The Mystery of Patwin Elementary

by Megan Satterfield-Smith, age 11, from US

Chapter 1 - Guardians of the Pond

Back in the town of Davis, there was a school called Patwin Elementary. The school was a special school for two reasons. First, the school was named for and stood by the burial grounds of the Patwin Indians. Second, the students at Patwin were the guardians of a nearby pond called West Davis Pond. As guardians of the pond Patwin students had the job of protecting and preserving the wildlife habitat area. The children at Patwin school pulled weeds and picked up trash in the pond area.

Being in Flo's class was the most entertaining of all for the lucky students in her class. If you got Flo for a teacher, at first you would definitely think that you would want a different teacher, but, after just one day of hearing her talk about what you were going to do during the year, unless you were having a nervous breakdown, you'd change your mind.

You see, Flo was not your ordinary 4th grade teacher; if you saw Flo, you could say that you had seen everything (and it would be true). Flo would bring her standard poodle, Sally, to school every day. She was a loving and gentle dog on one side and on the other, she was a wild and springy puppy. Flo would let her kids walk with her over to a park on some of the lunch recesses just for fun.

Flo had a lot of her own things in her classroom that the students were free to use and play with after they had finished with all their work. She gave a lot of herself to her class. She involved her students in the community by making projects and taking them on field trips. If her kids were well-behaved and they followed directions, sometimes Flo would put chocolate on their desk and say that the chocolate fairy came! Basically, Flo made learning fun.