Hawley Students Learn About State Government

By Eliza Hallabeck

During a presentation on Wednesday, December 14, Hawley Elementary School fourth grade students learned how the different branches Connecticut’s government function together.

Khalil Quotap, with the Connecticut Historical Society, visited the fourth grade classrooms during the day to give a presentation that included asking student volunteers to represent the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of Connecticut’s government.

“They all have to work together to make the government work,” said Mr Quotap.

In Melissa Thorpe’s classroom, students Grainne Flanagan, Dillon Lozinak, Audrey Christensen, and Connor Haywood, represented different positions in the state government.

Mr Quotap explained to the students the process behind bills becoming laws.

“All laws start as bills,” said Mr Quotap. “All bills start with ideas.”

Mr Quotap also had students act in a staged election. He asked participants to take a stand on how they felt the state could be made both more safe and more fun for other children in the student’s age group.

Students were then asked to vote for the candidate they felt would do the best job if elected.

The visit was sponsored by the Hawley PTA Cultural Arts Committee. Information about the Connecticut Historical Society is available at www.chs.org.