Kelsie’s Blog

I volunteer every year for Safety Town.  It is two week, accident prevention program designed for children entering kindergarten.  Under the guidance of a certified teacher, law enforcement officer and teen instructors, 5 year old children are introduced to a variety of safety lessons.

During this two week program we are in charge of six children. We are expected to become well acquainted with the children, learning their names, providing for their needs and guiding them through the activities of each day.  We must follow the schedule and make sure their group is on time to all events.  We also must know where the kids are at all times and release them only to a parent or guardian.  Some of our responsibilities are to teach safety songs, poems and reinforce the day’s safety lessons.  We teach by demonstration and supervise children as they practice pedestrian safety on our simulated town.

I think doing a volunteer activity like this is a great experience and a way to participate in your community.

    My hero would be my cross country and track coach, Dewayne Cantrall. The first time I really got to know him was at the Crater Invitational meet in 2007. My sister was a freshman running for him. He came up in the stands and pointed at me to come with him. He told me that if I wanted to be a good runner I needed to learn how to take splits. I never got the chance that day to do the splits because they didn’t have the paperwork ready, but I felt special that he picked me to help him.

   The next time I had the chance to be around him was at Cross Country Camp 2007. It was at his house in Marcola a few weeks before school started. When we were running he would drive by waving and smiling at us. We never thought he would be a very good softball player, but he sure surprised us when he ran the bases. He was fast. He liked playing lawn dart tournaments and winning of course. He was like one of us and you really got the chance to connect with him and got to know his personality.

    My first cross country season started off on a bad note. I hurt my lower back and I was afraid to tell Mr. Cantrall but my sister told me to talk to him. When I told him, he was very nice and had me cross train on the bike and try and rest. He always seemed to know what to do in all my injury situations and always wanted the best for me. One of the funniest moments being around Mr. Cantrall, was at practice. He wanted to show me a stretch and in front of everyone he had me lay down and he picked up my legs and spun me around in circles for quite awhile. He had a huge smile on his face, but the team just sat there in shock that Mr. Cantrall would do that.

    Mr. Cantrall is a hero to me because he has made me the runner that I am today. He always knew when something was wrong and knew how to bring the best out in me. He made me want to be the best, not only in running but in the classroom as well. Even though he has passed away he will always be my hero. I will miss him.

I would like to see Killer whales in the wild. They are my favorite animal and very cool. They definately belong in the wild not in the zoo because they shouldn’t be in a small little pool. They should be in the ocean.

 White is the color of Coach Cantralls hair blowing in the wind. I will miss him.

 The fluffy clouds pass by bringing sun to brighten the day.

  Baby sheep running up and down the hill chasing each other. I hear it baaa as it calls for its mother.

Earth Day is a very important day. Earth day is about making the earth a better place. To make it a better place you need to remember the 3 R’s. The 3 R’s are reduce, reuse and recycle. We need to reduce how much stuff we use. Also we need to reuse many things and not just go buy more. We also need to recycle paper, bottles and anything else that you can. At school and at home I try my best to recycle paper, bottles and other things. So just remember to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

No Finish Line By Marla Runyan and Sally Jenkins

This post has been written on “a story about a blind runner” as part of The Edublogger’s Student Competition!

    I was sitting in the living room eating my scrumptious frosted mini wheats when out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of brown race by the window. I could hear footsteps echoing from the empty hot tub and a claw scratching sound. I stood up and I could see a brown tail going over the fence. I opened the door and yelled “Sage” but my chocolate lab didn’t come. I stood on a chair and peeked over the fence and saw her in my neighbors backyard. I grabbed my shoes and her collar as I walked next door to retrieve my pooch. As we headed back home, out of the corner of her eye she spotted an orange cat. She went chasing after it down the middle of the road and I was yelling for her to go home. She turned around and sprinted towards the house. When she returned to the house she plopped down in the grass and acted like she hadn’t done anything wrong.  

The podcast that I thought was really interesting was Holes. Some elements that the podcast had was the music in the background, fading voices, and alternating voices. The music in the background explained the mood of the story and also it went with the story. Also the alternating voices really made the podcast because it helped explain the story well. The reason why this podcast on Holes was intriguing was because they made it really interesting to listen to. Also because I thought the music and sound effects they used were really great. I really liked the movie Holes so I wanted to listen to a podcast of Holes. The podcast of Holes was worth writing about because the podcast was really interesting and it explained the story really well. Also I liked the sound effects and the elements in the podcast. I would recommend this podcast to anyone.  The link to Holes podcast is http://odeo.com/episodes/11244883-Holes-by-Louis-Sachar