Founder's Day slideshow

Click on the link below to check out what Founder's Day was like last year.

Slideshow

Living History Day 2011 Thank you

To the editor:
Thank you for your recent coverage of Living History Day. As you know organizing and coordinating an event such as this is the work of MANY people and I would be remiss if I didn’t thank all those who were involved.
Living History Day was the culminating activity in a yearlong project between the Fort la Presentation Association, Heuvelton Central School (lead school), Madrid Waddington Central School, and Ogdensburg City School District. The main objective was to bring local history (specifically our region’s role in the French and Indian War) to life for students using an interdisciplinary approach.
This year our project was part of a BOCES coser, which would not have been possible without the assistance of Asst. Superintendent Stephen Todd and Debbie Champagne. When the rain kept coming City Recreation Director Matt Curatolo saved the day by allowing us to use Lockwood Arena, so we are very grateful for his and his staff’s help.
At Heuvelton Central School I would like to recognize and thank Superintendent Susan Todd, Principal Michael Warden, and the Board of Education for their encouragement and support. This project would not have been possible without the fantastic teachers I work with, so kudos to Ron Jacobs, Jennifer Gray, Josh McAllister, Ted Schulz, Sonia Johnston, Mary Rasmussen, Lynette Piercey, Ashley Havens, Marsha Hough, Marie Cook and Town of Lisbon Historian/TA Nancy LaFaver. Thanks also to Steve Adams, Cindy Merritt, and Bill Rupp for food and transportation.
At Madrid Waddington Central School I would like to thank Principal Joe Ruddy and teacher Justin Richards for jumping in with both feet. At Ogdensburg City Schools thanks go to Superintendent Tim Vernsey, Principal Kevin Kendall, teachers Julie Johnson and Christina Montpetit, and head of building and grounds, Jim Bouchey.

Living History Day would not have been possible without the hard work of the Fort la Presentation members and historical reenactors. So thank you Tim Cryderman, John Miller III, Barbara O’Keefe, Jim Hough, Michael Whittaker, Sue McLean, Harry Needham, Dan Buckley, Steve Douglas, Grover and Karen Katzman, Marty and Mickey Snye, Rick Salazar, Tim Abel, Sally Hartman, Robin Duncan, Steve Chambers, George Cherepon, Linda McKeel, the St. Lawrence County Trapper’s Association and Joe Cosentino. Finally, I would like to thank the Fort’s education committee for their ideas, support and hard work.
Last but certainly not least, a big thank you to the Heuvelton PTA, the Heuvelton Teacher’s Association and Ogdensburg Education Association for donating funds to make Living History Day possible and the Heuvelton and Ogdensburg Lions Clubs for providing refreshments and volunteers.

Julie Madlin
Education Chair
Fort la Presentation Association

New York History: Ogdensburg Founder’s Day Weekend July 23-24

New York History: Ogdensburg Founder’s Day Weekend July 23-24: "Ogdensburg, in St. Lawrence County, will play host to it's annual Founder's Day celebration, French and Indian War reenactment, and colonial..."

New York History: Champlain Maritime Museum Native American Encampme...

New York History: Champlain Maritime Museum Native American Encampme...: "The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum will be hosting a Native American Encampment Weekend this weekend, June 25 & 26, that is expected to give..."

New York History: Saratoga Battlefield New Exhibits, Audio Tour

New York History: Saratoga Battlefield New Exhibits, Audio Tour: "Saratoga National Historical Park, located on Route 32 and 4 in Stillwater, has opened a new exhibit called “They Had No Choice: Animals Exp..."

War of 1812 tallship in Ogdensburg

War of 1812 tallship in Ogdensburg

Founder's Day Schedule

FOUNDER’S DAY WEEKEND
Admission:
Adults $8.00
Children: Age 7 thru 12 $2.00
Age 6 and under FREE

FRIDAY – JULY 22, 2011
5:30 pm Eighteenth Century Maps with Randy Patten at the
Ogdensburg Public Library. Free & open to the Public

SATURDAY – JULY 23, 2011
10:00 AM GATES OPEN
10:15 AM Waterways of War with Jack Frost (at Dining
Tent)
11:00 AM Bateau Race
Kids Games and Toys
12:00 PM Lecture-Darren Bonaparte (at Dining Tent) Wampum Belts
1:00 PM Inspection of Troops
1:30 PM Water Battle begins
2:00 PM Land Battle begins
3:00 PM Children’s Muster
3:00 PM Lecture- 18th- Century Medicine/Surgery with
Mea Clift (at Dining Tent)
4:00 PM 18th Century dance demonstration
5:00 PM GATES CLOSE
7:30 PM 18th Century dance to be held at the Freight House Restaurant
(This dance is free and open to the public)
9:00 PM NIGHT BATTLE

The encampment will be closed during the Night Battle- The Night Battle artillery duel
is best viewed from the Greenbelt near boat launch area
No dogs, no bikes, no alcohol in Greenbelt please.

