Wisconsin School for the Deaf - The Wisconsin Times Vol. 135 No. 2 Winter 2013-2014 | Page 3

Elementary School News

By Lori Lindau

The Christmas Tree Ship
The WSD Elementary students
took part in a virtual field trip
recently. We were connected with
Gaye-Lynne at the Milwaukee
Public Museum to read the
story, The Christmas Tree Ship:
the Story of Captain Santa by
Rochelle M. Pennington. The
story, set at the turn of the 20th
century, features a captain who
brought fresh Christmas trees
from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan to Chicago every year. One year, the ship sank near Two Rivers,
Wisconsin. The story ends with the captain’s family carrying on his tradition. After reading the story, the
students, along with Gaye-Lynne made an ornament for their home tree. The ornament was a symbol of all the
elements in the story. We had fun!

Elementary Holiday Gift Exchange
This holiday season, elementary students learned two important lessons:
keeping a secret and the gift of giving. First, students drew the name of
another elementary student and had to promise to keep the name a secret.
The name of the student and a short list of their favorite items were sent
home with their new secret pal. Students were asked to buy a $10-15
item, wrap and label it and bring it to school to place under the tree.
The day of the gift exchange, all the eager students headed to the round
room to sit around the tree. As Ms. Urdahl chose one gift at a time, the
student giving the gift came up to present their gift to their pal. Each time Ms. Urdahl reached for a gift,
students hollered and pointed to the gift they wanted her to choose ne