Spelling Bee Boys!

Two of my outstanding spellers represented us well in the fifth grade spelling bee on Friday! I was very proud of both of them! Great spellers are hard to come by these days, so I greatly appreciate these two!

Great News of the Week!

This week I am going to take the opportunity to point out three things that I saw this Sunday morning. First, the front of our church was filled with shoe boxes full of goodies. These Christmas treats will be sent to children all over the world just in time for Christmas. As much as my students would love a box of treats, I know that these children will cherish them more than my students could ever imagine. We had a fun time filling our box full of little girl items for a precious child to enjoy.

The second act of kindness that I witnessed today started at church, but quickly filled the aisles of Publix. The congregation was asked to take a brown paper bag and fill it for our food pantry. It was almost like having a scavenger hunt around the store to make sure that we got everything on our list. Although, times are very tight, we know that a family is going to really feel blessed to have these items for Thanksgiving. The great thing was that we saw other families doing the same thing, and teaching their children about giving.

The third thing that made me smile today was also at Publix. After we finished unloading our cart, a nice older woman came up to us. She quietly took our cart and pushed it to the front for us. What a pleasant surprise! Remember to keep an eye on those around you...you never know what you can do something nice to catch someone off guard!

Let's Make Veterans Day Everyday!

A day off of school, a day of freedom! I hope that you really put thought into the word freedom today. How we go through our lives, running errands to Target, getting on the school bus, eating dinner as a family, and we rarely stop and think...who provided and sustains this freedom for us. We were blessed to have over 70 veterans join us for Take a Veteran to School Day on Tuesday at Gilchrist. We paraded them through the hallways (thanks to Ida), asked them thought provoking questions, and celebrated them with a reception. One question that was asked by a student was, "Do you think Americans take freedom for granted?" The group of men and woman said, "YES," in unison. I've learned that it takes very little to make a Veteran happy, just a simply "thank you."

Be grateful for, pray for, and make scarifices for those who are and have protected our freedom.

To see pictures of the day, visit www.stacycarlton.com

I am sharing my words from the day because my grandpa checks our blog and I want him to be able to read this!

So by now you probably have figured out why our campus is overflowing with Veterans. A veteran by definition is simply a person who has served in a military force; however, we know that being a veteran is much more complex than that. It means sometimes giving up your youth, missing holidays and birthdays, it means being miles away from loved ones, it means protecting school children just like the ones that sit in front of you. But most importantly, it means sacrificing your own goals for those of our country.

As you can see, a lot of us have a special veteran in our lives. I am fortunate to have two that helped mold me into the American that I am today. My paternal grandfather, Col. Arthur Witters served loyally in the Air Force for over three decades. He was a fighter pilot in WWII and even has a model plane made after his infamous Duck Butt (named affectionately for my Grandmother). He also advised U.S. presidents at the Pentagon, and was the man in charge when it came to building portions of the Air Force Academy. And this year at the ripe old age of 90 he published a book chronicling his years of service.

My grandpa McKnight, my maternal grandfather, served this country in the Philippines during WWII as a Navy lieutenant. He fought on the U.S. Key and even had a pet monkey! Growing up we loved to hear stories of his days at sea and the adventures of his mischievous pet. I have no doubt that he would have done anything for the men on his boat; it is just the kind of man he is.

My grandfathers shaped my perception of civic responsibility. If they could head into the face of war as a young 20 something year old, than what would I do to serve my country? Long before I knew that John F. Kennedy spoke the now famous words, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” I knew this to be true because of my grandfathers’ direction. They taught me to say GO GATORS, to give back to others, and to proud and honored to be an American.

I hope that you enjoy your morning here at Gilchrist. We are so thankful to have you here and so appreciative that you stepped up when others sat down.

Our Great News of the Week!

The great news this week involves my own students. They were so gracious to one another on Friday at Agrirama. They lent each other money for ice cream, or covered the difference if they didn't have enough. They also emptied the change from their pockets into a donation well. You see, Agrirama has a wonderful steam engine train that they can't afford to run at this time. This historical treasure is funded mainly by the state of Georgia. With these tough economic times, their budget has been cut drastically. We are grateful that they are still open at all! If you would like to know more about Agrirama read about them here.

Our Trip to Agrirama

Make a Smilebox photobook

Who is Jaylen?

I think that every teacher (every good teacher) believes that children can change the world. I saw proof of that tonight on the evening news. Right here in the state of Florida, a little boy with Tourette's Syndrome has started his own website. He wants to stop bullying, "FOREVER." He said this with much confidence. As you can imagine he has been bullied a lot in his nine years, but he did something about it. He now flies around the country talking to other children about the damage that childhood bullying can do. Check out his site here and think to yourself, "How can I change the world?"

Great News of the Week

Our great news of the week comes straight from our own school! Ms. Law and her kindergartners teamed up with the Tallahassee Garden Club to transform a pretty bare and bleak looking section of our campus. We thank them all for going above and beyond and making Gilchrist a great place to be!