Rhode Island 4/27/00
Connecticut 5/1/00
Massachesetts 5/3/00
Vermont - 5/8-9/00
New Hampshire 5/11/00
Maine 5/17/00
Rhode Island: Due 4/14
Cranston, RI
4/27/00 Hi Everyone,
I am in the 45th state! New York did a great job of packaging me up and sending me on to "Little Rhody," better known as the Ocean State, Rhode Island.
It has been very cold, snowy, wet and misty here. They tell me that it is unusual weather for this time of the year. Outside the window there are oak and maple trees that are just beginning to bud, and tulips and daffodils in bloom. Unfortunately, it is too cold to go to the beach or see the mansions in Newport.
I can see Providence, the capitol, in the distance. This is where the TV show, "Providence," takes place.
I just love the veterinarian -- he's my favorite character! Providence has been rebuilt and has a new mall and a river that runs through the city. On warm spring nights torches are lit in the river and men on gondolas paddle around while music plays.
For lunch the kids offered me lobsters, clam chowder, quahogs and clamcakes. Clamcakes are a favorite here. They are deep fried dough with bits of clams in them. They don't taste anything like sweet cakes, but they are yummy! For a drink I may get fresh Del's lemonade or coffee milk.
The kids have 32 more days of school. Their classroom is very cute and animal friendly. I met their mascot, a Husky dog, and also a turtle named Galileo. There was a very stinky tadpole experiment going on in the back of the classroom. They have raised over 300 tadpoles. I must admit that I was very tired and could feel myself falling asleep during the social studies lesson. I noticed that several kids were already snoring. I guess I wore them out!
Tomorrow I will be leaving the Ocean State and heading to neighboring Connecticut. Maybe they'll take me to Mystic Seaport. The Rhode Island kids were telling me all about it. They love it there!
Bye for now,
Owney
Connecticut: Due 4/24
Groton, CT
5/1/00 I arrived at Fitch Middle School on May 1. My first stop was 8h grade lunch. There were about 150 kids in the cafeteria and they were happy to meet me. The assistant principal, Mr. Pendolphi, welcomed me to the school.
After lunch I visited Mr. Welt's history class. The students are studying World War II. Many of their dads (and some of their moms) are in the Navy and serve on submarines. I learned that Groton is the submarine capital of the world. Every man who serves on a submarine has to go to school at the naval base here in Groton.
Fitch is an interesting school. It is actually the combination of two schools; the former Fitch High School and Poquonnock Bridge Elementary School, which have been joined together to form Fitch Middle School. It is a big, confusing building. The school has about 550 students who are divided into five teams. Each team has five core teachers; reading, language arts, math, science, and social studies. The students are also able to study art, music, technology education, phys ed, home ec, chorus, band, French, and Spanish. Wow, what a busy day!
One of the most interesting parts of the day is what the kids call ³flex.² This is a period in the middle of the day when they are able to take part in all sorts of interesting and fun activities. Some of these are physical, like kick ball and hopscotch. Other students get some extra help during that period. The stamp club meets in Mr. Weltıs room. That activity has students from all three grades involved. The eighth graders are a lot of help. In fact, they pretty much run the flex! They told me that theyıre going to a big stamp show in Massachusetts this weekend.
After school today Iım going to a softball game. The girls played their first game on Friday and won. I hope they win today!
Iım looking forward to visiting Massachusetts, but Iılll miss Connecticut. I found out why ³the land of steady habits² is sometimes called the Nutmeg State, but Iım not telling!
Massachuesetts: Due 4/28
Melrose, MA
5/3/00 Owney arrived safe and sound in Massachusetts today to a rousing chorus of, "Owney! Owney! Owney!" We'll send him on his way to Vermont tomorrow.
Vermont: Due 5/1
Springfield, VT
May 8th and 9th
Elm Hill School, Springfield, Vt.
I was excited when I arrived at Elm Hill School. I went with Mr. Moore's class to their Secret Classroom in the forest and heard the story of me, "Owney, The Traveling Dog", again. I was passed around by the class.
I was glad to get out of the cramped box and see the sunlight. It was a hot and buggy day. Everyone looked at my paraphernalia that was in my
box. The kids tried to figure out what state the stuff was from.
I met Mrs. Carter's class. My cousin Owney visited Mrs. Carter's class in Novermber. He was a brown Beanie Baby they nicknamed "Spunky". I wish I
could've seen him. We are both dogs that traveled a lot.
I got to go outside for some recess. Then I went for lunch inside. The kids had ham for lunch and I had dog biscuits. Yummy!
In the afternoon I took a nap (while the kids had math) and dreamed of the post office sleeping on mail bags.
After that I got to meet Mrs. Smith's class. I had my picture taken with 2nd graders in Mr. Moore's class. In a few minutes I have my picture taken with 3rd graders.
--That was the end of the kids' class journal entry.
New Hampshire: Due 5/5
Derry, NH
5/11/00 Just wanted to let you know that Owney arrived in New Hampshire this afternoon. What an exciting day! Since I have not heard from you I shall mail him to Maine. If you want him to go somewhere else please let me know before tomorrow morning since I will be mailing both Owney and the postcards tomorrow after school.
Maine: Due 5/11
Bath, ME
5/17/00 Owney has arrived.
A few students are taking him to have his picture taken at some nearby sites this afternoon. We will be sending him to Washington soon unless we can find a better way to have him travel. We will write again soon.
