While doing a section in social studies about the
government at the federal level, Mrs. Winsor's 3rd grade class at Allenwood
School wrote letters to the President. Then they studied state government, and
they wrote letters to Governor Whitman. Finally they studied government on a
local level, and they wrote letters to our own Mayor Burne. What a treat it was
to have the Mayor visit the classroom a week later!
The Mayor came to
the classroom bearing goodies for the kids. She asked them to help her pass out
pencils and rulers bearing the name of the Township, and magnets in the shape of
the Wall Township seal. Mayor Burne had written a letter to the class, and
exchanged it for a huge Thank You card made by the children. (Card in the
middle of the photo.) Then the children each received a paper that Mayor Burne
had written about the history of Wall Township. After explaining what the
symbols in the Wall Township seal meant, and a brief history of how Wall got its
name, the Mayor then fielded questions from the children.
"What's
it like to be the Mayor?" and "Do you have any kids?" were some
of the things the class wanted to know. The children apparantly learned a lot
about government from their recent studies, and one child asked, "Why are
taxes so high?" Mayor Burne explained to them, "We have to get enough
money to put up traffic lights and street signs, and we have to pay the
teachers!" One of the kids asked, "Do you go to a lot of meetings?"
The Mayor told them that her husband calls her "Mary Meeting!" And to
the question, "What's your favorite part of being Mayor?" she replied:
"Visiting classes!"
Each child in the class made a booklet
about the things they had learned in this social studies unit. One of the
children in the class, Kelsi Hunt, presented the Mayor with the booklet that she
made. Entitled, "Our State and Local Government," Kelsi's booklet can
be seen at the Municipal Building, on display with the Thank You card given to
the Mayor by the children of Mrs. Winsor's class.