We’ve been out of school for the past two days because of possible cases of swine flu. Two students were reported ill over the weekend and as a precaution, the school closed. They are waiting for test results. The school even made the local news. The report showed the custodians in the building thoroughly wiping down the classrooms and hallways. A neighboring town had 3 confirmed cases of the virus. I hope everyone back home is feeling fine.

My host class is getting ready to test on knowing all 50 states/capitals and postal codes. I know where New Jersey, Missouri, Florida and California are but the others… Good luck class!

I have been out and about the last week or so trying to get in as much as I can before I head back to Missouri. I miss everyone, but I will really feel sad leaving my host class here at Hainesport School.

The school held a family night at Chuck E Cheeses and he came to visit us to remind us to join him for an evening of fun. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to go.

The next set of pictures were taken at a band festival. The 5-6 grade band traveled to a school about 45 minutes south to Sweedsboro, NJ to participate. Each school had a chance to perform songs and then the group was given a critique by the judge. I am proud to say the Hainesport received a superior rating. Way to go gang!

We were secretly fooling around in the practice area while waiting for our turn to perform.

The band look so neat in their black and white attire. This performance was a good rehearsal for the spring concert at Hainesport that was held on April 30th. The music program at Hainesport has a lot to be proud of.

After performing we went utside onto the field for a picnic lunch before heading back to school. I was offered all sorts of yummy foods, including a ladybug.

Hainesport School has a program called M.A.R.E. that stands for Marine Activities Research Education. As part of the program, a marine biologist visited this past week and brought some specimens that the students talked about and had the opportunity to touch. I learned so many interesting facts and even kissed a horseshoe crab.

Clever way to get a haircut.

Our final days in Naples. FL were wonderful. I managed to take in a game of golf, and go to the beach. While out on the course, we had a perfect view of a bald eagle sitting high up in a tree. I wish I had remembered to bring my bird book because there were lots of different types of birds.

Just look at the sand castle I made with a little help from some friends. We went to the beach around 5PM to watch the sunset into the ocean. Unfortunately, clouds got in the way. I did have fun looking for shells and building a castle. I have now visited the Pacific Ocean and The Gulf of Mexico, and hopefully before I come home we’ll get to take a trip to the Jersy shore and the Atlantic Ocean.

I used crab legs, shells, and all sorts of items washed along the beach.

We arrived back to NJ late Thursday evening. What a flight! We rode in first class. I was good and only ordered a diet Coke. Luckily we have a few days to recover before school begins again on Monday.

Crazy Hair Day was wild and fun. I borrowed a wig, but it really didn’t fit.  The cast of Seussical Jr. really put on a terrific show.

I am having fun enjoying what I believe is my first Easter celebration with my teacher host and her family. It’s great to see  mature people enjoying typical activites children usually participate in. I’ve helped to dye eggs, open giftts and hunt for Easter eggs. This group takes Easter egg hunting seriously. I’ll pretend I didn’t see one of them steal an egg from another’s basket. My host teacher and I found the carrot egg with $5. Hurray for us!Af

Dying eggs was quite enjoyable. There are enough eggs to have egg salad for a week!          I was trying to hide in the candy dish but..

After a deleicious dinner at the club, we played a game called Epa. I was told it comes from Boston. The idea is to see who can collect the most hard boiled eggs by hitting one end of an  egg against others seated around the table. We didn’t do well at this game. I think we only defeated two others. The winner of the game managed to collect 12 eggs.  After Epa, we played dominoes, specifically the game called Chicken Foot. It took us three nights to finish one game, but it was fun.

 You just won’t believe the places you”ll see me.              Having fun in the sun, RG    

After a crazy time of late flights and running to make connecting flights, my teacher host, her husband, and myself arrived in Naples, Florida late Thursday evening. The home we are staying at is located on a golf course. I’ve been tempted to walk out and practice putting on the 10th green, but I am afraid a gator might be around. Last year a gator made its way into a neighbor’s screened in porch. Needless to say, I’m keeping my eyes wide open.  This should be a relaxing vacation, but I know my teacher host brought papers to grade. As for me,  I can’t wait to relax by the pool and enjoy the jacuzzi. And people live this lifestyle every day, imagine that.  Don’t I look great cruisin in a convertible?

