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Show THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 10 Volume IX Issue IV December 1, 2003 My Idea of a Perfect Christmas By Sam Wright Note: The following is an essay that was submitted in response to The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS’ monthly essay contest. Twelveyear-old Sam is from Eden, and will receive a $20.00 gift certificate from “Hastings” for his winning essay entry. My idea of a perfect Christmas is not all the presents or the candy in the stockings— although that’s what I look forward to—but it’s all about spending time with your family, visiting each other, and giving instead of receiving. Now that doesn’t mean that presents are bad, but it’s not the point. You can participate in family activities, enjoy dinner, retell stories and memories, and have an enjoyable time. I imagine that Christmas by yourself is not much fun. Wouldn’t you rather help your family decorate the tree, help mom bake holiday cookies, and visit with your family? Just being with my family is a perfect Christmas to me. I’ve never thought about it before, but it’s pretty sad for those who have no family to spend Christmas with. For example, when my dad was a poor college student in Rexburg, Idaho, his parents in Maryland didn’t have the money to fly him home for Christmas. Disappointed, he was faced with spending Christmas by himself. After his roommates said goodbye and went home for the holidays, my dad found an abandoned Christmas tree in the dumpster. He retrieved it and set it up in his empty apartment. The next day his dad called and said that they had an early Christmas gift for him—a ticket to come home! Back went the tree into the dumpster. I can’t imagine how lonely his Christmas could have been. There are a lot of people that are like my dad on that Christmas. How about inviting a lonely person to your house for Christmas? And I can promise you that you’ll get that good Christmas feeling. In addition to helping others have a perfect Christmas, you can also give service and help in service projects. For example, my 7th grade art class is painting ornaments crafted by the woodmaking class. The ornaments will be sold, and the money will be used to buy Christmas trees and presents for needy families. Spending time with your family and helping others isn’t the only fun thing you can do. You could go Christmas caroling with neighbors, play snow games, and enjoy other recreational activities. And just don’t do service and activities— have some fun with your presents, enjoy your candy, and have a perfect Christmas. P.S. Don’t forget to leave cookies and milk for Santa. Remember Those Who Are Serving Our Country for Us. Sixth Graders Help Children with Disabilities Every year, sixth grade classes prepare a tree to donate to the Christmas Tree Jubilee. Students make the ornaments, and the tree is then auctioned off as a fund-raiser. One hundred percent of the money generated by this auction is used to purchase equipment that facilitates learning for Weber and Ogden School District students who have disabilities. Sixth grade teachers Evans, Hogge, Frost, Tatton, and Weight chose the theme “Bear Necessitree” for this year’s holiday decorations. The ensemble included a tree festooned with all of the things that the three bears needed for a good meal. Spoons, stuffed bears, curly willow, beaded strings bedecked with colorful cloth ties, and more, all made the tree a delight to the eye. A colorful painted chair; large sewn bears dressed as Mama, Papa, and Baby; and bowls filled with necessities were wrapped and placed beneath the tree. A beautiful patchwork quilt skirt covered the tree stand. Students started working on the tree as part of their Pioneer Day activities. Parent and student volunteers worked on different aspects of the tree to completion. The tree garnered hundreds of dollars to benefit children with disabilities. A special thanks to everyone—including our indispensable parent volunteers—for a memorable, creative, and fun service activity. Valley Elementary Joins WeatherNet On November 21, Valley Elementary announced it had joined the 2News (KUTV) WeatherNet Program. The school will install a new weather monitoring station that will provide real-time weather conditions to Channel Two meteorologists and the local community. The school will also use the weather station to enhance curriculum under an innovative program called WeatherNet Classroom, which was co-developed by 2NEWS and AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc. “This new program will turn our students into budding meteorologists,” said Mr. Tommy Lee, principal of Valley Elementary. “It will strengthen their learning experience across several different subject areas, and give them a great sense of pride in their school because we are providing a key service to the community. We are proud to be a part of this innovative program.” Valley’s WeatherNet program was made possible through an exclusive partnership with 2NEWS, which is committed to providing an engaging teaching tool for schools, while giving local residents the best real-time weather information available. Brad and Cathie Layton of Huntsville proposed the idea of a local station, and will complete the required work for installation. As Mrs. Layton sought funds through the PTA, word spread about this exciting opportu- nity. In response, Dr. Steve Porter and his wife Linda generously funded the purchase of the station. WeatherNet Classroom is an award-winning, interactive learning program that seamlessly integrates real-time local and national weather data and camera images into a range of science, math, technology, and geography lessons for elementary, middle, and high school students. Using WeatherNet Classroom, teachers from Valley will be able to create customized learning activities based on current and historical weather conditions from school’s new weather station. Students will be able to monitor such things as wind speed and humidity. In addition, students can compare local weather conditions from more than 6,000 other schools nationwide that participate in the WeatherNet program. More than 100 local television stations nationwide participate in the program. We asked a few Valley students to share what they thought about the new weather station. Following are some of their responses: “I think it will be a good thing for us to learn more about our surroundings and the weather that we have.” “I think it’s great that our area will be on the news. We will learn a lot of science and math because of it.” “This will be really exciting!” The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Hosts Essay Contests The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS staff is seeking entries for their monthly essay contests. One winning entry may be chosen each month, and printed in the paper. The winning entrant will receive a $20.00 gift certificate from Hastings. Students of all ages are encouraged to participate. Themes for the 2003 are: December: What Does it Mean to Be a Friend? computer written in 12 pt., Times New Roman font. The essay should not exceed 2500 words, but should be at least 400 words. All entries must be received by the 18th of each month. Entries must include the name and age, mailing address, and telephone number of applicant. Mail entries to: OGDEN VALLEY NEWS PO BOX 130 EDEN UT 84310 All entries become the property of the OGDEN VALLEY NEWS to use at the business owners’ discretion. Entries will not Email to: be returned. All entries must be typed or shannafrancis@att.net crwendell@att.net 5460 East 2200 North, Eden, UT 84310 Have your child join us for an education he or she will thrive on ... Learn through hands-on experience--students become actively engaged, rather than passively spoon-fed. Our goal is to help children love learning and really understand their schoolwork. We challenge and set high expectations for all our students, not just a special few. Montessori students strive for their personal best--they don’t just compete for the highest grade in the class. The Montessori method teaches children to be kind, respectful and peaceful. Primary class for children ages 3 to 6 Elementary class for children ages 6 to 9 Morning, afternoon and full-day programs Ogden Valley Montessori School -- where children don’t get lost in the crowd. Call Amanda Scheuermann, Director to register your child for January at 745-3336 or 391-1656. www.ovms.org LOWEST RATES AND LOWEST CLOSING COST We select the lowest rates for you from 40 national lenders daily Fast, Friendly Service 1st and 2nd mortgages residential and commercial 100% purchase - residential 100% refinance - residential 125% 2nd mortgage - residential New home and commercial construction Credit Lines Log homes, manufactured and mobile homes Jumbo loans Personal loans up to $10,000 Credit problems OK ABCD credit No out of pocket expense For a free approval with no cost or obligation call us today Ogden’s Oldest and Most Reliable Mortgage Co. 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