In Memory of Matt DeClercq

November is National Pancreatic Awareness Month. Whil pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, it receives very little public attention.  And what's worse is federal funding for pancreatic cancer research lags far behind other leading causes of cancer death stalling scientific advances for early detection methods and effective treatment options.

Pancreatic cancer is the only one of the top ten cancer killers with a five-year survival rate still in the single digits' and the survival rate hasn't significantly changed in nearly 40 years.  We must work together to change this statistic and save lives, and it starts with increasing the visibility of pancreatic cancer.

Sadly, most families don't even know what pancreatic cancer is untill it affects them.

I know because my father, Matt DeClercq passed away from pancreatic cancer 11 years ago today.

I invite you to join me in spreading the word about pancreatic cancer this November.  Go to http://www.knowitfightitendit.org/ to learn how you can be a hero in the fight against this devastating disease.

Sincerely,

Nicolle

Look Up

Look up!  It's a bird, it's a plane, it's 370 balloons! As part of Fitness Commitment Week. The students did a balloon release. The parents had a fun time with the helium tank blowing the balloons and tying ribbons on them for the students.  The Friday My Town Shoot Out! topic this week is Look Up. 

here's another shot when they were closer to the ground.  For more photos of check out My Town...Mr.Linky

In Flander's Fields

In Flander's Fields
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset  glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields

Written by Canadian Army Col. John McCrae



The poem is a lasting legacy of the terrible battle near Ypres, Belgium in the spring of 1915.  McCrae, a physician, had performed surgery during the terrible 17 day ordeal.  After the battle sitting on the back of an ambulance, he saw a cemetery near the battlefield covered with poppies.  McCrae vented his anguish by composing what became a very famous poem.

Since 1922, the Buddy Poppy has been the Veterans of Foreign Wars official memorial flower.  The Poppy represents the blood shed by American service members and it reiterates that the VFW will not forget their sacrifices.

Today, disabled Veterans assemble Poppies and the VFW pays them for their work.  In most cases, this extra money provides additional income for the worker to pay for the little luxuries that make hospital life more tolerable.

Another reason Poppies are so important is because all proceeds from distribution are used for Veterans welfare or for the well being of their needy dependents and the orphans of Veterans.

I would like to thank the VFW for providing me with this information.

The Fall of Rome (Republic)

We are taught in school the the fall of the Roman Empire is complicated.  According to Edward Gibbon The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, the recipe is simple and has been replicated several times.

1. Great civilization arises.
2. State encroaches on freedom and demands more power.
3. People take less responsibility for themselves and want more government hand outs.
4. Taxes go up to pay for hand outs.
5. Size of government explodes and economic growth slows.
6. Government seeks to divert public's attention from what is really going on to "bread and circuses."
7. Collapse, economic or otherwise ensues.

Does any of this sound familiar to what is going on with America today? Do your own research but I think we are seeing the fall of The Republic.

Begins With The Letter N

The Friday My Town Shoot Out! topic this week is Begins with the letter N.  This assignment was way to easy for me.  I would just use a self portrait.  Nicolle starts with the letter N.  However finding a self portrait that I liked and contained decent lighting was another issue.  Other things that begin with the letter N... What about neckties? W doesn't wear neckties.  What else is there?  New starts with a letter N. How about new babies? Where am I going to find a new baby? Then it struck me it was sitting in front of me the whole time November, newspapers start with the letter N.  For more photos of Begins with the letter N check out My Town...Mr.Linky

We Got Spirit...

Yes we do. We got spirit, how about you?

This week has been spirit week at school. Here are the girls in their cheer shirts ready to start the day full of school spirit. There friend D is sporting their school "spirit shirts".  They enjoy spirit week as it gives them a break from their uniforms. Spirit Week included "Rock Star" day, "Pajama Jama" day, "Sports" day, "Super Hero" day, and School Pride day. 

M was almost sent home for being out of dress code on "sports" day. He wore jeans and a t-shirt. When asked he said he was Tony Hawk - a skateboarder. Coach then said it was good. The students don't have to dress for spirit week they can opt to wear their normal school uniforms which consist of tan or navy blue bottoms and a solid color polo shirt. So their is lots of flexibility with their uniforms.

R came home Wednesday all ready to quit cheer after she made such a big production of asking me everyday since school started if she could join cheer. She was crying and upset because another student accidently put black puffy paint on the back of her shirt and then her shorts were two sizes too big.  I switched her shorts with J's and then traded them in for a smaller pair. I pinned J's shorts so they would stay on her butt for today and then I get to spend the weekend altering them. The school told me that their wasn't anything smaller for her. I don't know what the other Kindergardners are going to do. When I dropped them off at school only the older girls were wearing the shorts, the younger ones were wearing other pants. Life with the girls is so full of drama.

For those wondering yes M looks just as dashing as the girls do. I sprayed blue in his hair and painted his face up to match the girls. He wore his "spirit" shirt today with his normal uniform bottoms. It's been the only day I could get his hair to stand up since S cut it.

Patriots and Loyalists

M & R both are learning about the Revolutionary war in school. M brought home this homework assignment yesterday:

During the American Revolution, Patriots were men and women who wanted to break away from Great Britain. More than half the colonists were Patriots. Loyalists were men and women who refused to fight against Great Britain.  About 500,000 colonists were Loyalists. The Loyalists and Patriots lived side by side in the same colonies and even in the same families. Benjamin Franklin, for example was a Patriot. His son, William, was a Loyalist.

Directions:  Pretend you are a Patriot living in 1776. You are talking with a Loyalist. Use the lines below to respond to each statement that the Loyalist makes. Make sure you answer like a Patriot would. Base your responses on what you have learned from reading about Patriots and Loyalists.

Loyalist: "We should stay loyal to Great Britain. Great Britain gave us the chance to come to America."

Patriot: No! The king is selfish.

Loyalist: " The leaders in Great Britain know what's best for us. They would never make any rules that would make us unhappy."

Patriot: The king taxed the tea.

Loyalist: "It's important for the colonists in America to pay taxes and support Great Britain. Without Great Britain we wouldn't have any supplies or soldiers to protect us."

Patriot: There should be no taxation without representation.

Loyalist: "Without Great Britains help, America will fall apart. We're too weak. We don't have any strong men or women in America to lead us."

Patriot: God has favored America's just cause.

His class also did a reinactment of the Boston Tea Party that day.

What surprised me about the assignment was that it challenged him to think about what was actually going on. He did ask me for help on the assignment. He didn't know how to answer the last question so we went to the words of a real Patriot. I found the quote in The Real Benjamin Franklin published by National Center for Constitutional Studies. His original answer was So! I was challenged to follow up on his comment because the comment rings so true today. I see America starting to fall apart. Americans are weak and America doesn't have strong leaders stepping up to the plate. I know I'm one of them.