Selena's Travel Journal

Thank you for visiting Selena's Travel Journal

Saturday, May 22

I spent the day in Mr. Canu's home, resting from my journey, meeting some of my fellow avatars in the Animal Writes League, viewing the 20 Curious Kids Web site, helping my host research armadillos on the web, and searching for decent food (grubs and insects) in his backyard.

Friday, May 21

I have just arrived in El Paso, too late on this Friday to meet the 20 Curious Kids, but I was received warmly by Usagi, the founder of the Animal Writes League. He told me Selena is already an honorary member of AWL, but that I am the first armadillo to actually come to AWL headquarters. I am spending the weekend at Mr. Canu's home and he will take me to the school on Monday. I expect to accompany the 20 Curious Kids on their field trip to the Community College.

Thursday, May 20

Selena and our three kindergarten classes spent the morning at Cox Creek Park for fun, games and a picnic. The park is located about 2 miles from our school. Everyone played a game of soccer and on the playground. They ate cookies, popsicles, and watermelons. Everyone had watermelon juice on their faces, hands and arms. What a funny sight to see. Many of our parents were with us. We had a wonderful time. School dismissed at 11:00. We returned Selena to Mrs. Smith after school. On Friday morning, we will have an awards ceremony, during which all of the kindergarten children will receive their Kindergarten Certificates. School will dismiss for the year at 9:30. We thought Selena might enjoy spending the last morning with Mrs. Smith. She will start her journey home then. We have enjoyed meeting Selena and learning about her home. She will be missed. Thanks for letting us be a part of such a fun project.

Wednesday, May 19, 1999

WOW! Was this ever a great day to be at Mars Hill. We had our Accelerated Reading Fair today. It was an entire day devoted to games and having fun. We started our day with chapel, our daily devotional period. Mr. Derr led us in many of our favorite spiritual songs. At Mars Hill, we feel lucky to be able to worship God every day. Mrs. Wynne, our principal, then gave out the AR Awards for the year. At 9:00 the fair activities began. There were too many activities to mention them all but these were some of Selena's favorites: Face painting, Tug-O-War, beach volleyball, watermellon eating/seed spitting, moon walk, pie throw, silly string, and water stuff. Some of the Kindergarten children climbed a rope to the top of the gym. WOW! Selena enjoyed watching the children splashing under the sprinklers. We had morning and afternoon snacks and a picnic lunch outside. A story teller entertained us in the morning and some of our teachers put on a funny play after lunch. At 1:30, the AR Fair was over and guess what? Our teachers let us go to the playground the rest of the day. This was the best day of Kindergarten. We are so happy Selena was able to be here for the excitement. Some of the kindergarten children took Selena to our "School Zoo." We have a large classroom full of real, live animals. There are snakes, hedge hogs (4 are newborn babies), ferrets, birds, a chinchilla, rabbit, squirrel, several types of lizards and many, many more types of animals. Selena made many new animal friends.

Tuesday, May 18

Mrs. Bergman's Class was Selena's host today. At 9:30, we watched as Kelsey, a fourth grader, painted Mrs. Smith's face. Kelsey earned 1026.5 Accelerated Reading points this year. Mrs. Smith had bright stripes on her face today. The elementary students in grades Kg. - 4th also earned 22,300 points as a whole this year. That's 2,000 more than last year. Because we broke last year's record, Mrs. Smith had to let the "500 Club" (kids earning more than 500 points this year) paint her hair. They painted it green, white, and purple. She should learn to stay quiet rather than challenge us. We always meet her challenges. She had her picture made with Selena. We will put it in our scrapbook. At story time, Mrs. Bergman and Selena read her book to the class. The children were full of questions about Selena's travels. Hearing what she did at the other schools she has visited was a real treat. The children took turns holding Selena. At lunch, Selena ate a cheeseburger, baked potato, and some salad. She was soooooo hungry. At Center Time, Selena chose to go the reading loft. She enjoyed reading and playing with the puppets. The class made autograph books. Selena put her foot print on the children's books as the other children autographed books. This was a beautiful day to play outside. We had a good day.

