Conway, MO

Ezard Elementary School in Conway Missouri - The 6th grade class has been learning about "going green."

They've talked about the environment, recycling and using items in unusual ways.

Their latest assignment? Trash Art.

• Use at least four items/things from around the home that otherwise would be thrown away.
• Think "outside the box"
• Try to avoid paint.

This morning, boxes, tin foil, tooth picks, soup cans and straws invaded the upper hall. The creativity of the class was impressive!

How can you re-use items that would other wise end up in the trash bin?

My daughter, Ashley, used a variety of items in her "Old McDonald's Farm" including: toothpicks, a cracker box, straws, a paper bag, wrapping paper, a potato chip container, a cup and, to hold the fence up - her used bubble gum!

Chelsey used a Sunny D bottle to make her Christmas Tree!

Karissa used bottle lids, a toilet paper roll and a make up case in her master piece.

Josie used pencils, soup cans and a cereal box.

More Trash to Treasure!

Candy Man by Mackenzie

Leaning Tower of Sweets by Christoper

Today, Teresa Bell, a Nutrition Program Associate with the University of Missouri Extension, brought FOOD POWER to Ezard Elementary in Conway Missouri.

FOOD POWER is a elementary grade level program designed to teach students the importance of healthy eating and physical activity.

Using an interactive exhibit, the students used Pizza to learn how food comes from a Missouri farm, into their body, to ultimately give them the energy to grow and play.


Farmer Tammy started the groups on their 45 minute journey talking about the "parts" of a pizza.

What is the base? Dough - and what is that made of? Flour, which comes from Missouri wheat. What's next? Sauce, made from Missouri grown tomatoes. What must go on our pizza next? Of course, cheese, made from the milk of Missouri dairy cows. Toppings? Ground meat from Missouri beef; sausage from Missouri pigs.

The groups continued on to talk about how milk and cheese start with the cow and end up in our tummy's.

On through the mouth, stomach and small intestine.

The day was deemed a success, with over 400 students learning and experiencing FOOD POWER. We decided the only thing that could have made it better: samples of  yummy Missouri pizza!

** Food Power is a program offered by University of Missouri Extension in cooperation with the Department of Nutritional Sciences, College of Human Environmental Sciences. It adds unique activity-based experiences to the University of Missouri Family Nutrition Education Programs funded in part by USDA's SNAP.

Back in May of this year, the Laclede County R-1 (Conway, MO) boys baseball team did something no other team in school history had done before: A Final 4 appearance.

On May 29, 2008 our boys played in the Class 2 MSHSAA game for 3rd place. Going into the game the Conway Bears were 20 and 8, with Senior pitcher Kelby Rader 5 and 0. The boys easily won over Hallsville, 7 to 3.

I must admit, I didn't know all the particulars of the win until a few weeks ago after walking into a PACKED school board meeting. Let me say, school board meetings in Conway MO are usually a quiet affair with only a handful of the public attending. Not the October meeting - students and parents alike packed the library meeting room.

You could feel the excitement in the room - even after having time to let the thrill of victory settle in, the boys were excited and we were excited for them.

The boys were presented with their banners and it was a moment these guys will always remember - and so will I. Every day is a great day to be a Conway Bear, but this was an awesome day to be a Bear - to feel the SPIRIT of the Team, to see the PRIDE on their faces, to get a sense of real ACCOMPLISHMENT. They had a goal and they were up to the challenge! Settling was not an option.

In addition to the 3rd place win:

Kelby Rader, Honorable Mention Pitcher; Jessie Marks, Honorable Mention Infielder and Bubba McGaughy, 1st Team DH/Utility (2008 Class 2 MHSBCA All State Baseball Team)

Bubba McGaughy, 1st Team DH/Utility (2008 Sportswriters All State Team)

Yesterday, I went on a listing appointment in one of my favorite towns, Conway MO. The property has 20 acres, with a home and various out buildings, including a very nice barn. (More to come next week as we finish up the paperwork and the visual tour.)

When I arrived, a few minutes late, I waved and said hello to the hired hand. The lady looked at me and waved back, but did not say anything. As the owner, Sharon, and I talked, I found out the helper was deaf - and had been since the age of two.

Sharon mentioned she would miss the sound of rustling leaves and whistling wind. Immediately I said I would miss the sound of a cat purring.

Leaving the property some time later, I decided:

I would also miss the laughter of my children and probably even their occasional whining.

I would miss the cheering of the crowd at our high school basketball games.

I would miss the sound of the snow plow hitting the pavement during the night.

I would miss the sound of the frogs on the pond and the bellow of the cows.

If suddenly your hearing was taken away from you, what sounds would you miss? What would you long to hear again?

