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Kids School Pages
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
11S
PILLAGER AREA
CHARTER SCHOOL Pillager Area Charter School will educate by building relationships with students, families, community and Mother Earth. Students will become stewards of the environment as responsible actively involved citizens.
Our Journey to New York 11-11-11! By Tiffany Wilson Our journey to New York started early this morning at 6:15 AM. We rode the bus to Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport and arrived there about 9:30. Some of us chose that almost three hour drive to catch up on sleep. The others, like me, were too excited to sleep. On our way down, we stopped at Burger King in Clearwater for breakfast. Luna left her phone there. She didn’t realize it until we got to the Airport. At the Airport, we checked into our flight. We waited to board for about 45 minutes. During that time, we first time fliers were nervous and excited about the flight. At 10:55 AM we boarded the flight. When we started going down the runway, I got so excited I started crying and laughing at the same time. Mark laughed at me. At about 12:15 we landed in Milwaukee, WI. From there, we had a two hour wait before we got on our connecting flight to New York. That flight was about two hours. Flying over Lake Michigan, I felt like I was looking at the ocean because it was so vast and beautiful. At about 6:00 PM Eastern Time, we landed in New York. I was so happy to get off the plane and finally be in New York. Once we got off the plane and into the concourse, we were greeted by a packed waiting area. I was shocked at how small and compacted everything was, especially for a city with over eight million people. Once we got all our things and people, we took a shuttle to the hotel Pan American to make plans… sort of. After that was done, some of us “attempted” to go to the mall a couple blocks away. We only got as far as the McDonald’s before we stopped and ate. After a long day with waking up early and being constantly on the move, plus adding an hour, I was ready for bed. 11-12-11 First official day in the Big Apple. In the morning, we left the hotel around 8:30. From there, we walked four blocks to the Subway station and took a subway to Times Square. My breath was taken away as soon as we stepped out of the station and saw Times Square for the first time. From there, we walked a couple blocks to the Rockefeller Plaza to see Top of the Rock. It was so amazing seeing New York from almost one hundred stories high. After Top of the Rock, we took a ferry to Battery Park, which were a few blocks from the 911 Memorial. At Battery Park, we bought stuff from the vendors there. I bought a New York hoody and three New York shirts. On our walk to the memorial, I bought a pair of sunglasses for five bucks on Wall Street, right across the street from the
Wall Street protests. Once we got to the memorial, we walked around the pools and read the names that were engraved on the sides. It was so peaceful and quiet… Before we went to the Empire State building, we went to Madame Tussaud’s wax Museum. It was really cool. One of the floors was a REAL candy shop. I bought some gummy sharks and frogs. I want more… At the Empire State, we went on a virtual tour of New York called the Sky Ride. It was so cool and the commentary was funny. I was laughing almost the entire time. Back at the hotel, I was ready for bed… and for the ground to stop moving. 11-13-11 Another eventful day in the city that never sleeps; we began today by going to the Statue of Liberty. It was so beautiful; But a lot smaller in person. After the Statue, we took a ferry to Ellis Island. There, we walked around the main building and read about the people that came there. Once we were done at Ellis Island, we went to Chinatown. At first, we were supposed to go to the Brooklyn Bridge but we stayed too long in the Subway. In Chinatown, Renae and I found all the deals on Mott Street. I bought a cow hat with a scarf and pockets. 11-14-11 Today began bright and early for five of us. Renae, Reinna, Cody, Kali and I went to Rockefeller Plaza to watch the Today Show. We made signs. Al Roker came out and I got to shake his hand. We were on National Television! After the Today Show, we walked to Good Morning America. On our way, we stopped at Tiffany’s. We all thought it was a café, but it was only a jewelry store. We stopped at a real café to grab a bite. We got to GMA as the show was ending. Renae and I got pictures with Robin and George Stephanopoulos! For about a half hour, we sat in Times Square, just looking at the sights and people. We went to the American Museum of Natural History, where we met up with all the other kids. Before we went in, we sat in Central Park where I took a cow nap on a park bench; so peaceful. At the museum, I saw lots of attractions on the stars and how Earth came to be. There were also exhibits on animals and dinosaurs, it was huge! When we left, some of us went back to Times Square to do over fun things, like shopping. I got my shopping done at a store called Grand Slam. After shopping we went on the Intrepid, the air, sea, and space mu-