Monday, May 17

Selena arrived at mid morning on a bright, sunny day in the south. The kindergarten students at Mars Hill Bible School were so anxious for her arrival. Mrs. Smith, her guardian at Mars Hill, took her down and introduced her to the gang. She decided to spend the day with Mrs. Delano's class today. The children were illustrating an armadillo fact book when she arrived. Did you know that a mother armadillo always has four babies (pups) who look exactly alike? Or that armadillos sometimes jump straight up when they are frightened. Selena told the class several other facts about armadillos and served as a model for their illustrations. This is a fun week to visit. It is Accelerated Reading Week at Mars Hill and our last week in school. Today, Diana, a fourth grader, got to paint Mrs. Smith's face because she earned 1001.6 AR points this year. Mrs. Smith didn't think anyone could earn 1000 points in a year. Boy! was she wrong. We had two students to reach the goal. Diana used bright, colorful paint to put polka dots and stipes on Mrs. Smith's face. She looked so funny. Mrs. Delano read "The Armadillo from Amarillo" to the children. They enjoyed it. Selena enjoyed a Bible lesson about Jesus and singing songs with the children during Bible Time. At lunch, she had pizza, fries, milk, and a banana for dessert. Following lunch, we had music class with Mr. Derr. We sang lots of songs with motions. After music, Mrs. Delano read "The Grouchy Ladybug" to the class. We worked with clocks learning to tell time. Finally! Playtime! Selena played soccer with the boys, sat by the fence with wrote her ABC's and 123's with some of the girls, climbed on the monkey bars and slid down the slide. Snack and rest time were next. The children listened to soft music playing and fell fast asleep. The next thing they knew, Mrs. Delano and Mrs. Hall were waking them up to go home. Selena had a great day. Mars Hill is a great place to be.

Monday, May 11

Today we went to the gym. We played baseball. We did exercises, too. We have been changing rooms with other first grades for 30 minutes in the afternoon. Today we went to Miss Tracie's room. Yesterday we went to Miss Beth's room. She read two books to us. Mrs. Baker is sharing Selena and her web page with the other students when they come to our room. They are all enjoying meeting her, learning about Fort Worth and armadillos, and playing the match game. We are looking forward to Field Day on May 18. We wish Selena could be here to help us with the Tug of War! Friday May 21 is our last day of classes. It is hard to believe that a year has passed. This is Selena's last day with us. We all said our goodbyes and Mrs. Baker will send her on her way after school.

Love, Selena

Monday, May 10

Selena had a good Mother's Day visit with Mrs. Baker's family. She went to Jackson, a larger West Tennessee town, to shop. She was beginning to wonder if there was a city in West Tennessee! We do have Memphis just 65 miles south of Halls on the Mississippi River, but she did not have time to visit there. She was glad to get back to school today and see all of us. Today we had our pictures taken with Selena for the newspapers. We took one picture outside and one inside. We have two newspapers in Lauderdale County. Mrs. Baker has been taking pictures of places of interest for our scrapbook. Even though we are small, we have two famous people from our county. Alex Haley, the Pulitzer Prize winning author, spent much of his childhood in Henning where he heard the story on his ancestors. This inspired him to write the book, Roots, which was made into a mini-series for television. You can visit his home and grave site at the Alex Haley House Museum. You can also visit the Wild Onion Ridge House, home of Tina Turner, in Nutbush, Tennessee. Today we read Jan Brett's book, Armadillo Rodeo. Bo, the armadillo, wandered off from his mother. He thought Harmony Jean's boot was an armadillo. We liked the book! Today ice cream was sold at school to raise money for the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life. Many of us enjoyed this special treat. We had recess in the room. We played with blocks, Legos, puzzles, and the computers. We went to music. Mr. Bill is our teacher. We marched around the room and jumped, when we sang the popcorn song. We had a choice of a hamburger or a chicken sandwich for lunch. Two students brought their lunch from home. One student left early to go to the doctor in Memphis. And one student moved back to Florida. Now we have only 15 students in our class!

