Annual “Day at the Capital” Event

by | Mar 23, 2016 | Academics, Community, Events, High School

Bay City Christian School juniors and seniors spend a “Day at the Capital” in Madison. The annual March event gives students a better understanding of how our state government works and how they can get involved to make a difference in Wisconsin.  This year, several state leaders spoke at the event including Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch. The students also got to take a tour of the capitol — something Miss Weldy says is a highlight of the event every year. “We always enjoy seeing the capitol building because it’s really a beautiful structure.”
Besides the tour, students had the opportunity to meet with and ask questions of state and local representatives such as state senator Dave Hansen and state assemblyman Andre Jacque.  “The students did a good job of asking questions and interacting with our representatives.  They asked about some key state issues and also about the current election cycle,” said Miss Weldy.  “This event helps show students how local government is just as important, if not more important than federal government, because it directly affects you.”   Students were also thrilled to learn some “secrets” about what goes on in the state supreme court.  State Supreme Court Justice Rebekah Bradley told students about a special green hat that the justices use.  They choose numbers out of it to decide who’s going to write about the decisions that they make. The students also asked Ms. Bradley about her view on the interpretation of the constitution. She said she would be an originalist or a strict constitutionalist.
“This event helps show students how local government is just as important, if not more important than federal government, because it directly affects you.”  – Miss Weldy
It was rewarding for Miss Weldy to see that the students were not only listening, but using critical thinking as they listened. “They all came back with the same view of Dave Hansen.  They said he was a good politician in the sense that he knew how to talk to us. He really controlled the conversation and steered it in the way he wanted it to go.”

Miss Weldy believes the things students see and hear at this annual event really reinforce the things they learn in the classroom. “They get the opportunity to hear the vocabulary they learn in class.  They’ve been learning about constituents and reapportionment and bi-partisanship.  So when the leaders are talking about it, it helps them in the learning process.  They also see how slow government can be and how difficult it can be to get things done.”

This year was another successful “Day at the Capital.”  Every year Wisconsin Family Action (WFA) plans this event and invites all Wisconsin Association of Christian Schools to attend.  This year  Bay City Christian School students received a special surprise.  They saw Bay City Alumna Bethany Brunner at the event.  She’s currently interning for Wisconsin Family Council, which works along with WFA to advance Christian principles and values in Wisconsin in many ways, including legislatively at the state capitol.

We look forward to another exciting adventure in Madison next year!