SUNDAY – JULY 24, 2011
7:30 AM CHURCH SERVICE, Lighthouse Point. Bring your own chair.
Rain location - Notre Dame Church
10:00 AM GATES OPEN
10:30 AM Lecture- 18th Century Boat Building with Andy Fisher (at Freight House Restaurant )
11:00AM Kids Games and Toys
12:00 PM Lecture – Waterways of War-Jack Frost (at Dining Tent)
12:30 PM Children’s Muster
1:00 PM Inspection of Troops
1:30 PM Water Battle begins
2.00 PM Land Battle begins
3:00 PM GATES CLOSED

Other Drills, Demonstrations and Exhibits throughout the weekend. Colonial map display will be on exhibit at the Ogdensburg Public Library

Homeless students find hope in their principal

CBS News)

According to a new government report today, more than 900,000 schoolchildren in this country have no real home. That's up 18 percent since the start of the recession.

CBS News national correspondent Byron Pitts reports there's one school in Las Vegas, where nearly every child is homeless.

LAS VEGAS - Charlee Morrow, 10, is described by her principal as an old soul with modest dreams.

What is it like to be homeless at just ten years old? "It felt really sad, because I thought we were going to be homeless for the rest of my life. All I want is to have a big house with my family."

Inside Whitney Elementary School in East Las Vegas, nearly 85 percent of the children are homeless. That's 518 kids out of 610.

Learn more about the Whitney Elementary School

Principal Sherrie Gahn says, "I thought that I saw the ultimate poverty when I got here eight years ago and every year it has gotten worse and the recession made it ten times worse."

Gahn knew she had a problem that a traditional public school could not fix. "When I saw the children eating ketchup for lunch, and wanting to take it home," she says, "it just crushed me."

So Gahn came up with a plan involving the kids, their parents and the community.

"I told the parents that I would give them whatever they need," Gahn says. "All I need them to do is give me their children and let me teach them. In turn I will give you food and clothes and we will take them to the eye doctor. I will pay your rent, pay your utilities, but keep your child here."

The children get free clothes, free bread to bring home and even free haircuts. Almost all of it given by 500 donors and local businesses who drop off donations daily. Gahn creates a wish list, and her army of volunteers makes it happen.

The contributions are large and small. One woman in Philadelphia sends $20 per month. A gambler gives $2,000 monthly - a portion of his earnings. This is Vegas.

Las Vegas has long been the city of bright lights and broken dreams. But especially now - with 12.1 percent unemployment, and the highest foreclosure rate in the country. One in every nine households receives a foreclosure notice.

Like most of her classmates, Charlee lives in one of the many rundown crime-ridden motels in the shadow of the Vegas strip.

Her family lost its home to foreclosure three years ago. Her father Chad is a construction worker. He hasn't had a fulltime job in two years.

"There is not a lot of people moving dirt right now in the Vegas valley," Chad says. "That's what I do. That's what I love to do.

As for Charlee, she dreams of being an actress. Principal Gahn has a bold dream of her own.

"I tell every 5th grade class if you make it through junior high you make it through high school and you can't afford to go to college come see me and I will make sure that you go to college," Gahn says. "We have a small trust fund that we started."

Gahn says the children are worth the big promise. She defines success as "The look in their face that I made their life better. That's my success rate when they hug me and thank me for the food, the clothes. Then I know it's a good day."

Today is especially emotional for Gahn - it's the last day of class. Many of these kids and their families will be on their own until September. So next fall, she hopes to open an after-school program. So Charlee and her classmates can have a safe haven when the school day's done.

Homeless children of the recession one year later

60 Minutes: Homeless kids: the hard times generation

60 Minutes: Hard times generation: How you can help

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/06/09/eveningnews/main20070437.shtml#ixzz1PCeFfbwC

Education World: Journal Writing Every Day: A Painless Way to Develop Skills

I've required students to keep journals this year for the first time. Each week we watch the news and journal or I give them a motivator and we journal. I have been surprised at their insights.
Education World: Journal Writing Every Day: A Painless Way to Develop Skills