Love, Selena

Friday, May 7

Today has been a very busy day! This morning we made Mother's Day cards. We planted marigolds earlier to give to our mothers. Mrs. Baker put lace and ribbon around the flower pots for us. We went to PE again today. After that, we took Selena on a tour of the school. We went to the playground. There was water under some of the equipment because it has been raining a lot here. Mrs. Baker took our picture on the playground, in the front of the school, and just outside our classroom. We have pretty flowers by our door so everyone who drives by can see them. We told Selena about our day last Friday. We had our annual Young Authors' Day. All the students in school wrote and published books. The school was decorated and children's work was on display. We had visitors like Ronald MacDonald, a magician, a nutritionist, musicians, a doll collector, storytellers, and more. We liked having Mrs. Baker's friend, Miss Sam, and her daughter, Whitney visit. Miss Sam is a storyteller and comes to Young Authors' Day almost every year. The theme for this year was Facts, Fables, and Fantasies. Each first grade class selected a fable. Our fable was "The Milkmaid and Her Bucket". Do you know the moral to that fable? Mrs. Baker's son, Casey came by just before school was out. He is home from Mississippi State University for Mother's Day. He brought Bailey, a miniature Pinscher. We think Selena will like visiting at Mrs. Baker's with Bailey there. Casey says there are lots of armadillos in Mississippi. Mrs.Baker's daughter, Colby, will be there to play with Selena, too.

Love, Selena

May 6, 1999

Mrs. Baker introduced us to Selena! We are so glad she is here! Selena was glad to see all of us, too. We know she was glad to get out of her suitcase! She arrived in the afternoon mail yesterday. We looked at her scrapbook and read her book at silent reading time. We told her about our school and the things we do. Thursday is our day to have gym. That and recess were the fun things we did today. We have been taking year-end tests in reading and math, so we have been very busy. We wonder if Selena knows that she has come back down south and is getting closer to home. The weather is very nice here now. We have been able to play outside at recess and we like that.

Love, Selena

April 28, 1999

I arrived last Thursday. The kids were so excited to meet me. Miss Black read my book that I brought with me to the class the next day. The kids enjoyed looking at the scrapbook about Texas. They liked the information about the zoo the best. Today was art class and we made all kinds of different things. We also had show and tell and the kids brought some interesting things in for us to see. I will be leaving in a couple of days and so I have been taking turns sitting on each of the kids desks. I have had a good time and am looking forward to meeting the next school.

Love, Selena

April 20, 1999

Well, it is my last day here in Sterling Heights, Michigan. The weather is finally sunny and beautiful again today. It makes me sad to be leaving. Today I helped some more students shop at the book fair. I also visited each classroom to say goodbye. I can't wait to show all of the new students I meet and all of the students back in Fort Worth the great scrapbook that the third graders made about Sterling Heights. My next destination is Bristol, Indiana. I look forward to learning about a new place and meeting new people. Mrs. Meyers and all of the students and teachers said they will miss me, but they will keep tabs on me daily by visiting my website. So.........goodbye for now. I am settling down in my suitcase and getting ready for my trip.

Love, Selena

April 19, 1999

Today, I got to see a movie with students that reached their goal for "March is Reading Month". The students had a goal in each classroom of a number of books to read during March. As a reward they received a popcorn and movie party. I also got to look around and shop at the Scholastic Book Fair, which is going on all this week. The students here at Browning have lots of really neat books and posters to choose from. Tomorrow is my last day here in Sterling Heights. I am looking forward to my trip to Indiana.

