Hey, fourth graders!
Senator Michel really appreciated your ideas about lengthening the school year. Read his response to you below.
Dear Students:
Thank you all so much for your thoughtful response to my legislative proposal. You had many good ideas and I would like to incorporate your thoughts and amend my proposal. How would each of you vote on the following proposal:
Add 5 - 10 days to the school year and require that those additional days may only come between Labor day in September and Memorial Day in May. In other words, this proposal will NOT shorten our traditional summer vacation.
The additional days would mean fewer 3 and four day weekends during the year. Now what do you think?
State Senator Geoff Michel
This week you have two options for your blog assignment: 1) either respond to Senator Michel’s question (including your reasons for agreeing or disagreeing) OR, 2)since we are currently studying our great state, write a short story about an important Minnesota place or event you have experienced. (Examples: canoeing in the Boundary Waters? walking across the headwaters of the Mississippi at Itasca? watching gigantic cargo ships slide under the canal liftbridge in Duluth? riding the old trolley at Lake Harriet? admiring the centuries old petroglyphs in Southwestern Minnesota? touring the shoe factory in Red Wing during its 100th birthday celebration?)
IMPORTANT - Please write your comment in a word processing program first. Reread what you write to make sure it makes sense. Correct spelling and other errors. Then, and ONLY then, submit your comment to the blog. (Part of writing is presentation. Take the time to do it well.) 75 words or more.
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15 comments:
Dear Mme Powell,
An event in Minnesota that had been memorable is going to the Ely wolf center. There I saw a video about all the types of wolves. It told that when the 2 different type of wolves had a baby, that created the red wolf. That’s why they are so rare. It also had a real carcass of every type of wolf fur. All the types of fur had a different texture to them. It told how our domestic dogs are part wolf. That was my favorite part because it explained that one day the stray/wild dogs decided to live in the wild. But, the best part of it all was that they had some wolves in captivity. You could watch their every move. They had almost all the types, too. It was very fun to go there together with my family. Also, my dad liked it so much, he bought mugs that say ‘’ELY WOLF CENTER’’. I recommend to go there.
~Sylvie~J~24~
P.S. If you want a good book about wild dogs try ‘’the good dog’’ by Avi
Dear Mme. Powell,
An event that I have done and thought was an experienced that I found was fun was when I went to Minneapolis for Mother's day on the top of the IDS building. There was a buffet that had brunch tables and desert table. My favorite food was the sassages and the biscuits with butter. And for the desert that I liked was the mini- cookies and the mini chocolat mooses. My mom and dad's favorite part was the view from the giant windows! But we all had a fun mother's day and thats what counts.
Kathrine sw#3
Dear Mme. Powell,
An event that I have done and thought was an experienced that I found was fun was when I went to Minneapolis for Mother's day on the top of the IDS building. There was a buffet that had brunch tables and desert table. My favorite food was the sassages and the biscuits with butter. And for the desert that I liked was the mini- cookies and the mini chocolat mooses. My mom and dad's favorite part was the view from the giant windows! But we all had a fun mother's day and thats what counts.
Kathrine sw#3
I would like to recommend going to “The Mill City Museum” if you go, there are exhibits like the history of the mill. The coolest part of the museum is the elevator movie. It’s in a huge elevator with seats and a tour guide. You get to see how the Mill City Museum blew up, what they would do plus there is a loud noise. The 2 best part of it is the view of the Mississippi it’s amazing. There also is a mini Mississippi river were you make barricades to block the river It’s a lot of fun. I hope you can also go to the museum
KevinSW6
Dear Mme P,
I am going to write about the State Fair. It is important to Minnesota because every state has a fair to show what is special about that particular state. The first Minnesota State fair was held in 1859 near what became downtown Minneapolis, the year after Minnesota became a state. Now because the state fair is so popular the ground it covers is 320 acres. The state fair ground use to be 210 acres because at first people donated pour farming land for the fairground but as you can see it’s so popular now there is 110 more acres.