Just what I need after a long day of traveling, time spent in the jacuzzi or lounging on my raft in the pool.

This is the life!

School life has been quite hectic during the last weeks of March and into the beginning of April. The middle school drama club was busy preparing for their shows which were presented the first weekend in April. I was quite impressed with the talent of the actors. Everyone seeed to have a good time. Even some teachers and administrators joined in the show. I was quite popular and was able to get a back stage pass, enabling me to have my picture taken with some of the cast.  You will notice a picture of me with a c razy wig, but that is not from the show. That was Crazy Hair Day.

I learned a lot the other day during D.A.R.E. class. The officer brought the night vision goggles to let the students experience the affects of being intoxicated. While the students thought it was fun, I know the officer put the message out  to the class about not getting involved with alcohol.

I helped chaperone the 5-6th grade band on their trip to the mall. Every year schools in the county have student work on display throughout the mall. Schools are also invited to have their bands or chorus perform. Hainesport’s band did an excellent job! The musicians enjoyed eating at the food court after their performance. With my fine skills of chaperoning, the trip was successful. No lost students or instruments. 

Everyone is counting the days until spring break. Even I am excited because I am off to sunny Florida. I will catch up with you from there.             RG

Over the weekend I went to the Adventure Aquarium with the Hainesport Girl Scout Troop #24077. They had the honor to sleep over at the local aquarium located in Camden. Camden is on the other side of the Delaware River, directly across from Philadelphia. One of the girls decided to bring me with them. You may have noticed that my appearance is different. As with the other post, I had decided to welcome the spring season with a change of clothes and some fresh flowers. I like this outfit so much, I might wear it a little more often!

When we first arrived at the aquarium, we had to wait in a hot room for a while until we were allowed to go see the fish. Then we saw a big, green crocodile.  It was scary!  Then the Girl Scouts and I took an adventure into the rain forest!  I saw a sea turtle that looked a lot like a human.  After I saw the sea turtle, one girl and I got eaten by a shark!  He spit us back out, so I guess he doesn’t like the taste of gnome.

After my bad experience with a shark, I saw a sea snake!  He had a flat, oar-like tail to help him steer through the water.  After I saw the sea snake, I met the famous Nemo from Finding Nemo.

Then, the scouts and I moved on to the sea star touch tank.  Do you think Girl Scouts are nice?  They’re not.  They held me over the touch tank, right above a scary red sea star.  It was so scary!  After they put me down and said they were only messing with me, each scout touched a sea star.  I even touched one.

After yet another scary experience, we saw some sharks in a really big tank.  One of the aquarium employees taught the scouts and I that you can tell if a shark is a boy or a girl by seeing if it has claspers.   Claspers on a shark  are located  between the front fins and a pair of fins in front of the tail.

There was a really cool diagram of a shark’s body.  It was informative, but it had a couple of humorous features, too.  After I saw the diagram I posed with some girls in front of giant shark jaws.  Then, I saw a hammerhead. Did you know that there are only two hammerhead sharks in aquariums around the world?  The Adventure Aquarium just happens be one of the two lucky  aquariums to have one.

If I learned anything from my aquarium experience, it is that 1) Girl Scouts are mean, 2) sharks don’t think gnomes taste good, and 3) Nemo looks cooler in person!

On Saturday, I went to Westminster County College of Rider University for the New Jersey Music Piano Festival. Isn’t that a mouthful? You’ll see I look different because I decided to welcome in spring by going through a change of clothes for a few days. I even picked a basket of flowers! Anyway, one of the students from my host teacher’s class was in it. Judge #20 (the girl from our class’s judge) was really nice. She let me stand on the piano and touch some of the keys, even though I couldn’t make a sound, no matter how hard I jumped! The student played two pieces, Sonata and Song of the Lark, and she got an excellent on both of them. The four ratings are Excellent, Very Good, Good, and Fair, but actually I think Good is Fair and Fair is Bad. Don’t tell anyone!  When the pictures are posted, you will see that this same student was Hainesport school’s spelling bee champion. What a gifted student!