Student Events

Project Iraqi Friendship

During the fall of last year, students and families in our Trailside community undertook "Project Iraqi Friendship" to help our "sister" school in Al Mahmudiayah open its doors. Many school supplies, sports uniforms, drawings and letters were collected to send to soldiers of the United States Army to distribute to Iraqi children. We have recently received a letter of thanks (reprinted below) from Lt. Pete H. who has answered many of our student's questions! We know you'll feel proud to have helped with this project as you see the photograph of the "first day of school" for our Iraqi friends, and read the Lt.'s letter.

8 DEC 03
Dear Trailside Elementary Students,

Merry Christmas! Thank you so much for the letters. My soldiers really enjoyed them! It is always nice to see support from everyone back home. My name is Second Lieutenant Pete H. and I am serving in B Company, 3rd Battalion 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. We have been here in Iraq since 5 Aug, and we are ready to go home! Unfortunately, we aren't set to redeploy to Fort Bragg until March 04. Anyhow, I'll try to answer your most popular questions!

Q: Are you married? A: No but I'm getting married shortly after getting home. I miss my family and frineds, but I've made many close friends here.

Q: Have I ever been a P.O.W.? A: No, thank goodness!

Q: Have you met any friendly Iraqis? A: Yes, most of the people here are very friendly.

Q: Where do you live in America? A: I live at Fort Bragg, which is in Fayetteville, NC.

Q: What is your favorite sport? A: KC chiefs football!

Q: What is your favorite food? A: Steak

Q: Do you have a gun? A: Yes, I carry an M-4 carbine.

Q: Why are we fighting with Iraq? A: We are not fighting with Iraq. We are here fighting certain people who want to hurt people like you and I.

Q: Do you like going on vacations? A: Yes, I like going to warm places with beaches!

Q: How old are you? A: I am 25 years old.

Q: Is it hard to walk in sand with all of your stuff? A: Yes we have a lot of stuff to carry when we go on missions.

Q: How long have you been in the army? A: I went to West Point, so I've been in the army or military school since I graduated high school in 1998.

Q: Have you ever eaten a bug? A: Not on purpose!

Q: What is the weather like in Iraq? A: Hot, up to 140 degrees in the summer. It's relatively cold and rainy in the winter. As you can imagine, 40 degrees feels awfully cold compared to 140 degrees!

Q: Do you know or like Sponge Bob? A: Heck yeah! Sponge Bob is awesome!

Q: Have I ever fought in any other wars? A: No, but most of my soldiers fought in Afghanistan. Some guys also fought in Iraq (the first time) and in Mogadishu.

Q: Do you have any siblings? A: Yes, I have two little sisters.

Q: Do you eat MRE's? A: I eat them as little as I can!

Q: Do you have any pets? A: Yes, I have a dog named Rocky. I also adopted a cat over here, his name is Saddam the Cat!

Q: Have you ever had a different job? A: Nope, I used to play a lot of sports so I didn't really have time to get a job!

I think I got most of your questions. You all should be very proud of yourselves; by taking the time and effort to collect things for Iraqi students, you have truly made a positive impact on people who are less fortunate. These people are now starting to enjoy freedoms unlike any they've ever had. Boys and girls are able to work and live without fear from a mean dictator. War is terrible and you can be sure that American soldiers are trying to do everything we can to help people and not hurt them. Thanks again for all your help! I'll write again soon and please send more questions!

Regards, 2LT Pete H.

Olympic Legacy Project

Together the students of Trailside Elementary School and David Chaplin made paintings to create this wall and to remember the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

Students made hundreds of paintings in their classrooms depicting the athletes and the environment in which the Olympic athletes competed. The second grade - mountains, trees and the places where the Games took place. The third grade - paintings of ski trails, bobsled courses, skating rinks and the snow boarders' half pipes. The fourth and fifth graders - images of the athletes in action.

From all of these paintings, Chaplin recreated the designs and images of the second and third grade classes as a background for the paintings of the Olympians by the fourth and fifth graders. The Olympic athlete figures were cut out of the students' paintings and attached to the already painted wall.

Everyone in the school who came to see the mural as it was being painted helped Chaplin. Every teacher welcomed him into her classroom. This is a team project and the team is everyone at Trailside Elementary School.