Patricia Sw #13
Dear Senator Michel,
I agree with adding 5-10 days of school because students can get smarter and have a good education. This will help us go to a good college, and get a phenomenal job. Then our job will be good and we can help the society. And if we have a good job like a doctor, we can help people with their health. The community will be better. Also, we can have more time at school to study math, music, and gym so we will become smarter, healthier and happier. I strongly agree with adding 5-10 days of school. Thank you for reading my response.
MariaJ4#5
When I was four years old I went on the trolley in Linden Hills. I can’t remember a lot from it but one thing that do remember would be that me and my mom were sitting in the front at one part and in the next thing we knew we were going backwards at the back of the trolley.
annabel #16 sw
My Memorial day Weekend at Pathfinder Village in Hinckley MN
We left Saturday morning to go to my Grandmother and Grandfathers summer cabin. I was excited to go and see there new place, they just purchased it this year. I thought it was going to be a new finished cabin. But to my surprise when we got there it a work in progress. My Mom and Dad got to do all kinds of work, while I played in the sand with my cousins. We went swimming and played hide and go seek. We also got to see fireworks on Saturday night. On Sunday we worked on the cabin again, we had 20 people there helping us move two decks on to the property, it was a sight to be seen. Then it started to rain & rain, that’s when we decided to call it a weekend and come home. On the way home we stopped in Forest Lake to get something to eat. And found that all of the power was out, so we had to go to another town, little did we know that a very powerful storm had gone through the area, and had done so much damage. Wow what a wild weekend
BRAXTON #18 SW4
Dear Mme Powell,
Last summer I went up to Roy Lake in Brainerd. We went there with our friends the Helmkens. I thought the lake was magnificent but I guess I was gazing in awe too long and I got stung by a bee. (ouch!) I went inside and started to unpack all of my clothes along with the rest of my family. When I finished unpacking it had already gotten dark, but that didn’t stop us from having a bonfire! I soon noticed the girls had disappeared and I found them straining themselves by pulling our row boat that was upturned in the grass! They soon gave up and joined in for some smores. The next day Peter Helmken (8) and I went fishing off of the dock. We were using corn and guess what! I caught a snapping turtle! (at least I thought it was a snapping turtle because it was really aggressive and made hissing noises. ) The girls had already started pushing that boat but not succeeding in getting it in the water so Peter and I gave them a hand . We finally got it in the water to find that it was missing a plug. So I put a squishy bobber in it. Peter and I got back to fishing and then we heard a song that went like… Wiki tiki boat of the ocean. Wiki tiki boat of the sea. We got a paddle boat and went to a little square dock in the middle of the lake because the girls were getting a little annoying. Then on the last day my Dad rented a pontoon boat and we went on a wild ride! We went to all of the lakes that were connected to Roy Lake. Finally we packed up and headed home with lots of memories to remember… including this one!
Andy J16
In Minnesota my favorite outdoor activity is fishing. I have been fishing since I was 4 years old. A few years ago I caught a Muskie when we were fishing in Hayward, Wisconsin. It was exciting to catch. Some people fish for years without being able to catch a Muskie. We always release the fish we catch. We live right next to Lake Hariett and Lake Calhoun. This year we are going to try to catch a big bass! That is they I love to fish in Minnesota!!!
patrick sw4 #Vll
56 seconds left in the game 55, 54… Gooooooooaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll! It’s tide 3-3! Minnesota Gophers Vs Maine Black Bears in 2001-2002 hockey NCAA championship. Matt Koalska scored with 53 seconds left, then leaps over the boards into his teammates. Buuuuuuuuuuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
The horn goes off.
OVER TIME, SUDDEN DEATH, OT, one more period of play.
Let me get you caught up, the previous night Jordan Leopold received the Hobby Baker Award (college hockey’s best player award) and Johnny Pohl was named All-American.
