Third graders in Donna Cahalan’s third grade classroom at Randall Elementary School received a special “Michigan Made” gift from Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday.
The students have been working on the project since the beginning of May, doing research on Michigan products and the economy of Michigan. All third grade students in the school are working on creating slideshows and poster boards with their research. When Gov. Whitmer was notified of the project, she decided to send a Michigan-themed Pewabic tile to be a part of the presentation.
“We were all so surprised with the generous gift from Gov. Whitmer,” says Donna Cahalan. “The kids were eager to see what it was while I was opening it. They even had some guesses as to what they thought it was going to be.”
Students also received special treats from the Taylor Board of Education. School Board President Kyle Wright joined the class and provided students with root beer floats and “purple-cows,” which were made up of Calder’s Vanilla Ice Cream mixed with Faygo Root Beer and grape pop.
“Back in March, I was asked by Mrs. Cahalan if I would be interested in coming to her students’ May presentation on Michigan-made products,” says Kyle. “At that point, I connected with our board and we came up with the idea of bringing in Calder’s Ice Cream and Faygo. I think the students really enjoyed it.”
And they did. The students all had smiles on their faces while they sat with their treats waiting for the Michigan-made presentations to begin.
“We’re so thankful for our school board and Gov. Whitmer,” says Donna. “While this already was a project our students enjoyed, by receiving surprises from our board and the Governor, it will ensure this is a project that our students remember forever. And that’s what school is about.”
Other Michigan-made products students presented included Better Made chips and popcorn, Vernor’s, Sander’s Candy, Little Caesars and Domino’s pizza, Jiffy Mix, Frosted Flakes, Germack pistachios, Hudsonville ice cream, Mackinac Island fudge and Vlasic pickles.
Thank you to all of those involved to make this a special project for our students.