Today I learned about O'Neill Nebraska.  You can read more about O'Neill in this web page the kids made. They are the Irish capital of Nebraska, and on St. Patrick's  Day  they have a huge celebration. The "world's largest shamrock" is painted on the street of our main intersection downtown and the O'Neill Irish Dancers dance on it every year.  O'Neill has a big pool with a slide that they can swim in and there is a big park right beside it. There is also a lot of stores in O'Neill. But the thing I like the best is just staying here with kind people who live here.

O'Neill's population is 3,700 people- pretty small! But it is the largest town in a big area and the county seat.   O'Neill does not have a shopping mall but we do have some great fast food places including:  Mc Donalds, Dairy Queen, Taco Johns, Subway, and Pizza Hut, as well as a few sit-down restaurants.  

O'Neill has two schools: O'Neill Elementary and St. Mary's.  In our public school there are three classes of each grade. O'Neill Elementary is a very nice new school building.  The fifth grade class does some really neat projects.  One of their favorites is the Eagle Eye News.  This is a monthly school news broadcast that the students write, direct, and produce and it is shown to the whole school as well as on the local cable channel to the community each month. 

Fifth graders enjoy reading to and with younger "partner" classes, projects that use technology: the wireless laptop labs, SMARTboards, and Palm handhelds, and The Wax Museum.  They enjoy rotating to three different classes during the day:  Language Arts, Science and Reading, and Math and Social Studies.  They also enjoy P.E. and Music twice a week, as well as Guidance, Art, and Library once a week.  Fifth grade is the first year that kids at O'Neill Elementary can play a band instrument and so many of these kids do!  They are currently trying to raise money for new playground equipment.

All in all, I can already tell, this is a great small town in the great Midwest:  full of fun, family values, and lots of pride!