Ol’ Muddy Intrigues Blue Team



Ol’ Muddy Intrigues Blue Team

Ya’ll Come Back to Atlanta-Moten

To the sounds of Elvis Presley singing ”You Ain’t Nothing but a Hound Dog”, we left Memphis. Bryante had bought the CD because he likes Elvis. We were on the road to Atlanta. We were anxious to see this city that we had heard so much about.

Our first stop was at the “World of Coke.” We learned that Coca-Cola has been around for 114 years. This is a great museum. We saw how Coke is bottled and best of all – we got to sample different Coke from all around the world.

People had a real southern accent in Atlanta – Yaw’ll come back, hear. The other thing about Atlanta was that so many streets were named Peachtree.

Our next stop was Kennesaw Mountain National Park. We ate a picnic lunch at this park. There was a big Civil War battle here and the park has lots of cannons and trenches where the soldiers fought. It sits on top of a hill and you can see all the way to Chattanooga, Tennessee.

After lunch we went to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. We saw the house where he was born, the church where he preached and the memorial tomb where he is buried.

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After a day of lots of educational stuff, we were ready for some fun. We spent the afternoon and evening at Six Flags over Georgia. Our favorite ride – Superman – Ultimate Flight. They call it the south’s only flying roller coaster.

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Even though we had to stand in long lines, most of us went on this ride 3 times. You’ve got to try it if you go to Atlanta. Alvis got sick on the ride – too much spinning. We took back to the hotel. He did not feel like eating our delicious seafood dinner.

Haynes Makes Way to the Homeland of Mark Twain

At 5:03 in the morning in Cedar Rapids, Kyle and Eric were still snoozing away. Everyone else was up and getting ready to start the day. We figured that Kyle and Eric must have been up all night talking or playing a game of Chess, because they never slept that late. Khalil decided that he was going to wake them up because we didn’t have much time before we had to hit the road. In the mean time, Daniella and Kyle ran out to get breakfast at the Cinnamon Street Bakery and brought back donuts, bagels, orange juice, and hot chocolate. They also stopped by the market and bought a snack and water for each person for the long trip on the road. While we waited for breakfast Ashley, Annie, and Hannah bought tickets over the phone to go on a one-hour steamboat cruise down the Mississippi. How cool is that!

Our first stop after leaving Iowa was Hannibal, Missouri, the boyhood home of Mark Twain. Did you know that Mark Twain was the author of many children’s books like Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer? Mark Twains’ real name was Samuel Clemens. He changed it when he was a tour guide on the Mississippi River. After touring Mark Twain’s house and Hannibal, it was easy to understand how this beautiful and peaceful area inspired him to become a writer. We all agreed that we would like to read some of his books when we get back home.

We then continued south on Highway 61 into St. Louis, Missouri. We made a visit to the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, which includes the Gateway Arch, the Museum of Westward Expansion, and the St. Louis’ Old Courthouse. We learned that architect Eero Saarinen designed the Gateway Arch. The Arch stands as a monument to the spirit of the western pioneers. We were surprised to find out that even though the Arch was designed in 1947, construction didn’t begin until 1965. The Museum of Westward Expansion is located below the Arch, and has an amazing collection of artifacts and an authentic American Indian tipi. But the highlight was learning about the Lewis and Clark expedition. Mr. Lebovitz reminded us that we had to keep moving (because our steamboat was leaving soon) and assured us that we would learn more about Lewis and Clark later this year.

We rushed over to Gateway Arch Riverboats and began our journey down the Mississippi. What a great trip! We felt like we had stepped back in time. It was amazing to travel down the big, powerful, and beautiful Mississippi River in a 19th century steamboat. Not only was it interesting to learn about the steamboat and life along the Mississippi, but the food and entertainment were also great. By this time we were starved and feasted on hot dogs, burgers, and chips. There was even a live band on the boat. This little journey was a real highlight of our trip.

After a short trip south on Highway 55, we arrived in Perryville, Missouri. Perryville is a small town with a population of only 8,000 people. We checked into the Comfort Inn and got cleaned up. We met in the lobby and walked across the street to have dinner at the Ponderosa Steak House. We feasted on steaks and fries, but the best part was the super duper extra large king size hot fudge sundae that we all shared for dessert.

When we got back to the hotel the boys and girls split up and watched movies. We tried to stay up late but it wasn’t possible. We started to get drowsy and finally fell into a deep sleep, zzzzzz…..

Janney : Goings On In and About School

Brendan reports that there are many I-max theaters in Washington, D.C. There are movies from dinosaurs to Mount Everest. One of our class favorites is “Lewis and Clark the Journey of the Corps of Discovery. During the movie it seems as if you are floating over the mountains or running form an animal. Maybe you will picture yourself a member of the Corp. I-max theaters are very loud and realistic. When you come to D.C. be sure to visit one of the I-max theaters.