Love, Selena

April 16, 1999

Well, my journal entries have been delayed because the server for this elementary school has been down. I am glad we can communicate again. I guess even in a high technology world, we can still have delays. Well, I guess I will begin with Friday.....I spent another exciting day working with the students that came down to the research center. All three third grade classes worked very hard and finished my scrapbook. It looks great! Mrs. Meyers took me home at the end of the day so that we could spend the weekend sightseeing in Sterling Heights. Saturday and Sunday.....We went driving around the city so I could find the perfect place to have my picture taken to remind me of the best part about Sterling Heights. The first place I chose was Browning Elementary because I've had lots of fun here, and Utica School District is the second largest school district in the state of Michigan. Next, I had a picture taken at Clinton River Park because Sterling Heights is famous for their beautiful parks and the Clinton River runs right through the city. I had a great time over the weekend, even though it was pretty chilly and rainy. I can't wait to go back to school tomorrow.

Love, Selena

April 15, 1999

Hi! What a day I had today! I met so many students here at Browning. Mrs. Meyers took me around to visit many of the classrooms in the building that I haven't met yet. I met the sixth grade, a fourth grade class, and I worked with many classes in the research center. Two second grade classes finished a really neat ocean project today. We played a fun game with teams on the internet with a third and fourth grade class. And I met and helped a first grade and kindergarten class while they were here. Mrs. Slusher's room worked very hard yesterday on the scrapbook I will be taking with me on my journey. The weather was a little more chilly today than yesterday, but the sun was still shining. We ate french toast at lunch today. Mrs. Meyers also took me with her to another school to play volleyball against another group of teachers. It was fun to visit another school. Once again, I am looking forward to another day in Sterling Heights.

April 14, 1999

Good morning! This is my second day here at Browning Elementary in Sterling Heights, Michigan. I first got introduced to a class of 6th graders (boy do they ever look big to me). Then we went on an Internet hunt. Everyone had different questions and we had to find the answer by searching the web. I think I can consider myself computer literate now. The next class were 1st graders. They looked at a big map to see all the places that I have been. Do you think you could call me a world traveler? Oh, I almost forgot. I got to go outside for recess also. It is a beautiful, sunny day here and warm enough to play outside with just a light jacket. Good thing I brought mine. We also had a tornado drill and I was very proud of how well the students acted during this important practice. After lunch, the fourth graders came back to the lab and continued working on their scrapbook and learning about Sterling Heights. Finally, I got to go to a meeting with Mrs. Meyers at a different school in their district. All the research center teachers were there from all the other schools, so I felt very important when she introduced me and told them all about me. I think I'm a star. Bye until tomorrow!

Love, Selena

April 13, 1999

Hello! I arrived safely to Browning Elementary in Sterling Heights, Michigan. It is a beautiful day here. The sun is shining and it is around 55 degrees outside. Mrs. Meyers picked me up from the office and took me down to the library/computer lab where she teaches all of the classrooms in our school. Browning Elementary School has around 570 students in grades Kindergarten through 6. Today I met a group of second graders studying the ocean and working on a hyperstudio project about an ocean creature. The kindergarteners were studying the 5 senses and read Brown Bear, Brown Bear and did a KidPix picture about what they see. The first graders were creating timelines of their life on the computer. The fifth graders were learning about spreadsheets and databases by planning an imaginary party with an invitation list and a list of supplies they needed. The third grade class that met me agreed to help Mrs. Meyers make a scrap book to send along with me, since Sterling Heights is exactly what they are studying right now. Mrs. Meyers read The Armadillo from Amarillo to them, and then they visited their city's website and began gathering facts and pictures. I had lots of fun learning about Sterling Heights with them. I can't wait until tomorrow to see what we will do!

Love, Selena

April 9, 1999

I had a great last day in Wausau. It was a sunny and warm day. The kids had guidance today and learned about personal space. In math they worked on subtraction again. They sure practice math a lot. Some of them are very good at it. The class went to music after lunch. Lunch was spaghetti. It filled the whole lunch room with a really good smell.

The kids watched a video called Big Bird In Japan. They are going to have a Japanese intern teacher come to their school next week. She will teach them about Japan! The kids prepared habitats for their new bugs, which are still eggs. They worked hard to make a nice place for them to live. We were not sure if the eggs would hatch over the weekend.

