Oh! The Places We've Gone! (05-12-08)

Something incredible happened last week. Spectacular. Stupendous. Almost inconceivable and too good to be true. Something truly amazing and unprecedented. And, chances are, you have never heard anything about it.

Last week, Hill City Elementary/Longfellow Middle School was informed that they had won the 2008 Kansas in the World Award for Excellence in International Education. According to the Kansas in the World website:

“The $1000 award is presented annually by the Kansas Committee for International Education in the Schools (KCIES) to one high school and one middle or elementary school in Kansas that has demonstrated a strong commitment to international education by incorporating international content into a variety of subject areas, offering foreign language study and supporting professional development of teachers.”

Last year, the award went to Olathe Northwest High School and Leonard C. Seale Elementary School in Douglas. This year, Hill City takes home the $1000 prize and the “handsome plaque” for all we have done to introduce our Hill City students to the world. Our teachers and school will be honored at a special banquet to be held in December.

If you have been in the building, you will have noticed the large map in the front hall display case. This global map is criss-crossed with many strings representing all the correspondence our elementary students have had with students in schools around the globe. We have sent our “Flat Stanleys” and “Baby-Jay’s” to dozens of countries, and in return we have received photos, letters, and informational packets representing an amazing array of cultures.

This exchange of ideas and information has taught our kids so much about the world. They began the year with “passports” and the teachers worked hard to create an international exposition with each classroom teaching kids about a different country or region of the world. From this successful first week, the students have continued to research our globe, and have corresponded continuously with schools from every corner of the map.

This award recognizes our efforts and sets Hill City Elementary/Longfellow Middle School above all other for our work in International Education. Not bad for a little school on the high plains!

Perhaps one the greatest accomplishments of our year was the acquisition of an international celebrity by the name of Elwood. Now Elwood is not a person, but rather a life-size doll that, since his creation in 1980, has traveled over four million miles and had his picture taken with almost every imaginable celebrity. The very same doll that now sits in a place of honor in Mrs. Plante’s fourth grade classroom, has sat on the lap of President Bush and Queen Elizabeth, been held by the Boston Celtics, and even snagged a flight on the space shuttle. Created by a fifth grade class in Illinois, this life-size stuffed doll has become a world ambassador for school kids everywhere. His fame even spread to Rubbermaid, who, after hearing how he was squished and crushed into boxes as he traveled from one locale to another, gave him a custom designed Rubbermaid trash can as his all-terrain vehicle.

Elwood is basically a three dimensional “flat-stanley”, but was made to withstand the wear and tear of continuous international travel. To get him into your school is a rare feat, as his celebrity presence is in great demand. But through sheer determination and a little luck, Mrs. Plante was able to corral this high flyer in Hill City, complete with his custom can, for several weeks.

Not only do our students get to touch a world famous object, but they get to learn about all the places he has traveled and all the people he has met. Most importantly, a little bit of Hill City will get to travel with Elwood as he goes on to his next five million miles and beyond.

It is time to celebrate our incredible, stupendous, and spectacular teachers and students. Give them a pat on the back and big round of applause. They have been recognized and awarded as being the best in the state in promoting international education. Oh, the places they have gone! I can’t wait to see just where they will take our school in the years to come!