President elect Barack Obama has yet to take the oath of office, but students at Ambler Elementary in Carson are too excited to wait until Jan. 20, so they celebrated Barack Obama Day on campus on Thursday.
The predominantly African American student body watched the election with an interest that surprised the school staff. On the day after the election, they couldn't contain their joy.
"The children kept running up to us on November 5th saying Barack Obama was elected. They were so excited. They were writing poems on their own," says Principal Gina Ellis.
On Thursday, some of those poems were recited and songs were sung as the entire student body gathered on the playground. With a large Obama banner as a backdrop, each grade took turns performing inspirational tributes.
Many of the students and staff wore t-shirts with Obama's image on them.
"I learned that it doesn't matter where you're from or what race you are, you can be anything you want if you work hard," said 5th grader David Oyeyemi.
Since change was the main theme of Obama's campaign, many of the students talked about the changes they would like to see him make.
"The taxes need to go down because some people have money, but when the taxes come, they have no money and they work really hard for it," said 4th grader Rene Hall.
"I hope he changes the world to non-violence and not have guns and stop wars," added 3rd grader K'La Palmer.
