From: Mellie Lewis <mlewis@umd5.umd.edu>
Subject: Student's Reaction
Date: Sun, 4 May 1997 09:34:34 -0400 (EDT)
Hi Everyone, We just got a copy of Program Two last week from our Communications Department and I thought I would take a few minutes and share with you the excitement my students expressed when they saw the program and realized they had won the P.E.T. Elementary School Award. Actually, we had been so involved in the project everyone had forgotten that there would be a winning school. I had read Jan's email a few days before the broadcast, and was anxious to hear who won, but I had not told the kids. They were giggling and laughing as they saw pictures of themselves - I've never seen more excitement in any one place before. They missed the announcement because they were still whispering among themselves; one of the kids said, "Hey, I think they just named us - be quiet everyone!" I stopped the tape, rewound it and started it over. This time they listened very attentively. I didn't think twenty-two little fourth graders could make such a loud roar! The entire first floor of the building heard them. We played the two parts of the tape over about five times and then they finally settled down. (The video part of the tape is excellent; the audio has so much static on it it's almost hard to listen to. However, this did not upset the kids. They were so intent on watching the tape I think they must have blocked out the static.) What did they do after they settled down? Well, first they wanted to know who was going to get to work with Red Rover, Red Rover next year. Since I'm a G.T. Resource Teacher my grade assignments sometimes vary. I assured them that since they had worked so hard and brought the honor to our school they would be the group to work with Red Rover. They couldn't be more psyched! In all honesty, I don't know what's involved in learning Red Rover, Red Rover but I have faith that they'll master it. I'm sure they'll learn the program faster than their teacher - in fact, they'll probably teach their teacher the program. We have a staff meeting tomorrow, and the fourth grade teachers have requested that part of Program Two be played at the meeting so they could see the kids and learn more about what the kids are talking about. I'm planning on selling PTK to the staff tomorrow and I know the tape is going to do it. Our third grade social studies curriculum studies the rain forest so I'm hoping the third grade team will buy into PTK so all the third graders can be involved in the electronic field trip next year. Thanks to Jan, Pat, Geoff and everyone on the PTK Staff for working so hard and making this excellent opportunity available for teachers and students. The kids are diligently working on the Where In The World Mystery Site project. I must add that the timing of this couldn't be better. We're involved in state testing for the next two weeks and I'll have my kids the last hour of the day instead of the first hour. What a perfect way to end the school day. We have our maps, field guides, resource books, and computers ready. Now, to find out where those sites are. Mellie