HighSchool Fan
01-17-2006, 05:08 PM
Student adjusts to life after evacuation
By TONI HOLLAD, Special to the Register
Marisa Peltier, an eight-year-old student from Orange, made the best of a life disrupting situation.
Her family temporarily settled in Gainesville after evacuating their home to escape Hurricane Rita earlier this fall.
“It all started when we were watching the weather news to see what would happen. My family decided to go to Woodville. My mom was coming in another car and had an accident,” recalled Peltier as she told her story.
“A truck hit her car, and the driver didn't even stop to see if she was hurt,” she said. “My mom, her name is Michelle, flew in a helicopter to a hospital.”
Peltier told how Charlie, a family friend, helped her family come to Gainesville to stay with his relative, Chris Matern.
Peltier's mom was taken to a Houston hospital where she continues to recuperate from a sprained right wrist, a jagged tear in her lower left leg, a fractured left pelvis, and a shattered left hip which required extensive surgery.
After getting settled in new surroundings, Peltier was enrolled at W.E. Chalmers Elementary School Sept. 29.
She was assigned to Mrs. Hanna's third grade class and immediately began making many new friends. Before leaving school on Nov. 4, she spent her last week at Chalmers taking pictures of her classmates and trading phone numbers so that they can keep in contact with each other.
“It's been good here, like really special to me. At my old school they don't do as many things as this school does,” Peltier said. “My school doesn't have choices everyday like hamburgers and chicken nuggets or the entree. At Chalmers we have a bigger playground. The teachers are really nice, and the computer lab person is one of the best that I have ever seen. She lets us play lots of math games and reading games and language, too. All we do at my other school is typing tutor.”
She continued: “Mrs. Hanna is a great teacher. She teaches us lots of strategies that I didn't know. So when I get back to my old school, I won't have to ask the teacher what kind of strategy I should do. I think the teachers are the best thing at Chalmers because they are so nice. When I walk by classes, I can tell that lots of kids are learning things.”
Peltier added she enjoys living in Gainesville and going to school at Chalmers.
“It has been a great experience. I've learned a lot and made lots of friends. This is a good school,” she said.
By TONI HOLLAD, Special to the Register
Marisa Peltier, an eight-year-old student from Orange, made the best of a life disrupting situation.
Her family temporarily settled in Gainesville after evacuating their home to escape Hurricane Rita earlier this fall.
“It all started when we were watching the weather news to see what would happen. My family decided to go to Woodville. My mom was coming in another car and had an accident,” recalled Peltier as she told her story.
“A truck hit her car, and the driver didn't even stop to see if she was hurt,” she said. “My mom, her name is Michelle, flew in a helicopter to a hospital.”
Peltier told how Charlie, a family friend, helped her family come to Gainesville to stay with his relative, Chris Matern.
Peltier's mom was taken to a Houston hospital where she continues to recuperate from a sprained right wrist, a jagged tear in her lower left leg, a fractured left pelvis, and a shattered left hip which required extensive surgery.
After getting settled in new surroundings, Peltier was enrolled at W.E. Chalmers Elementary School Sept. 29.
She was assigned to Mrs. Hanna's third grade class and immediately began making many new friends. Before leaving school on Nov. 4, she spent her last week at Chalmers taking pictures of her classmates and trading phone numbers so that they can keep in contact with each other.
“It's been good here, like really special to me. At my old school they don't do as many things as this school does,” Peltier said. “My school doesn't have choices everyday like hamburgers and chicken nuggets or the entree. At Chalmers we have a bigger playground. The teachers are really nice, and the computer lab person is one of the best that I have ever seen. She lets us play lots of math games and reading games and language, too. All we do at my other school is typing tutor.”
She continued: “Mrs. Hanna is a great teacher. She teaches us lots of strategies that I didn't know. So when I get back to my old school, I won't have to ask the teacher what kind of strategy I should do. I think the teachers are the best thing at Chalmers because they are so nice. When I walk by classes, I can tell that lots of kids are learning things.”
Peltier added she enjoys living in Gainesville and going to school at Chalmers.
“It has been a great experience. I've learned a lot and made lots of friends. This is a good school,” she said.