"Will you pass the crumpets" echoed throughout the halls of The Bodine School a few weeks ago as the 4th grade gobbled down some tasty English treats and tea provided by Mr. Inglis and his lovely wife.

GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!

Bodine Students show their tiger pride prior to the devastating loss to the mighty Kansas Jayhawks.

"Welcome to Hooverville" where students took the materials that were available and built little shanties to sleep in when times got really hard.

Many of the shelters held up under the weather while others did not fair so well during the thunderstorm the night before. Some students said they were building an ark before the storm was to arrive. The "ark" lost some of its structure during the storm but held up in the end.

The girls were treated unequally in the school setting during the depression. They had to sit in the back of class. They had to write in cursive for all assignments. The girls had to go to the board to serve as scribes to write down all of the boys answers without being able to share any of their own ideas. Girls were rarely called on during class. This upset many of the middle school girls because they thought these actions were unfair and unjust.

The reality of the depression really started to sink in at the end of the afternoon. Many of the students expressed their thoughts on the playground. The students found the clothing to be constricting and hot. The students noticed that people of various races were treated differently. Students who were left handed were forced to write with their right hands.

Some students held their emotions back during the day...others did not.

There were brief moments of elation as students received their small portions of mush on Depression Thursday. Many students did not eat their food because they said it was "gross" and they would never eat such food, so they just sat an looked at the cold mortar like substance in their bowls. They also received small servings of apple juice to help wash down the cornmeal mixture. Some were grateful for the food and even ate the whole bowl.

During "Depression" Thursday last week, an 8th grader allows the younger 6th grade students to get in line in front of him to receive some nourishing soup for lunch. Each student received meager portions of chicken noodle soup or tomato soup. The crowd became restless when the bread ran out and the soup got low. A sense of depression moved through the crowd as they ate in the lunch room. Many students were thinking about how it must have been during the real depression and the hardships that must have been dealt with on a daily basis. Many said that it must have been so hard for those who had to endure the daily struggle to obtain food or a job.

Middle school students stand in line as they wait for cold bland corn meal cooked with water for a "free" breakfast served in the soup kitchen food line outside of the multi-purpose room before classes start. Many of the students have not eaten since the night before and they are ravished. Will this simple meal of half a cup of corn mush be enough to get them through the morning until break?

Third Graders Visit the Dinosaurs . . .

. . . at the Pink Palace Museum. The third grade classes had a special presentation on dinosaurs during their field trip to the Pink Palace. They got to touch an actual Triceratops leg bone, various teeth, and many other fossils. Students compared their hands to the prints of a giant plant eater and looked at fossils found in Memphis during construction projects, including giant wooly mammoth remains.

Afterwards students toured and saw many types of animal bones in addition to a memorable video on insects. Students were given a very special “behind-the-scenes” tour and experienced items from Memphis history as well as rocks and preserved animal.

Second graders are proud of their class project for the school auction. Each created a favorite building and a creative parent added their work to the bench.