The walking tour, part of a larger program called Sense of Pride sponsored by Mosaico and the school district, is intended to teach children about local history and inspire them to become involved in the community.

After a short lecture from Mr. Battcher at each location, students were deployed to record their findings. "I liked learning about different kinds of columns — Ionic and Doric," said a boy named Tyler, glancing up from his clipboard.

Three groups of students, each group working in pairs, were provided material describing architectural details they were likely to discover. The information collected will be inserted into a scrapbook and used in developing their final projects. Highlights of the tour included the First Baptist Church, Linden Place, the jail house on Court Street and various private, historical residences

According the Jenny Astrella, executive director of Mosaico, much of the program is founded on a book called "Learning About Bristol," written by Lou Cirillo, developed for Bristol elementary school students as a supplement to their social studies curriculum.

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Sense of Pride program — At a glance

Day 1 – A one-hour interactive presentation about Bristol history, presented by Jenny Astrella, Executive Director of Mosaico.

Day 2 – Talk of architecture, followed by discussion on buildings and how their uses change over time and the walking tour, highlighting architectural details.

Day 3 – Discussion of ways to be involved in the community and a two-hour community service project.

Day 4 – Students' final projects

A total of 36 students, divided into three groups, participated. Tours guides included Ray Battcher, Bob Arruda, Lou Cirillo, Rick Greenwood and Lombard Pozzi.

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Rob Merwin

rmerwin@eastbaynewspapers.com