|
 Quote
To Think About:
"Well done is better than well said."
(Benjamin
Franklin -
A great American who possessed strong leadership qualities, such as:
intelligence, passion, strength, devotion, charisma, tenacity,
perseverance, generosity and forgiveness) |
  This
journal entry was written February 4.
As most of you know, the students' P.E. teacher,
Mrs. Staso, was in California for the month of
January to be with her mother - who passed away on
January 18 after a 3-year battle with cancer. Mrs.
Staso and her family returned to Missoula on
January 31 and started the process of calculating
the students' total mileage for January, and the
U.S. position of each class. As you can see from
the numbers above, the kids are doing great! The
5th graders are currently leading and have reached
Rochester, Minnesota - approximately 2½ weeks
ahead of schedule!
Mrs.
Staso had the benefit of two substitute teachers
in her absence who did an excellent job of keeping
the students moving and exercising throughout the
month of January. Before she left, Mrs. Staso
challenged the kids to make this trek their own...
to apply their own personal motivation and desire
in keeping on track with the overall goal. It is
quite obvious that the students have done just
that. Both classes are now ahead of the pace
needed to complete the trek by the end of the
school year. It is very likely that the 5th grade
class will complete the state of Minnesota next
week, and the 4th grade class should complete
Minnesota within a couple of weeks. The students
have had unseasonably warm weather for running and
walking. This week the National Weather Service
reported that in January Missoula experienced the
2nd warmest January on record! The lowest
temperature in January was 19 degrees - which is
indeed warm for Missoula in January. The high
temperatures ranged from the mid-30s to low 40s!
We
received a nice note from
Aaron Lohr, which is included
in the encouragement notes below. It appears that
he will soon be visiting Missoula and would like
to run/walk with the students while here. We
certainly look forward to his visit!
 We
also received a note of encouragement from the
1973 and 1975 winner of the
New York City Marathon
- Tom Fleming. His note is also included below. It
is always a joy to receive notes of encouragement
from accomplished athletes!
Not
only do we enjoy receiving notes from military
personnel, athletes, teachers, coaches, students,
and many other citizens of the U.S. and world, but
we also appreciate it when city, state, and
government officials take time to encourage the
students. Here are two such notes:
This week we received the following letter
from U.S. Senator Conrad Burns in Washington, D.C.:
 Dear 4th and 5th Graders:
I am very impressed by the challenge you have
undertaken in virtually running across
America. What a great way to stay fit and have
a lot of fun. I visited your website today and
noticed you are approaching Rochester,
Minnesota and are well on your way towards
achieving your goal. I congratulate you!
I
certainly know the importance of staying fit
and am very pleased to see young people like
you taking a unique approach to daily fitness.
Your goal of virtually running across America
is a great example to your peers about staying
fit and exercising regularly. As I am sure you
have learned, the benefits of regular exercise
and staying healthy are numerous. By
developing and exercising healthy habits at
your age, you will lay the foundation for a
lifetime of healthy living. Along with your
virtual run across America, I would encourage
you to encourage others to exercise and stay
active.
 I
will look forward to watching your progress on
your website and wish you all the very best as
you work towards your goal.
Sincerely,
Conrad Burns
United
States Senator
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This week we received the
following letter from John Engen, Mayor of Missoula, Montana:
 Dear 4th and 5th Grader Classes:
Congratulations on meeting the half way mark
on your unique challenge of virtually
running/walking 3200 miles across America. It
is wonderful to see 4th and 5th graders
learning about nutrition and fitness.
I
see from the website that Montana is 11th for
fit kids. I admire your determination to
combine fitness with your goal to run/walk
3200 miles during the school year. Hopefully
this will inspire other students to take the
challenge.
 Keep
up the good work of running/walking across
America.
Sincerely,
John Engen
Mayor
|
 Click
Here To Read Notes Of Encouragement Received From City, State and
U.S. Government Officials!
|
Some Encouraging Notes
We Received This Week: |
I think that this is
a fabulous project and I wish all of you well on your trek.
Congratulations on doing something so healthy for yourselves and
school mates!
M. J. Demetras
Tucson, Arizona
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Run
hard!
Kristy
4th Grade Participant
- Russell Elementary
Missoula, Montana
_________________________________________________________________________________________
I
wish you all a healthy and quick trip and Best Wishes ... you should
be proud of all your efforts!
Tom Fleming
New York City
Marathon Champion - 1973 and 1975
Coach & 4th Grade Teacher at
Montclair Kimberley Academy
Montclair, New Jersey
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Wow!
This is awesome! I really wish we could have done something like
this. Keep up the GREAT work!
Andy
7th Grade Student - Meadow
Hill Middle School
Missoula, Montana
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Way
to go kids! It's nice having the notoriety of having the 5th grade
class (and soon to be 4th grade class) running through my town! We
just got a fresh dusting of snow, so dress warm when you run. Take
care and good luck.
Bart Hanson
Rochester, Minnesota
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Hey
everyone. Been keeping tabs on you and you are doing an excellent
job. The Guys here all coming back from their vacation time this
week and we will pick up where we left off. I see we have a lot of
miles to cover to catch up with you. We will make up the distance
and will be sending pictures of us running here in Germany now. I am
getting close to being able to come visit you and look forward to
meeting all of you and running with you. If you will still let me.
Keep up the good work, and will see you all soon.
Aaron Lohr
U.S. Army -
Learn More About Aaron's Involvement
Darmstadt, Germany
_________________________________________________________________________________________
I
am so proud of both classes and how you have persevered over these
winter months. Even while Mrs. Staso and I were away during January,
you kept on running and walking. We came back to Missoula and were
so happy to see how well you did during the P.E. classes, even
occasionally putting in additional distance with your class outside
of P.E. time. Your effort is truly wonderful. A few schools in warm
climate states that tried to mirror our trek at their own location
have since given up. They weren't able to stay committed to the
goal. The memory that they will have of their "virtual trek" is one
of quitting. However, you are enduring and staying focused on
completing this enormous task. You are succeeding... step by step.
Rome wasn't built in a day, and crossing the United States on foot
isn't accomplished in a day... a week... or even a month. It takes
time, commitment, dedication, perseverance, mental effort, physical
strength, and many other life-changing qualities. As you can see at
the top of this page, I chose a quote from Benjamin Franklin for
this week's "Quote To Think About". His words are, "Well done is
better than well said." Ben Franklin certainly was a man who got
things done. He was not just a man or words, but a man of action.
With each step you take you are telling the world "We will get this
done". Indeed, I believe you will. Run on, walk on, and keep
Delaware in your sights!
Paul Staso, Co-Organizer
Run/Walk Across America
Missoula, Montana
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