Catholic Schools Week

I was in Catholic school from 1957 to 1970. We didn't especially celebrate things.

(Check out additional pictures of old-time Catholic schools on Slate.)
_______________________________________________
In contrast, at St. Francis School in Lumberton this week, the festivities were unending -- tricyle and sled races, sports team and pajama days, parents vs. kids in basketball, a helicopter visit, and more.

St. Francis Lady Falcons

Only the die-hards showed up for this early morning game in Tierra Amarilla, NM. (Click here for cool pictures attached to the Google map of Tierra Amarilla). However, at home games our bleachers overfloweth with Falcons fans!

What would you do if you were president?

"My first decision as president would be to fix the economy. Things continue to be more expensive. People with health problems can't get the medicine they need to be healthy. Lastly, medical bill prices have skyrocketed."

"The most important thing if I was president would be to give kids a good education. It would also be to take all the people that are part of gangs and make them go to school so there would be no more shootings and no more crimes."

"If I were president, I would first fix the economy because taxes are going up and people are losing their homes. Food is going up too. The stores are selling them for too much. People can't afford to pay and they starve. Soon we will end up in a depression."

"If I were Barack Obama, the first thing I would help this country with would be America's education. Not everyone goes to school even though they should. Instead of going to school, people stay home being lazy. Instead of sitting around, I would help people that are in trouble and need help. Those people can't afford luxuries like just sitting around and relaxing. When those poor people are sick, they can't pay their medical bills. These are the first things I would help America with if I were president."

"Health care is too expensive. We've got to think of our people of America. There are rich and poor. The poor need our help. They have nothing. Some people have the money to buy health care. We need to give and not almost give. The last shall be first and the first shall be last."

"What will Barack Obama do to the poor? He should give the poor people houses and give them good food to eat. Give poor people what you don't use any more, like your tree house, cell phone, toys, or TV."

"If I was President Obama, to get the United States going, I would stop the gun control. Obama wants to take the guns away. If he does take them, all will not be well. All the people have to live off guns, like the people that live in the woods, mountains, and far out deserts. Guns help people survive. So we need guns."

"If I was president, the first thing I would do is tell all the mail people to check the Mexico envelopes or mail boxes to see if there are any drugs. If there are any drugs in there, they should call the police and tell them to go to their house and send them to jail. I would make it against the law to do drugs. It is unsafe because drugs can make people do bad things. They take people away from their families. Any kind of drug can do that; for example, meth, crystal meth, weed, and others.”

“I went to the gas station. The price was expensive. If I was Barack Obama, I would not make the price expensive.”

“If I were president, I would have a law that anyone who has a gun will have a license to own it. I would lower the taxes for all the people in the United States. I would stop the drugs.”

“I would solve the problem of drugs and alcohol because people always sell drugs and they are always smoking. They have to look at people’s IDs before they purchase alcohol. People are always drinking and driving.”

“Poor people need health care. Lower the prices to one dollar a needle for people with diabetes or they might die and we don’t want that. Give them good drinks, but not beer or drugs. Test food and water.”

A girl and her coach

It doesn't matter if you fall down; it’s whether you get back up.
- Michael Jordan

Cool old wagon

and a cool old moon ...

Inauguration Day

We celebrated with patriotic cupcakes and TV in the gym. It was a gracious gesture by our principal, who is from Arizona and an affirmed John McCain supporter. On Friday, he will award a $25.00 prize to the student who submits the best response to the event.

I am a golden eagle

by Elijah

I am a golden eagle. When I fly, I get scared because people shoot guns in the air. Lightning struck a light post. When I woke up, I was in a bear trap. I was bleeding very bad. The hunter picked me up and let me go. I could not fly, so the hunter put me in a nest, stitched my wing, and fed me. When I was better, he let me go. I flew in the blue sky. It was a nice day to fly. The temperature was kind of cold. I knew my mom by her call. I went to her. We went home.

The day my pinky bent sideways

by Lester

I broke my finger at school during recess. We were playing kickball. The ball hit my finger and my pinky bent sideways. I told my teacher. She said, "Wait until we go inside." It hurt really bad. I asked her if I could get some ice. She said, "Just wait." We went inside for lunch. Ms. Maria saw me and said, "What's wrong?!" I told her my pinky hurt. She gave me some ice and called my mom. My mom took me to the clinic. They took an x-ray of my hand. We found out that my pinky was broken.

Mmm ... delicious schoolhouse ice!

Homesteading

by Simon

My great-great grandfather, Jose E. Gomez, Sr., was born in 1855. As a teenager he came out to New Mexico from Colorado, looking for land to homestead from the public domain that was free to be worked on. In order to keep the land, he had to live on the property for five years, build a cabin or a house, build fences, and improve the property by plowing, clearing, and planting. When five years were over, government inspectors came to see if the work was done. It was, so they gave him a title to the land.

Dear friends of Ms. Colleen

Dear friends of Ms. Colleen,

We are really glad that you sent us these jigsaw puzzles. They are very colorful and they make us think. They are hard! We need to think ahead. We like them because they are challenging. Where did you get them? Why did you send them? Do you like puzzles too? How much did they cost? Can you send more? The glow-in-the-dark one is our favorite.

Sincerely,

Andrew, AJ, Antoinette, Ariana, Chris, Dalton, Danesha, Donna, Dulcia, Elena, Elijah, Jaiden, Jalene, Lester, Latral, Luis, Mathis, Nic, Robert, Simon, Stuart

Shoveling from the school rooftop

Frank and Bud: This is not in your contract.

Jicarilla history lesson number 2

"Fifty-four years after the 15th Amendment granted all citizens, regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude the right to vote, the 'Citizenship Act,' made Indians citizens, thus granting them protection under the 15th Amendment. " (Montana Law Review 269-288, 270-271, 281-288.)

And even though Indians became U.S. citizens in 1924, states hindered their right to vote by creating procedures that made it difficult or impossible for them to actually cast a vote--in much the same way that other states enacted Jim Crow laws to stymie the rights of Black voters. As late as 1962, New Mexico still overtly prohibited Native Americans from voting.