seum. I took it easy there. My feet were pulsing. We went on the Circle Line cruise after the Intrepid, it was so cool! We got to see New York from the water and at night, so beautiful. 11-15-11 Today our day got off to a somewhat late start. We didn’t leave the hotel until about eleven. From our hotel, we took about an hour and a half Subway ride to Coney Island. While we were there, Mark treated us all to lunch at Famous Nathans. I got the crispy chicken sandwich and fries. Not really good. For a while, we sat around and ate our food near some drunken hobo’s. Needless to say, I didn’t care for Coney Island all that much. After Coney Island, Renae, Kali, Sara, and I went to Canal Street to shop. I got my nephew a shirt, me some PJ pants, and some hats. When we left Canal Street, we went to Soho. There, we went to a coffee shop for something warm to drink then to H&M. I bought two shirts and a hair clip. From there, we made our way to Grand Central Station. Shortly after leaving there, Sara left us at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. While we were looking for a subway, I found a Barnes and Noble. I got really excited. I went in and bought two books. With just Kali, Renae, and I we made our way over to Times Square again. Kali went to eat at an Irish place while Renae and I went to the Hershey store. I bought a chocolate lover mug. After that, we went across the street to Sabrro’s. While I was eating my cheese pizza, Renae scared me by having a NYPD take a picture with me. After eating, we went to the Disney Store and Forever 21. I got an Eeyore for my mom and a Stitch for me. We stayed there for about another half hour then decided to go back to the hotel; packing to do tonight. 11-16-11 Home. This morning, we got up and left the hotel about ten. We took two busses to the Airport. Once there, we waited to board tor about an hour and a half. We had lunch. I had pizza again. It is a little sad we left New York. I had such a great time…except for a few things, Coney Island. I’m so glad I got this chance to go. I loved it. Times Square was my favorite place. Our flight from New York to Milwaukee lasted about two hours. There, I bought a little cow with buggy eyes. I named her Bug-Moo. We almost missed our flight to MSP. Our plane was at another gate and we didn’t realize it until they were boarding. Glad to get on it. Good to be going home. We got to Pillager around ten, after making a short stop in Clearwater to pick up Luna’s phone. HOME!!!
B is for Bully
PACS School Board member Retreat
Trip to the Iron Range Derrick working on a Solar Panel
Luke working on the trailer
(Top two photos) Top of Rockefeller Center, (middle) Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty, (bottom) Today Show!
Colleen preparing our Open House Thanksgiving Dinner
by Emily Feustel Thursday, December 1st, I had the opportunity to see a play entitled “B is for Bully.” This play was at the Central Lakes College in the Dryden Theatre. When I arrived, along with the rest of the students and teachers, we beheld a small, dark room with a makeshift stage across from the seats. I had been expecting a large theater, but this was all right too. As we proceeded to our seats, there was a bit of commotion as we all shuffled around other people trying to sit down. When we were all finally seated, the lights dimmed, and the actors went to their places. The play consisted of the actors portraying people who were victims of bullying, the bullies, and onlookers who saw what happened. Each of the actors told stories about different cases of bullying, including discrimination, abuse, and even murder. It wasn’t a long play, which is good since the attention span of some students is very short. It opened my eyes to how anyone can be a victim, and that sometimes people don’t even realize they are being a bully. Also, I learned that people are afraid of what they do not understand, and so they shun it, or try to destroy it. Young, old, man, woman- no matter your age, gender, race, beliefs- anyone can be bullied. But most people just turn a blind eye on the situation, sad but true. This play inspired me to take a stand against bullying when I see it, and it made me realize that I have been a bully. My goal now is to change that. I hope the message of the play got through to other people too, because together, we can make a difference.