. “We salute all of the students and educators who participated in the contest on a job well done with the high caliber of essays that we received.”
Essay topics represented a broad spectrum of ideas and different points of view on various subjects including freedom of speech, freedom to vote, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, the right to petition the government, the right to bear arms, the right to pursue one’s happiness, etc.
American Freedom Essay Contest
September 17th is designated as Constitution Day because on that date in 1787, the delegates of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia signed the United States Constitution at Independence Hall. Each year, The Constitutional Walking Tour celebrates Constitution Day and Citizenship Day throughout the month of September, and teachers are encouraged to utilize The Constitutional's many free educational resources available at: www.TheConstitutional.com/1787 .
For the second year, in honor of Constitution Day, The Constitutional Walking Tour asked students to give their views about American freedom. The American Freedom Essay Contest challenged educators to get their students to write a 100-300 word essay on the importance of freedom in their lives. Entries were judged in Elementary School, Middle School and High School categories with the winner in each category earning a free field trip of Historic Philadelphia with The Constitutional Walking Tour for his/her class.1 For more details on The Constitutional’s field trips, visit www.TheConstitutional.com/schools.
The American Freedom Essay Contest is an annual event. To sign up to receive an email when the details of the 2009 contest is announced, visit www.TheConstitutional.com/schools and sign up for The Constitutional Walking Tour’s Educator mailing list.
Background on Constitution Day
In late 2004, Senator Robert Byrd, one of the United States Senate’s leading Constitutional scholars, introduced legislation that President George W. Bush signed into law on December 8, 2004 requiring that all schools, colleges and Federal agencies receiving Federal funds offer annual educational programming involving the Constitution of the United States on or around Constitution Day, September 17th.
The Constitutional’s Educator Resources
The Constitutional Walking Tour offers a variety of resources to help Educational Institutions and Federal Agencies fulfill the annual requirement for Constitution Day programming, including The Constitutional Guided Walking Tour.
The Constitutional Walking Tour tells the dramatic story of the brave men and women who were responsible for creating America. Step back in time to see where The United States Constitution was created. See more than 20 of the most historic sites and attractions in 75 minutes on a 1.25-mile outdoor journey, including many sites and topics related to the U.S. Constitution such as Independence Hall and the National Constitution Center. Group tours and field trips are available year-round with advance reservations. Group rates and student discounts are available for groups of 25 or more. For more information, visit www.TheConstitutional.com/schools, or call our group sales department at 215.525.1776.
For details on all of The Constitutional’s educational resources, please visit
www.TheConstitutional.com/1787 .
About The Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia
The Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia is one of the leading providers of sightseeing tours of America’s Birthplace - “Where Every Day is Independence Day!”™ Located in Historic Philadelphia, The Constitutional visits more than 20 of the most historical sites on a 75 minute, 1.25 mile outdoor adventure in the Independence National Historical Park area, which is home to the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and the National Constitution Center. The Constitutional guides visitors on a walk through history where The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were created. Since 2004, The Constitutional has been consistently ranked as one of Philadelphia’s “Top 25 Tourist Attractions” by the Philadelphia Business Journal. Come see why the Chicago Tribune stated, “No visit to Philadelphia is complete without taking a Constitutional Guided Walking Tour, a 75-minute, mile and a quarter stroll that puts 15 historic sites, from Independence Hall to the National Constitution Center, and Ben Franklin, in perspective.” For more information on The Constitutional’s various tours, please visit www.TheConstitutional.com. The Constitutional is also the producer of the Spirits of '76 Ghost Tour of Philadelphia which is "1 Part History, 2 Parts Haunt.”™ The Spirits of '76 Ghost Tour features more than 20 of "Philly's Frights & Sights"™ on a 75 minute, 1.25 mile outdoor walking tour through Historic Philadelphia that features haunted facts and folklore. For more information, please see www.Spiritsof76.com.
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EDITOR’S NOTES - For Education media, please visit The Constitutional’s various online resources:
- High-resolution Photographs of Historic Philadelphia are available for media usage at:
www.TheConstitutional.com/images .
- Story Ideas on The Constitutional Walking Tour, Historic Philadelphia and Heritage Tourism are available for media usage at:
www.TheConstitutional.com/StoryIdeas .
- By the Numbers statistics on The Constitutional Walking Tour and Historic Philadelphia are available for media usage at:
www.TheConstitutional.com/numbers .
