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PAGE UPDATED BY MARIA SIEVERDING NOVEMBER 16, 2017 1 P.M.

PAGE UPDATED BY MARIA SIEVERDING NOVEMBER 24, 2017.

Elementary students weigh in on Thanksgiving

Jared Rogers
STAFF WRITER

They love turkey, their families, and Mamaw’s homemade pie!

With Thanksgiving upon us, Ripley Publishing caught up with elementary school students at South Ripley, Milan, and Jac-Cen-Del to learn about traditions, school projects, and Thanksgiving history. Here is what we found out:

Payton Lynze Maddie and Caleb Elliana

JARED ROGERS PHOTOS
Pictured above from left are Payton, Lynze, Maddie, Caleb, and Elliana.

What are your Thanksgiving traditions?
Ethan (SR Gr. 3): “Normally we go to both grandmas’ houses and eat turkey and green beans.”
Anna (SR Gr. K): “We go to Mamaw’s and eat really good stuff that we like.”
Maddie (Milan Gr. 3): “We go to my grandparents’ houses. We go to my mom’s mom for lunch and my dad’s mom for dinner, and I get full of turkey.”
Caleb (Milan Gr. 4): “We usually go to Nana’s, my mom’s mom in Michigan. It’s seven hours away, but we eat really tasty Thanksgiving food.”
Lynze (JCD Gr. 2): “We usually go to Brown County and play board games and go to fun places. We all bring food and grandma makes the best turkey and stuffing.”
Elliana (JCD Gr. 2): “We go to grandma’s house and always have turkey and baked beans. We take family pictures together, and sometimes decorate the Christmas tree if it’s out.”

Did you create any Thanksgiving-related projects at school this year?
Ethan: “We spell Thanksgiving words with math problems and fractions.”
Maddie: “We’re studying plains Indians, building a project about what kinds of houses they lived in.”
Caleb: “I remember in kindergarten we made turkeys by putting our hand in paint and then on a piece of paper. My mom still has mine.”
Payton (JCD Gr. 2): “We read a book about too many turkeys. First one turkey showed up, and then a lot more. It’s a funny book, I think you would like it.”
Noah (JCD Gr. 1): “We made a turkey with math.”

What is the reason for Thanksgiving?
Anna: “So we can have fun, and have friends over to eat with us.”
Caleb: “It is to share what we’re thankful for and to praise the Lord.”
Lynze: “To celebrate the pilgrims and Indians coming together.”
Payton: “To celebrate our thanks, spend time with our families, and have fun.”
Abigail (JCD Gr. 1): “To bring people together.”

What are you most thankful for?
Kylie (SR Gr. 5): “Probably my family…yes, my whole family.”
Maddie: “My family and having the things they provide.”
Lynze: “My family and all of the food we have.”
Elliana: “Turkey.”
Zoey (JCD Gr. 1): “I’m thankful for God and Jesus.”

What is your favorite food or dessert to eat?
Ethan: “My grandma makes a great pumpkin pie each year.”
Maddie: “Turkey is my favorite. I like mashed potatoes and sweet corn, too.”
Caleb: “I like all of it. I especially like Thanksgiving because it is in the fall, the same time as my birthday.”
Zoey: “My favorite foods are turkey, mashed potatoes, and candy.”
Payton: “We don’t have it all the time, but my favorite is when someone brings cherry pie.”
Abigail: “This is the only year that I get to eat turkey. All the other years I ate mashed potatoes and pickles!”

Do you help prepare the Thanksgiving meal?
Kylie: “We all bring food, but Mamaw does most of the cooking. She’s known for her dessert, too. Especially sugar cookies.”
Maddie: “I’m going to be a chef, so I help with all of the food.”
Lynze: “I help mom and grandma set the table.”
Noah: “I help clean. Sometimes, I do the dishes.”

How was Thanksgiving started?
Ethan: “Pilgrims came from another land…I don’t remember where exactly, but they needed help growing crops, and the Indians helped them grow corn and green beans. Over the years, they started having a feast and they called it Thanksgiving.”
Zoey: “I think Indians came over from the other world to see more Indians, and they gave each other food to create a feast and called it Thanksgiving.”
Abigail: (Adding to Zoey’s answer) “And the first Thanksgiving was three days long.”

Tell me about a time you did something nice, and someone said “thank you.”
Anna: “When my cousin Lilly fell down and she was on crutches, we all helped her up and she told us ‘thank you.’”

How does it make you feel when you do something kind for others?
Maddie: “I feel really good inside. I like to know that I helped that person and made their day. Sometimes it surprises me how much it means to them.”
Lynze: “It makes me feel happy because then they don’t have to do as much.”
Elliana: “Proud, because it’s good to be nice to others.”
Noah: “It makes me feel good on the inside.”

SR bus collides with truck

There was a minor accident Friday morning, November 17 involving South Ripley bus #11 with a small dump truck on County Road 300W. The bus was behind the small dump truck that was having mechanical issues. The bus pulled into the left lane to go around the truck. As the bus was attempting to go around the truck, the truck drive did not notice the bus and made a left turn to try to pull the truck off to a grassy area at the left side of the road. The truck made contact with the front right quarter of the bus while both were moving at a very low speed.

The bus driver checked with all of the students and confirmed that they were all fine. The students were transferred to a different bus and taken to school where they were assessed by school personnel and the building nurses. Building administrators phoned parents of all students who were on the bus at the time. There were 32 students on the bus including 21 SRES, four SRJHS and seven SRHS students.

Superintendent Rob Moorhead stated, “I am grateful that there were no apparent injuries as a result of the incident involving our school bus this morning. I appreciate the actions that were taken by everyone involved to ensure the safety and well being of our students.”

School Resource Officer Jeff Thielking is completing the accident investigation.