Learning About the Political Process

The Octopi and the Creators continued their study of elections and the political process with a visit to the Pierce County Republican Headquarters where they were told about how political campaigns are organized and run.

 

 

They then went to the Tacoma City Council Chambers and met with Jake Fey who is running for legislature and Senator Debbie Regala. They asked great questions about the issues and the politcial process.

The field trip ended with lunch at the Farmer's Market with their middle school buddies. It was an awesome day and a great learning experience.

(Where else but Seabury do kids read the Constitution on the bus?)

The Pig Party

The next step in studying the elections is the formation of our own political party to run candidates for Head of School and Secretary in the November general election. The Pig Party was born with our class guinea pig Ginger as the symbol of the party!

 

Ginger was more than happy to eat hay while the Octopi tried out numerous backgrounds, settling on the all American look of the flag. And what does the Pig Party stand for?

                                                                  We believe in:

                                                             Expressing yourself

                                                       Individual Learning Styles

                                                                  Class pets

                                                           Encouraging Others

                                                             Positive Attitudes

                                                                 Kind words

                                                         And most important:

                                                                Having fun!

 

And their party slogan? Give the People What they Want

 

 

And finally the candidates were nominated and gave their first speech! Who was chosen to represent the Pig Party in the general election? Better ask an Octopi!                                      

 

 



                                                         

If I Were President

The Octopi wrote their first formal essay on the topic, "If I Were President"

 Being president is a very important job.   It is also a very hard job.   If I were president, I would focous on three issues:  nuclear weapons, the economy and national defense. 

     In the first place, nuclear weapons;  lots of countrys have nukes such as France, Russia and the U.K.  I think we should make an agreement in which they only use nukes as a last resort in case of nuculer war or nuclear attack.  I would help prevent any more countries from developing weapons which would make the world a safer place.

    Secondly, the economy.  The economy is doing horrible right now so if we bring more jobs back to the U.S. the economy will get better.  Providing better roads and railroads would make transportation costs cheaper and encourage jobs overseas to come to the U.S. In addition, if we create jobs here the economy will also get better.

     And finally defense.  I think we should make the foundation of the fense on the border of Mexico deeper to prevent tunnelers from entering the U.S. illegaly.  We should also make our A.R.M.Y stonger in case of a large-scale atack.

     These are the three things I would focous on and do if I was president.  I think they are the most important.   What would you do?

By: M. J.

       If I were President I would focus mainly on the environment, terrorism issues, and higher education. These things have problems that have to stop. Being president is a very important position and you must use it responsibly.

First of all, higher education is a HUGE issue. We need more colleges. More colleges will result in  more college students which will result in more degrees which will result in more jobs. In other words, a better economy. We should also lower tuition. Studies show that in U.S. alone there are trillions of dollars in college tuition every day. We also need better colleges. People need good education so they can help this country and its many problems.

Secondly, terrorism MUST stop. We need stricter gun restrictions. Studies show that about 30,000 per year are killed because of guns. If YOU don’t help stop this, you could die because of guns. We also need to stop illegal immigrants. Most terrorists get here because we are not stopping them. I realize that if we get into less war, there will be less terrorism. Terrorists mostly terrorize because they believe that even after wars, they are not over.

Last but definitely not least, we need more concern for the environment. We are using and buying too much oil. Oil is just too expensive and very polluting. We also need to stop burning coal. It is bad for the environment and using up the earth’s resources. We also need more solar/lunar energy. It is much better and much less polluting than oil, coal, or nuclear power. Tell me, is it wasting the sun or the moon?

So if I was president, I would try and fix these problems our country has. I believe that higher education, terrorism and the environment are the biggest problems facing our country. I would do all I can to make these problems not be problems any more.

By: S.C.

Being the president of the United States is a big deal. You would be one of the most powerful people in the country; you would also influence the entire world. If I were president I would be drawn to three main issues: energy and environment, education and health care.  

First I would like to address energy and environment. I believe that we need to stop people from drilling oil in Alaska because it might spill and ruin the animals’ habitats. Also I would like to prevent oil spills as much as possible .Thirdly I would like to use more solar panels and I would give tax breaks to people who buy them. 

Next I would like to discuss education. I think that tuition to college should be lowered so everyone can get a good education. I also believe that children should not be allowed to drop out on their own. I also will make sure that teachers should get paid more so that more people will want to be teachers. 

And last but not least I will make sure to address health care. Health care is one of the most important problems the United States of America faces. We need to lower the cost of health care so that everyone can get health care. I will also make sure that doctors are more accessible all over the United States of America. Lastly I will make sure that we will never be short on doctors by lowering the tuition to medical school. 

In conclusion I will make every one more educated and healthy and conserve our wild life. I believe that these are these are really important problems and will do my best to resolve them. I will also address other issues but I will make sure that these are fully resolved then everyone is happy! And that’s what I would do if I were President.  

By: G.B.

The president is a very big job. There word can impact the entire world! There are three big things I would focus on if I was president: Health, Economy, and Environment.

            Health is a big issue. One thing we need to do is produce more doctors and hospitals in states like South Dakota, North Dakota, and Alaska to make it easier for people to get to doctors. We could make Health Care cover more hospitals to make the hospitals more accessible. Another thing we can do is make Health Insurance cheaper so that more people can buy it.

The Environment is another big problem. We need to save animals. We should make more animal sanctuaries and more protected forests. We should protect the air. 500,000 people die prematurely from pollution a day! We need to cut down on producing factories. I’ll bet we even have factories to make factories! This is an important issue to all Americans. 

The Economy is a HUGE problem!  We need to increase jobs, create businesses, and decrease debt. I think it’s all a big circle! If we give tax breaks to businesses that will create more businesses and jobs.

In conclusions, those are very big things for a president to think about. That’s what I would focus on. What about you?

By: S. L. B.

Being elected president is a huge responsibility. The American president is the leader of the United States and the most powerful leader in the world. If I were President I would lower taxes, I would make America have better education and mostly help the environment to make America a better place. 

I would lower taxes because people are losing their jobs. When people lose their jobs they become homeless or even commit suicide. How could America have an economy without jobs?  By lowering taxes on businesses, businesses can keep their employees and save jobs.

Education is one of the biggest issues.  I would make a law that anybody under twenty years old has to go to school.  I would do this to help people get better jobs. I would help homeless and poor people go to school by helping them find jobs.  I would also have better schools and get better teachers and fire the bad, ones not saying that they aren’t any good teachers.

Last but not least I would help the environment by changing our need for coal and gasoline powered energy in and instead I would have water powered energy.  If we use water instead of exhaust coming out of factories and cars there will be water vapor coming out of them. I would do that to save the environment.

To be a president has to make people trust him and he has to be a leader. When you’re a leader you have to act like a leader, you have to lead a huge country.  If president I were I would help the education, help the environment and lower taxes.   

What would you do if you were president?J

By: N.E.

Being president is hard work.  It is also an important job too. If I were president I would make three main things better; Health Care, Jobs, and Education.

           Health Care is the main issue. One thing is to make it easier to go to the doctor. There will be 200,000 doctors needed by 2020. I would open more medical schools and help students pay for medical schools.

           Education is important because then people can have a decent job and living. Education is expensive. We can help college students and other students pay for the schools.

          We can create new jobs by getting money from the government. We can help businesses by cutting taxes and that will help them create new jobs.

           Being president is a lot of work. If I were to be president I would have made three things better;  Health Care, Jobs, and Education.   

By: R.J.    

 

Molecules

As part of our Chemistry unit the Octopi spent some time making models of molecules. Hands on fun discovering how atoms join together to create molecules.