April 11, 2012 Vol. 91 No. 15
Michigan Boy brings his Flat Stanley to meet Hazelwood’s Mayor.
Education is Fun!
IN this Issue
Eight-year-old Danny Torreblanca of Grand Blanc, Mich., and his little brother, Emanuel, recently came to visit their grandparents, Daniel and Jenny Torreblanca, in Hazelwood during Spring Break. Danny brought his little friend, Flat Stanley, with him and took this laminated figure to see some of Hazelwood’s landmarks, including City Hall where they got to meet Mayor Matthew Robinson. Danny is a second grader at Myer Elementary School in Grand Blanc. A few weeks ago, his teacher, Mrs. Roman, read a book to the class titled, Flat Stanley, written by Jeff Brown. The main characters of this story are Stanley Lambchop and his younger brother, Arthur. Their father hangs a big bulletin board over Stanley’s bed. While at night, the board falls off the wall, flattening Stanley in his sleep. He survives and makes the best of his altered state. He discovers he can enter locked rooms by sliding himself under the door, and play with his brother by flying as a kite in the wind. Flat Stanley also learns he can visit his friends by being mailed in an envelope. Danny said his Flat Stanley has already accumulated a lot of frequent flyer miles by traveling to see his relatives across the country and in Mexico. “I’ve mailed my Flat Stanley to my Uncle Ted in San Diego, and to my other grandparents in Los Angeles,” he said. “I also sent him to my Aunt Daisy in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.” Dale Hubert, a third grade school teacher in London, Ontario, Canada, started the Flat Stanley Project in 1995. It is meant to encourage school children to write letters back and forth to each other, documenting where Flat Stanley has gone with them. Students make paper “Flat Stanleys” and keep a journal for a few days, describing where and what they’ve done with their new friend. The Flat Stanley and journal are then mailed to other people who are asked to treat Around Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
While visiting his grandparents during Spring Break, Danny Torreblanca of Grand Blanc, Mich., brought his Flat Stanley to meet Hazelwood Mayor Matthew Robinson at City Hall.
the figure as a visiting guest and add entries in the journal before sending it back. The Flat Stanley created by Danny is one that looks like himself. He enlarged one of his photos and cut it out with scissors. Then he laminated it to make it strong enough to be sent in the mail without being torn. According to his grandmother, they’ve taken Flat Stanley to a lot of interesting places in Hazelwood. “We’ve taken him to see BIGFOOT, the Little Red Schoolhouse, The Knobbe House, and to SVS Vision Center where their grandpa picked up a new pair of glasses,” Jenny Torreblanca said. But the most exciting thing they did was to meet Mayor Robinson on the night of a City Council meeting. “It was so cool to meet the Mayor and to get my picture taken with him and Flat Stanley in front of City Hall,” Danny said. “The mayor even gave me a key to the city and introduced me, my brother and grandma during the Council meeting.” Learn & Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
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Before Danny and his brother go back home, their grandmother plans to take a picture of them with Flat Stanley in front of McNair Elementary School in
Photo courtesy of the city of Hazelwood
Hazelwood. “This is where their dad and Uncle Ted attended elementary school at the same age,” Jenny said.
Movie Talk
See Movie page 9
“American Reunion” - Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
Joe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Shelly Schneider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Recipe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
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What’s Happening . . . . . . . . . 12-13 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-15
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