Author: amyewhitelivecom

Cesar Chavez

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One of the big projects in Fourth Grade is the Living Museum Presentation.

Every student picks a famous historical person for their presentation.  They must read at least 3 books about this person and also use the internet.  They must take notes that they hand in, create a first person script, dress in costume, have a prop, and give an oral presentation to the class.
Quinn picked Cesar Chavez.  We didn\’t really know much about him but ended up learning quite a bit and it made so much sense why Quinn would choose him.    Basically Cesar Chavez stood up for the the marginalized population to get them the rights they deserve.  Cesar Chavez and Quinn White stand up for the rights of all!
I had Quinn spend 20 minutes every day reading a book and taking notes.  And when it was time to write his report it came together so easily.  Don and I were really impressed with his writing.   
He had 2 minutes to present his report.  Here is his final report:

Cesar Chavez
By Quinn White

Greetings. I am Cesar Chavez. I was born on March 31, 1927 in Yuma, Arizona. When I was three, the great depression ruined the economy and water supply and our family was forced to give up our farm. We then moved into a garage in a poor neighborhood and worked on other’s farms. Our wages were less than 50¢ per hour.  I also started school, finished eighth grade, and then decided to quit. I kept on reading, though. When I grew up, I met a lady named Helen Fabela. I then joined the U.S. Navy and I traveled to Asia, but I kept in touch with her. 2 years later, I traveled back to America and married her. I then partnered with the leader of the Community Service Organization or CSO. The CSO helped immigrants get a US citizenship, healthcare, and legal services. I then organized a protest for bracero rights. A bracero is a mexican immigrant or someone that has mexican origins. The protest helped call widespread attention to the misuse of braceros, and i got promoted to leader of CSO. I then decided to make a union, but other CSO leaders said it was too risky. So who needs them? I broke off the CSO and formed the National Farm Workers Association. As my union executed our first strike, Thousands of workers refused to farm. Sadly, the growers were not so fond of protesters. They turned to the police, and the police started to harass, even arrest us on false charges. I kept the workers peaceful, knowing violence would hurt our reputation. We then made a boycott on grapes that put tons of pressure on growers and they realized it was no use fighting and started to negotiate with us. All growers decided to recognize the NFW as a union, and we won the war.

And our little Cesar!

The boys loved his protest sign!

The next day when Living Museum presentations collide with Crazy Hat Day 🙂

Odyssey of the Mind

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Quinn\’s Odyssey team won their division in the regional competition!  Such a huge accomplishment for Quinn and his team.   Now they go on to the State Competition on March 24.
But to back track….

Earlier this year Quinn\’s buddy Dan convinced him to join the 4th grade Odyssey of the Mind team.  Don and I were adamantly against it because Quinn\’s plate was already full.    But Quinn persisted and we relented.

So glad we did.
Odyssey of the Mind is a creative, problem solving competition.  The kids are given a problem and they work for months on creating a solution.  The kids must do everything themselves — parental assistance is not welcome!!  The coach is there to guide them, make sure they meet all the requirements, and also make sure they don\’t lose any appendages in the process but the coaches can not do any of the work.  It\’s a huge time commitment for the coach.  
Each team selects one problem from a choice of 5 and this is the problem Quinn\’s team chose:

Problem 5: A Stellar Hangout
Divisions I, II, III & IV
In the outreaches of the universe, there is an Intergalactic Hangout where all sorts of creatures from different worlds stop, eat, refuel, and relax. Teams will create a humorous performance centered on this science fiction hangout that includes original creatures, foods, and a search for space treasure. There will also be a worker character, entertainment, and a futuristic map at the hangout.

It probably still doesn\’t make sense, I know.  (Division I is grades 3 – 5, Division II grades 6 – 8, etc, etc.)  
The team meets at least twice a week to work on building the set, creating costumes, writing the script, problem solving, etc, etc.  They also have a bare bones budget so they must use alot of recycled and donated products and make their own creations.
Saturday was the Odyssey Regional competition for the LA Basin.  We were lucky it was held at our local high school.      We get there at 8 am and stay all day.  
Each team participates in 2 events.  They have their \”long program\” where they have 8 minutes to present their solution to the problem and they also do Sponts (short for sponaneous).  In Sponts they are given an on-the-spot problem and they have 3 minutes to come up with a solution.  
We have been asked not to post any pictures from the Long Program and only kids are allowed in for the Sponts.  
Here the most awesome Coach Juli is playing follow the leader with the kids before sponts to work off the nerves.  

As the judges score the Long Program, they make little post it notes with positive feedback.  Coach Juli was pleasantly surprised to see so many post it notes and read them off to the kids.

The kids and Coach Juli.  The competition was at Westlake High School.

What a great bunch of kids.  So supportive and encouraging of each other.  They all bring something special to the team.

Waiting for the awards ceremony.  Dan and Quinn were feeling nervous.

There were 11 teams just from Lang Ranch Elementary School.  Here they are doing their School Spirit chant.

Quinn\’s coach and team were beyond shocked and happy to take the #1 spot.  Tears of joy!

Such an amazing achievement for these kids.   There were 23 teams competing in their division.

Presidents Day Weekend the team probably spent 15 hours over the course of the weekend working together.  At the end of the weekend I asked Quinn how he felt about Odyssey and he said he LOVED IT!

Hayden\’s sister also competed so Hayden was there to cheer her on.  Unfortunately her team didn\’t place but their performance was really creative and funny.

The dude that got Quinn into Odyssey.  Still sticking together.

Proud is not a big enough word to say how we feel at this moment.