Back to the game, it’s very quiet, everyone has butterflies in their stomach. 16 minutes 54 seconds into the period 55, 56, 57… a pass from Jordan Leopold to Johnny Pohl to Grant Potluny who shoots… Goooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllll!!! They win the NCAA championship, the first title since 1979.
I was there, I saw it, it’s the one thing that I’ll never forget. Thomas j21
I’m going to tell you about the Ely Bear Center. They have two bears. I don’t know what their names are but a guy kissed them when I went there. They feed them berries. I went there with a friend and they showed us a video about the bears. They said the bears can push over 200 pounds. They had a rock that one of the bears pushed in the lobby . Then I tried to push it and it moved only one centimeter. They talked about bear signs . One of the bears signs is if you see a tree that’s scratched, it’s probably a bear. After we went back to the cabin and we saw lots of bear signs.
Garrett SW23
A DAY IN STAR ISLAND
I woke up to find myself on Star Island then remembered that yesterday we drove up to Northern Minnesota to Star Island. Star Island is my favorite place in Northern Minnesota. I grinned and looked over at Ben. Then I turned my head to Genna then looked to Jack then Charlie. They were all still sleeping. I picked up a book and read for about 6 or 7 minutes. Then Charlie woke up. When Charlie wakes up he wakes up every one in the room. I covered my ears as Charlie howled so loud that the whole boat house shook. Genna woke and said “Charlie if dad hears were going to be in huge trouble. I heard Charlie whisper sorry. Then it was off to breakfast and we ate buttermilk pancakes that Mr. Anderegg made for all of us. Then we went tubing. It was Charlie’s turn to go alone and he told us to go full speed. We went so fast that Charlie went shooting up 20 feet in air and plummeted to the water with a huge splash. We all laughed when Charlie surfaced above the water. Then we hoisted Charlie and the tube into the boat. Next we went to the drop off for a picnic. Then Ben Genna and I snapped on our life vests for some swimming while Charlie and Jack played on the beach. After that we went home for a hike down to Windago. We brought nets in case we saw any snakes on the way. Fifteen minutes into the hike I spotted a snake. I tapped on Ben’s back and pointed to the snake. The snake saw Ben’s net when it was an inch away and it started to move away. Ben was too slow to catch the snake but Charlie wasn’t. He scooped it up and we let it go at Windago and hiked home. We had dinner around the fire. And then I went to sleep looking at the stars in the sky. And tomorrow I hope I’ll have another good day at Star Island.
Katiej4
Wonce I was at the boundry waters at my grandparents cabin. Me, my cousins Lidia and Soren desided to swim over to a little island in the middle of the lake. We found a lot of blue berry bushes, and started to pick the blue berrys. My ant Grechen came over in a canou and brought back a couple of baskets of blue berrys. For dinner that night we had a feast of blue berrys.
Sarah sw2
I decided to write about a special 4th of July parade and party that takes place in Detroit lakes MN! I yawned. Morning already? I looked around. Where am I? Oh right! I was at my grandma Rachel and my grandpa dick’s house! I was just about to go back to bed when the thought hit me like a firework! It was the 4th of July! The big parade would be soon! I ran down the stair case to find breakfast waiting for me. My grandma Rachel is such a good cook! I love her pancakes! I gulp them down as fast as I can. Then I sprint up the spiral stare case.. I jump into my red white and blue clothes. At the same moment my dad and grandpa go get the funny hats. I get a star shaped American flag head band thing. We rush out to the parade. All the neighbor hood people come and walk in it. The people who watch throw the candy to us! Then we go back to a park with the whole parade to a park across the street from my grandpa’s house. There we all eat burgers and hotdogs! I can’t wait to see if I won a prize! When I’m eating a lady comes up to me with a ignoramus lollipop. She told me I won the best hat prize! She gives me the lollipop, and gives one to my sister to. I know I’m proud that Minnesota celebrates the USA so well.
CristianaSW#12 P.S Happy 4th of July!
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