I liked getting to know all the kids and teachers. I know that the kids will miss me. They were sad to see me go. But it is time that I crawl into my box and head to Sterling Heights, Michigan.

Love, Selena

April 8, 1999

I helped with the calendar this morning. Mrs. O'Keefe and the children add a popsicle stick to a cup everyday to count how many days they have been in school. They have had 132 days of school so far.

Amanda wanted me to tell you about reading. Mrs. O'Keefe meets with small groups everyday. While she does that, the other students work on reading and writing activities independently. It is a busy and sometimes noisy time. The children are all working though. Some work on stories together and some read together. They do all of their reading work in a reading journal. They work on letter sounds, compound words, contractions, and story elements throughout the year. During reading time, they always have a snack. I had chocolate milk and graham crackers. I read with Cassie during quiet reading time.

I watched Kyle do his math paper. He had to subtract and then color in a picture. Everyone worked very hard during math.After math, it was time for lunch. I ate a chef salad. Most of the class chose to have the peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead.

I went to the computer lab and I wrote on the computer about my adventures. The boys and girls finished their scrap book. Olivia had a brochure to use with her picture (she wanted me to tell you that). After writing, we went back to the classroom. The students took turns sharing their writing while sitting on a stool. I enjoyed hearing their stories and was amazed at what good listeners they were.

I helped the kids weave placemats for a volunteer lunch next week. Everyone who has volunteered to help at school is invited. It is a time for the teachers and principal to say thanks to all the parents and grandparents that have helped this year.

Finally at the end of the day, the kids got their new bugs. They look like eggs. The kids are going to watch them to see what happens. Mrs. O'Keefe won't tell them. She says that observing what happens is what is important in science. I am off to have my picture taken at a point of interest in Wausau. Tomorrow is my last day here! Then I will be on my way to Michigan.

Love, Selena

April 7, 1999

Well it has been another busy day in first grade. The children were very happy today because by the end of the day the weather was beautiful. The day started out sunny, then by midmorning it started to rain. I was beginning to think that all it would do here is rain! But by the end of the day, the clouds had gone away and it was really warm. It is up to 60 degrees now. That is pretty warm for this area during spring.

The first graders began to work on a scrap book to send with me. Mrs. O'Keefe wasn't sure about doing one, but the kids talked her into it. It seems that everyone has discovered a favorite place that they can write about. Mrs. O'Keefe had a newspaper that had great pictures for the kids to use. I was impressed at how hard the students were working. Like I said yesterday, they sure love to write!

I went to gym with the class again today. It seems they have gym and music two days a week. They have library and art once a week. Tomorrow they don't have any other classes. I wonder what we will do? I think Mrs. O'Keefe has some fun science things planned for them. Right now they are studying mealworms and watching to see how they grow and change. The kids keep them on their desks in little vials. But I saw a new box of bugs arrive today! I can't wait to see what the kids do with them tomorrow.

Love, Selena

April 6, 1999

I have learned that there are 235 students here at Grant. The school was built in 1910. It is a beautiful brick building that is still in very good shape. The playground has huge trees surrounding it. It looks more like a park than a school. You can see a picture of the school on their website. http://www.wausau.k12.wi.us/grant .

Today we looked at the scrap book from Calgary. Fort Worth and Calgary are very big cities compared to Wausau. Wausau has around 35,000 people. There are many smaller cities surrounding Wausau, so the area has about 90,000 people all together. Wausau has lots of stores but not many museums or amusement parks like bigger cities. One thing Wausau has plenty of is parks. There are parks all over the city where you can picnic, play on playgrounds, play volleyball or tennis, feed ducks, or fish. Lots of people enjoy boating and waterskiing during the summer.

Today I got to go to art class with the kids. They painted vases on a picture. Their art teacher does some great projects with the kids. Their artwork is displayed all over the halls.