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Our class recently went to the National History Museum and visited the “Invitations at Play” exhibit. We were able to see many old and new inventions such as the stroller and wind surfing inventions. We participated in many activities in the room which let us use our brains to solve problems and create solutions. After this we prepared to leave and asked many interesting questions. The docents were patient and helpful in answering our many questions. This exhibit will be traveling around the country. If you have a chance be sure to see it.

Gillian and Dijja wanted to share more about our school. Our school has many activities. Two that we have are PE and Art. In PE we have different activities like soccer, basketball, touch football, and baseball. When it is cold out we usually do crab soccer. We enjoy our PE program very much.

In Art class we have used different projects to relate to Native American Cultures. Our Art teacher is a member of the Powhatan Tribe. We have been hard at work on shields this month.

We enjoy the same classes many of you do such as reading, mathematics, science, and social studies. Our class favorite is math class.

[pic]All these great activities are fun, but Chess is the most loved. Our fourth grade students have a year of instruction by the Chess Center of Washington, D.C. Chess is a great game. It shows very clearly that you can learn form losing. Our chess teacher’s name is Mr. Goralski. He is a great teacher because he shows us how mistakes are made and also how to trick our opponent.

To help us with our chess experience we have tournaments within our school as well as with other schools in Washington, D.C. Some of our students have participated in tournaments on Saturday at the Chess Center in downtown Washington.

Keep up the good job Blue Team and get ready to explore Washington!

Balboa Rolls Into the Rolling Hills of Ohio

We never expected Illinois to be as flat as it is. We could see forever as we drove eastward from Springfield. The cool breeze blew against our faces as we enjoyed an unusual spring day – filled with warmth. Much to our amazement, just before we crossed into Indiana, we stopped in Paris! There was no Eiffel Tower; no Louvre; no French bakeries – just nothing.

A couple hours later, we finally arrived at Indianapolis. This city is famous for the Memorial Day Indianapolis 500 race. We drove to the Speedway where we actually saw drivers practicing their racing techniques. The cars created a deafening roar. The noise was so loud, we felt like we needed to give our ears a slight rest before they BLOW!

After the crashing roar of the racecars, we really needed to go to a quiet and peaceful place like a museum, such as The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. We learned a lot about the arts of the past. We also saw a life size model of a Tyrannosaurs Rex! It was really fun!

As we filled our heads with the past, we wanted to learn what was going on right now with some animals. As we were headed to Columbus, we decided to stop at the Columbus Zoo. As we walked past the nursery where we saw the first gorilla that had been born in captivity. The Coral Reef exhibit was very interesting in many ways. We saw a big 250,000 gallon tank filled with manatees. We found out that this zoo has one of the largest collections of reptiles in the United States! It was very cool!

Headed to Logan, Ohio we had an idea to go spelunking inside the Ash Cave! We were all very excited, as none of us had ever explored a cave before. The cave was not the way we really expected it to be-it was better! We also went to explore Old Mans Cave. We were all really tired after climbing up, over, and down cave openings and rocks as big as a house! I hope we will sleep well tonight!

Haskell in the Windy City

The rain had finally stopped when we got back on the bus this morning. We continued on Interstate 90 and 94 toward Madison, Wisconsin. Madison, the state capital of Wisconsin is in the southern part of the state. The city of Madison contains 18,000 acres of lakes. The State Street Mall, which is similar to the US capital, connects the state capital building in Capital Square to the University of Wisconsin. Madison has some buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, a famous architect.

After leaving Madison, we thought about going straight east to Washington. We would need to cross Lake Michigan by car ferry from Wisconsin to Michigan. Mrs. Kidd wanted to visit relatives in Michigan. When we inquired about the car ferry we found it was shut down for the winter because of the ice freeze on Lake Michigan. So instead we turned south on Interstate 90 and 39 and drove to Chicago

Carlos wanted to show his classmates the Navy Pier in Chicago. It is like the pier in San Francisco because it has an amusement area and food. Our class especially liked the 3D movie about the Chicago Fire. We also visited the Children’s Museum at the Navy Pier.

In 1871, after a dry summer a fire started and quickly grew out of control. Legend tells that a cow owned by Mrs. O’Leary kicked over a lantern. The winds were very strong and the fire destroyed more than 17,000buildings. After the fire Chicago grew from a prairie town to a major city. There were many labor problems.

The republican Convention was held in Chicago in 1860. Relations between the North and South were not good. An Illinois lawyer named Abraham Lincoln encouraged the slave states to secede from the Union. They did and the Civil War began shortly after Lincoln became president.

We decided to stay in the Embassy Suites because it was just two blocks from the Navy Pier.

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