Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Hi and Thank You So Much

Now that we are settling back into the swing of things after our spring break, I'd like to take a moment and say thanks so much to everyone for making my trip to McCool Junction last week so wonderful. Everything I did and saw far exceeded the high hopes I had for my trip- no small feat indeed. You should know that my students were eager to learn about all I experienced, and I was thrilled to let them know about everything I saw and did (even the tornado drill! :)). As my students will tell you, there were many things about you, your school, and your town which greatly impressed me, and you should know that I spoke with them at length in regards to your incredidbly welcoming attitude and your abililty to make an outsider such as myself feel such a part of your community.

What I will take away most from my visit, though, was the tremendous pride you exhibit in all you do. I have had the good luck to have travelled around much of our country, and never have I witnessed such pride and such togetherness- never. I was actually more than impressed; I was actually overwhelmed. What a wonderful thing it must be to be a part of.

So, as we continue our journey together, please know that the memories of my trip will always be with me, and I know they will make our work that much more special. Thank you once again for all you did, and I look forward to seeing how much more we can learn about each other.

Mr. Balch


5 comments:

Shorty said...

Mr. Balch when Mrs. Bethune told us about you coming here we thought she was joking. But I have to admit it was a wonderful experience for us as much as for you. It was wonderful how you were able to compare the two schools and see what all is different. I know as we move along with this wonderful experience that both of our schools will begin learning new things about each other every day. Thank you so much for a wonderful time while you were here.

Jessica C said...

Mr.Balch
Your journey to our school has changed the way many of us think of your school and the town that it resides in. The disscusions that we had really cleared the air on some things that were a little foggy to us in the start of this project. I hope you took back as much information as you gave us and that we can only grow more with this project. Thank you so much for spending your time to get to know us! Oh yah.. I really like the picture of you and Ben (and Bens cheesy smile!!)

Shelby W said...

Mr. Balch, the time you had here was short and I wish you had more time to see more things. Nebraska is really great. I hope some of you're students will come visit our state and enjoy it as much as you did. From the discussions we had in class I sort of tell what Beacon, New York would be like if I ever visit. Thank you for coming and meeting us. :)

Ben W. said...

Your Welcome for such a great visit it was my pleasure. It was great meeting a new person from a state I've never visited. Even though my dad just about got stationed in Fort Drum if I'm not mistaken at which I think I would have enjoyed meeting you and your students.

Jordyn D. said...

Your welcome...I am glad you had a good time. It was a shock walking into our classroom and seeing you there. Ha! But, I learned a lot about New York and that not everything is true about the stereotypes. Thanks for coming down.