During my first 40 years, I've been blessed to have many hero's in my life. My Mom, my Dad, my husband, just to name a few. I consider Richard Nixon, FDR, George Halas and a few others hero's as well. They all have made a mark on the world, not always in the most obvious of ways.

But, the true hero's in life, I do believe, are the teacher's; those in our schools, entrusted with our children each day.


Growing up, I went to a Catholic grade school, high school and college. Many of the teachers were nuns, some were priests. I'd be hard pressed to name those names. But I do remember many, if not most, of the lay teachers. I remember Mrs. Mooney, third grade; Mr. Gary, eighth grade; and my beloved Mrs. Miller, fifth grade and then seventh grade.

Mrs. Miller had a passion for history. She made the events of the world come alive, jumping off the page with emotion and meaning. She gave life to history. Her room over flowed with books and she was all so generous, letting us check out from her private collection. My love of history, of politics, of world events I know is driven by the time I spent in class with Mrs. Miller.

My Mom didn't work; she was able to walk me to the bus stop in the morning and be there to open the front door in the afternoon. She was my rock and now she is the same for my own kids, being ready with a snack as they get off the bus.

But, in between the time I put my kids on the bus at 7 am and the time they meet Grandma and Grandpa at 4 pm, my children are in the hands of their bus driver, Mr. Stevens, and their teachers.

When I do the math, a teacher is with my child more than I am on a daily basis five days a week.

I must trust their teachers to be loving and kind; to be firm and steady. To have the patience of 22 saints and the love of 22 Moms. To help my children down the right road each day. To be honest. To be ethical. To be a positive role model for my children.

So far, I have not been disappointed.

The first time I met our former principle, he was in the hall's giving hi five's, hugs and well wishes for a good weekend as the children left the building to board the buses. I have seen our current principle, Mrs. Hawkins, down on her knees, talking to a young child, on their level, eye to eye.

The first time I met saw Mrs. Johnson, who now has my daughter in her 6th grade class, she was laying on the classroom floor, students around her, working on some sort of science experiment. I have to admit, my first thought was: Ick, that floor must be dirty! But, then I quickly realized why she was the teacher and I was not - Mrs. Johnson didn't care that the floor was dirty. She was there to teach the children, and teach them she did.

I have seen teachers ask for shoes and coats for their students. We are a small rural district. For some of these children, the teachers are more of a parent than their own, taking care of basic needs such as shoes and coats. Items most of us take for granted; items most of our children take for granted. I have seen teachers reach into their own checkbook for items for their classrooms and for their students.

I have seen teachers sit and just listen. They are therapist; they may have to be Mom or Dad. Sometimes a child just needs to be heard - and who better, than the safe ears of their teacher. I have listened to a teacher explain why it is not okay to cuss, even though Mom and Dad do it at home.

Teachers are there after school to tutor. They are there for meetings, ball games, music concerts and Family Fun Nights. Their jobs really do not end at 3:20 pm when the last bell rings.

Some of our students do not have strong role models in their lives. Our teachers become their role models, their rock, their inspiration to do good and be good. To be something more than what they may see in their life.

To me, being a teacher is a calling - like a doctor or a police officer. You must want to be a teacher, deep down in your heart. I am thankful to those in my life that have answered the call - to the teachers I had and to those my children have had. I am thankful for those men and women that hold my children in the palm of their hand, 174 school days a year.

I know my children will have many, many teacher stories they will share.They will have their own Mrs. Miller to tell their children about. They will talk about Mrs. Massey, Mrs. Rosenthal, Mrs. Reed, and so many others. And I am so thankful for that.

Teachers are my unsung heroes of America. They help form and nurture my auto mechanic, my loan officer, my Governor, my President. They will help guide and encourage the creator of alternative fuels, the next Bill Gates and the next astronaut into space. They may even save a child's life.

To Mrs. Shockley, a second grade teacher at Ezard Elementary - I could not write about teachers without including this song. She has taught numerous second grade classes about America and about our freedom. I have seen her laugh with her kids and I have seen tears in her eyes. She has made them pancakes and cowboy cookies. My children talk about her all the time. One day I will surprise her; one day we will find a way to bring Lee Greenwood to her classroom. But, in the meantime, YouTube will have to do.

I have gone on long enough... there is no real good way for ME to end, so I will let the elementary teachers in Conway, MO sum it up better than I ever could... A few years ago, after a grade school talent show, a handful of Conway teachers brought down the house. . . They chose the song, and it really does say it all: We Are Family... So to all the Teacher Hero's, THANK YOU. Thank you for being family.

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Inspired By Heroes entry, September2008, ActiveRain.com