I also went to the library. The librarian read a story called When My T.V. Blew Up. I liked the story. I watched the kids check out books. They sure like their library.

At the end of the day, we all went to the computer lab. Some of the kids wrote on computers and some at tables. I sat by Brandon and Karl while they worked. They didn't even play with me, they were so busy writing. The kids like writing time and told me that they love writing in the computer lab. Another thing they love to do is have Mrs. O'Keefe read to them. She is reading a series of books by Mary Pope Osbourne called the Magic Tree House books. She is reading Sunset of the Sabertooth. The boys and girls really like these books. Some of them have even written their own Magic Tree House stories.

Well, that's about all for today.

Love, Selena

April 5, 1999

Hello! Today I arrived at Grant School. All the kids were very surprised. They didn't think I was going to visit! This was their first day back to school after spring break.

This morning when the class opened my box, all of the kids wanted to hold me. I think I am going to like it here. Everyone held me and pet me. Mrs. O'Keefe read The Armadillo from Armarillo and then the class looked at the Travel Guide from Fort Worth. The kids liked them. They told me the books were neat. Tomorrow Mrs. O'Keefe will read the scrap book that my friends in Calgary made. I think the kids will like that one too!

I had chicken nuggets for lunch. They were good. After lunch, Mrs. O'Keefe forgot to take me with the class to music. It was scary to be left in the room alone. But then she remembered me and I joined the kids in gym class. They hit balloons with paddles and screamed a lot. They love gym class.

At the end of the day, I wondered what the kids were doing at their desks. They were writing about their day and most of them wrote about me. Then they helped me write this journal entry. Mrs. O'Keefe took a picture of me with all the kids.

It as a great first day in Wausau even though it rained outside and was cold. I like inside recess because all the kids played with me. I have had a busy day, but I can't wait for tomorrow.

Love,

Selena

Class:Mrs. Akins' Class
School: St. Hubert
Email:melina.akins@mail.crcssd1.calgary.ab.ca
Location: Calgary, Ab Canada

March 16th 1999

We are sitting in the lab writing to you, this school has a big computer lab. I am going to watch the student work in a little bit. The grade two's have been studing Australia and I have learned about Kangaroos, Koalas, and sugar glider from them. Here in Calgary they have moose, insects, dogs, cats, deer, cows, bears, lots of birds, fox, coyote, rabbits, horses, and beavers. I am sad I will be leaving the Grade Two today. But I have had fun and learned alot about there city.

Love Selena

Class:Mrs. Akins' Class
School: St. Hubert
Email:melina.akins@mail.crcssd1.calgary.ab.ca
Location: Calgary, Ab Canada

March 15th 1999

Today we played Leperchaun Bingo in Math, the children are getting ready for St. Patrick's day. Mr. Canu's class sent me a message asking about St. Patricks Day. This class made pots of gold and rainbows. They will wear green on March 17th which is St. Patrick's Day. Peter read us a story called Armidillo Rodeo by Jan Brett. It was really neat. The children love her stories because of the art work and the borders. It was neat that Peter's aunt gave him the book. She is from the United States.

Class:Mrs. Akins' Class
School: St. Hubert
Email:melina.akins@mail.crcssd1.calgary.ab.ca
Location: Calgary, Ab Canada

March 13, 14th 1999

I spent the weekend with Mrs. Akins' family. They had a busy time but I got to drive around the city. The traffic can get crazy but if you are patient it is okay. I discovered kids here like to eat at MacDonalds, Pizza Hut, A&W, or any place out. They eat food like us, many of them like chinese food too. You can buy anykind of food here. They have grocery stores called Safeway, Co op , Super Store and IGA. On Sundays the students go to church, many of them are practicing for First Communion.

