It's More than Just Minnesota Nice

Tonight a strange man approached our dinner table and interrupted our meal saying, "Excuse me, I don't want to bother you, but I've worked in schools for 31 years and I have NEVER seen a group of students as well behaved as this one. I just had to tell you that everyone at our table is amazed at how great they are. You should be very proud of them."

Well, we are! This group of 23 students has been great, but we were still happy to hear that someone else noticed.

Turns out this man and his dinner companions were seated next to one of our two gigantic tables at Carmines and, before they left, really felt compelled to let our group know that they were being terrific travelers.

It just goes to show that even in the big city, people pay attention...and good behavior does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Thanks to this group for continuing to give our school, town, and state a reputation of which we can all be proud!

Go Go Go - Day Two

Today we started off our day with a Broadway audition workshop led by a member of the cast of West Side Story. The kids got to sing and learn about the experience of being a Broadway performer. After the workshop, our guide, Jeff, led us over to Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral.


We then spent a few hours wandering the shops along 5th Avenue such as Tiffanys, the Apple Store, H&M, Prada, Fendi, Juicy Couture, the NBA Store, Bergdorf Goodman, Henri Bendel, etc. Many of the group members ate lunch at "30 Rock," near the famous skating rink which is still in operation even at this late date (one of the few times the ice has been out on Lake Vermilion before it is at 30 Rock, we're sure!).



After filling our stomachs and emptying our wallets on 5th Avenue, we walked down to Times Square and took in the sights and lights. Some students (and maybe a chaperone or two) spent some time in the Hersheys and M&M stores, while others picked up sweatshirts and even a piece of art or two.

Thankfully we had time to walk back to the hotel, drop our bags and change our clothes before heading back out to a GIGANTIC Italian, family-style dinner at Carmines before seeing West Side Story. The walk from the restaurant to the theatre was only three blocks but there were thousands of people on the street on this busy Saturday night! We had to stick close to get through the crowds together, but we all made it to the theatre in one piece and in time for the show. The show was lovely and we're all excited to see more Broadway tomorrow with The Lion King. We didn't get back to the hotel until 11 PM, but everyone hit the sack in order to get a good night's rest before another big day tomorrow.

We're Here! Day One

Today the group traveled safely to NYC in time to grab lunch at Grand Central Station. After that we enjoyed a drive around Manhattan's Upper West and East Sides in our lovely charter bus, stopping to wander into Central Park as well as check out Trump Tower, FAO Schwartz, and Tiffanys.




After checking into the hotel we walked over to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and undertook a scavenger hunt (congrats to Amy's team for winning!) after standing in a line around the block to get in for Free Fridays.
By the time we were done looking at tons of cool art at MoMA (including Picassos, Dalis, Van Goghs, Warhols, Cezannes, and Matisses) we were all ready to eat, but we had to trudge through some rain to get to The Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square. We enjoyed grazing on burgers and salads while gazing at legendary rock memorabilia such as James Brown and Jimi Hendrix's performance suits and Janis Joplin's pants (and bought some Hard Rock Cafe souvenirs ourselves).
After fueling up we had to walk back to our hotel, which wasn't too far but by this time the rain had really started to come down! By the time we got back to the hotel, we were pretty soaked but that made being in for the night all the more pleasant. We're all tired, but happy to be here and looking forward to another busy day tomorrow. Stay tuned!

The Little Gophers Have Landed!!

The entire crew and chaperones have landed in NYC and the fun is underway.

Big Dates

Raffle Tickets and Money due March 30th!!

Raffle Drawing - April 1st - No Fooling!!

Final Fund Raising Concert
Date: April 8, 2010
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: St. Mary's Catholic Church, Cook
Dessert served afterwards!!


Final Parent, Student, Chaperone Meeting
Date: Tuesday April 13th
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Elementary Music Room
Absolute last chance to bring in permission slips and medical paperwork!!

The Schedule

Day 1 - Friday 16-Apr-10
1:00 am - (Huh?) Gather at the school
1:20 am - Depart school
7:00 am - Depart Minneapolis Airport (MSP)
10:49 am - Arrive NYC - LaGuardia (time change to EDT)
3:00 pm - Checkin at Skyline Hotel
4:00 pm - WALK to MOMA
7:00 pm - Dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe
10:30 pm - Bed check and Lights out

Day 2 - Saturday 17-Apr-10
6:30 - 10:00 am - Continental Breakfast at hotel
10:00 am - WALK to Pearl Studios for 10:30 Camp Broadway workshop
12:00 noon - Lunch in Times Square, followed by walking tour through Times Square, Rockefeller Center, 5th Avenue
5:30 pm - Pre-Theater Dinner at Carmine's
8:00 pm - West Side Story
11:00 pm - WALK back to hotel
11:30 pm - Bed check and Lights out

Day 3 - Sunday 18-Apr-10
6:30 am - 8:30 am - Continental Breakfast at hotel
8:30 am - Meet guide in lobby
9:00 am - NBC Experience Store
9:30 am - NBC Studio Tour
11:00 am - Radio City Music Hall
11:30 am - Stage Door Tour of Radio City Music Hall
1:00 pm - Lunch on your own at Rockefeller Center
2:15 pm - WALK to Minskoff Theatre
3:00 pm - Lion King
6:30 pm - Dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
8:00 pm - WALK to Rockefeller Center - Top of the Rock Observation Deck
9:30 pm - Return to hotel
11:00 pm - Bed check and Lights out

Day 4 - Monday 19-Apr-10
6:30 am - 7:00 am - Continental breakfast at hotel
7:00 am - Check out of hotel and store luggage in hotel storage
7:30 am - WALK to Rockefeller Center for Today Show
9:00 am - Subway ride to Battery Park, ferry to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (lunch)
1:00 pm - Motorcoach tour of lower Manhattan - Ground Zero, Chinatown, Little Italy, Wall Street
3:00 pm - Pick up luggage at hotel
4:00 pm - Arrive LaGuardia
6:15 pm - Depart LaGuardia for Minneapolis
8:23 pm (CDT again) - Arrive MSP

Day 5 - Tuesday 20-Apr-10 (that's right - Tuesday)
1:30 am - Arrive home in Cook

Sled Dog Race Fundraiser

Sunday evening, March 7th, sled dog teams will be participating in the Wolf Track Classic Sled Dog Race. Teams of about 250 dogs should be at City Hall and Park around 7:00pm. Concessions will be provided by the Cook High School Choir to raise money for the NYC trip beginning at 5:30pm and going thru the night. Chicken wild rice soup. Hot beef sandwiches, hot dogs, chips, cookies and beverages will be available.

A FREE movie, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, “Snow Dogs”, rated PG, will be shown at 6:00pm at the Comet. This should be great fun for the entire community!