Park Place Middle School
PUMA PRINTS-November 7th
The Park Place Puma Way "Pride, Character and Excellence"
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PICTURES FROM MRS. BRUTON'S ART CLASS
VETERAN ESSAY WINNER
The following is the Veteran's Day winning essay from Mrs. Hesselgrave's class. Congratulations to student Blake Springer for his essay "From Homeless to Hero". Thank you Burt Mann for your service to our country.
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From Homeless to Hero
By Blake Springer
Imagine jumping into the freezing water of Omaha beach on June 9th 1944, water sloshing in your boots, thinking about the enemy that are waiting for you ahead. As you get on to the beach you dig yourself a foxhole and only dare to peek your head out to fire. Hearing the airplanes above and the sounds of rifles firing all around you. Seeing men being killed and shot. This is what 21 year old Burt Mann went through in his third year in the Military.
Born in 1923 in Chicago, and after Burt Mann’s parents died, he was 12 years old and he was forced to live on the streets. Burt sometimes lived in a flop house (a hotel where you paid to sleep on the floor) and he sold ice to make money. In 1941, Mann was with friends when they heard on the radio that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. “And on the radio, Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japaneze. So, within three days, not only me, the majority of the young men enlisted,” Mann recalled. When asked about how his family felt about him enlisting, he simply said, “I didn’t have any family.”
When Burt enlisted, he was sent to Camp Claiborne in Louisiana. Camp Claiborne was known as the “Hell hole of the south.” After six months of training, Burt was sent to Scotland. From there, he was shipped to England in a box car and had to sleep on hay for three days.
Burt was later in the Battle of the Bulge where he recalled, “Battle of the Bulge, it was so cold that the ice was running off my helmet down my back.” Mann had to live in a foxhole for a couple of days during the Battle. He said he couldn’t get up because the enemy was too close. Mann was forced to live in his own waste; “...if that’s not torture, you tell me,” he said.
Burt is one of the very few veterans left that were in D-Day. On the second wave, he was hit by an enemy soldier. “On June 9th I got hit with shrapnel, in the back. If it’d caught me in the front, it would’ve ripped me in half.” After being hit, he was sent to England, now with four operations done.
After his operations, Mann was sent to the French Riviera. “From the worst conditions, a foxhole, to the best conditions, living in a hotel. I had two weeks of that. We had all the food you could eat from a big cafeteria, night and day. But you couldn’t hold it down, you were used to k rations. It was like having a million bucks but not being able to spend a penny,” Burt remembered.
When asked about what he was most proud of, Burt replied, “I’m proud of saving my fellow men. That’s what I’m proud of. It’s the brother in me. Even though we had only known each other for six months, it becomes a brotherhood.”
The happiest moment of his service was, “...When I heard that they gave up.” On his way home, four years after being deployed, he thought that they were going to be coming in by New York. To his surprise, though, they came in at San Francisco and Mann got to see the Gold Gate Bridge.
When Mann got back to Chicago, he was living on the streets. He said he was eating out of garbage cans until Chicago took him in and helped him get back on his feet. He later moved to North Bend, Washington, where he lives to this day. Even at age 97, he still takes his daily walks and enjoys life. He lives by this, “Keep your health, without that we have nothing
NEWS FROM THE LIBRARY
Highly Capable Program
There is one week left to refer students to qualify for highly capable services. Any student in grades K, 1, 3, 5-11 may be referred by staff, family, community members or the students themselves. All students in 2nd and 4th grade are automatically screened and therefore no referral is necessary. The nomination process for the Highly Capable Program is open until – November 8th. When a referral is received, the screening process will be triggered to determine a student’s eligibility for highly capable services. Referred students will be screened in January.
Please visit our Highly Capable Program web page for referral forms or contact your school counselor for more information.
LOOKING AHEAD
- TONIGHT-November 7th-Parent Health Curriculum Night 6:00-7:00 pm at Park Place Middle School in the 130 POD
- November 12th-REACCH Parent Meeting 6:30 pm-7:30 pm
- November 15th-Progress Reports sent home with students
- November 20th-Fundraiser items delivered
- November 26th-Principal Chat 9:00 am Park Place Middle School Commons
- November 27th-STUDENTS RELEASED AT 11:50 AM for Thanksgiving Holiday
- November 28th & 29th-NO SCHOOL-THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
- December 16th-Park Place Winter Choir Concert 7:00 pm in Commons
- December 17th-Park Place Band Concert 7:00 pm in Main Gym
- December 20th-STUDENTS RELEASED AT 11:50 AM for winter holiday
- December 23rd-NO SCHOOL DECEMBER 23RD-JANUARY 3RD for Winter Holiday
REACCH MEETING
THANK YOU POLICE AND FIRE
HEALTH PARENT MEETING
About Us
PRINCIPAL
Terry Cheshire
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Joel Garrison
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Kristie Hilson
OFFICE MANAGER
Lisa Johnson
ASB SECRETARY
Jeanette Barr
ATTENDANCE/ATHLETIC SECRETARY
Ruby Avalos
COUNSELORS
Jennifer Garcia (last names I-Z)
Elsa Leal-Zimmermann (last names A-H, Spanish & ELL)
lealzimmermanne@monroe.wednet.edu
COUNSELING SECRETARY
Dianne Brainard
HEALTHROOM
Cindy Prince
360.804.4332
SCHOOL NURSE
Janae Trimble
360.804.4332
PTO CONTACT
Tanya Adamson
360-348-5058
Main Office Number
360.804.4300
Fax
360.804.4399
Counseling Office
360.804.4303
Attendance Hot Line
360-804-4301
Address
1408 W. Main Street Monroe, WA 98272
Notice of Non-Discrimination
The Monroe School District does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following employees have been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination:
Title IX Coordinator
Joanne Dickinson
200 E. Fremont St, Monroe, WA 98272
(360) 804.2539
dickinsonj@monroe.wednet.edu
Section 504/ADA Coordinator
David Paratore
200 E. Fremont St, Monroe, WA 98272
(360) 804.2609
paratored@monroe.wednet.edu
Compliance Coordinator for 28A.640 and 28A.642 RCW
Joanne Dickinson
200 E. Fremont St, Monroe, WA 98272
(360) 804.2539
dickinsonj@monroe.wednet.edu
The Monroe School District will also take steps to assure that national origin persons who lack English language skills can participate in all education programs, services and activities. For information regarding translation services or transitional bilingual education programs, contact: Ginnie Ayres, 200 E. Fremont St, Monroe, WA 98272, (360) 804.2558, ayresg@monroe.wednet.edu.