Class:Mrs. Akins' Class
School: St. Hubert
Email:melina.akins@mail.crcssd1.calgary.ab.ca
Location: Calgary, Ab Canada

March 12, 1999

Today we worked on a book about Calgary that I will bring home. The children made a list of places around Calgary and in Calgary. Marc is working on the Saddledome, which is where the Calgary Flames play hockey and where they also have concerts. Ben is working on Canada Olympic Park which is where students and adults can ski, snowboard, and luge. It is where the 1988 Olympics took place. Samantha H is working on City Hall and this is where their Mayor works. Bradley is working on MacMohan Stadium, this is where the Stampeder Football tema plays football and where the 1988 Winter Olympic Opening ceremonies took place. Daniel C is working on the Bird Sanctuary. This is on the Bow River and it is a park where you can see birds and learn about our enviornment. Peter is writing about the Science center where we learn about space and other planets. Raymond is writing about our News stations. The grade twos have been on channel 7 and the A channel which is channel 8 here.

Carina is working on the Calgary Tower which is a very tall tower in the center of Calgary. You can go to the top and see the whole city. There are stores in the base of the tower. Daniel L and Chris are working on the Calgary Zoo where there are lots of cool animals. They even have a dinosaur section in the Zoo. Jessica is working on farming around Calgary. They have lots of cows, pigs, and grain farms. Troy is working on the Lesiure Centre which is a place you can swim and skate. There are libraries attatched too. Kristyn is working on a page about ST. Hubert school. That is the school I am visiting. Louise is working on the Calgary Police Station, they have very good police in Calgary. Daniel's dad is one of them. Samantha L is working on the Stampede, this is alot like our rodeos. Rebecca is working on Heritage Park which is a park that shows what life was like in the past in Calgary. Rebecca has family in Texas. Kandis is working on Calaway Park which is an amusement park with tons of rides and games to play. Alan is working on the Imax theatre, this is where you can watch films on a giant screen. Stephanie and Nikki are working on the Tyrell Museum, which is where they have dinosaur bones and info on the dinosaurs. Anne and Danielle are working on the Glenbow museum. The grade twos will spend one week there in April. We sure had a busy day.

Love Selena

Class:Mrs. Akins' Class
School: St. Hubert
Email:melina.akins@mail.crcssd1.calgary.ab.ca
Location: Calgary, Ab Canada

March 11, 1999

Mrs. Akins was not here today she was working on a project that Stephanie explained to me. They have two animal friends that are travelling. Mountie the Moose is travelling the world. Bert the Beaver is travelling across Canada. The grade twos will be going to Aggie Days next week. This is a day to learn about agriculture and cowboys. They will see sheep shearing, cow milking, horses and chickens etc. Did you know that Calgary is also called a Cow Town like Fort Worth. Daniel FW told me that they have a special rodeo called Stampede every year. There are rides, rodeos , clowns, and displays. People come from around the world.

Class:Mrs. Akins' Class
School: St. Hubert
Email:melina.akins@mail.crcssd1.calgary.ab.ca
Location: Calgary, Ab Canada

March 10th, 1999

I arrived this afternoon in my travel box. They brought me to Mrs. Akins' class. I was very happy to come out of the box. The first thing I saw was the kids. They look a lot like my friends in Texas. They were so happy to see me. Mrs. Akins had not told them I was coming. So I was a big surprise. I discovered that someone special in this class has the same name as me. We all sat down on the carpet and read my book. Samantha thought the book about Armadillos was really fun to read. Daniel L thought it was very interesting. We all enjoyed the rhymes.

I have learned that there are 285 students in this school, with kids in Kindergarten to Grade Six. They have a big gym for games, physed, religion celebrations, and where they eat lunch. They have a library with lots of books. Samantha L told me about a program called Library Connections. The children read special books and make connections to real life and the subjects they are studying. Louise showed me the playground. They have lots of space to play soccer, football, basketball and other games. They even have climbers, slides and tire swings. Troy helped me to meet a student with special needs who is learning to talk and walk. What an excellent First day.

Love Selena

Class:Mrs. Ritter's
School: George C. Clarke
Email:carit@flash.net
Location: Fort Worth, TX USA

Yipee!! Selena's on her way!!

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