110- The Box

Last night I stopped by the dumpster outside of Wal-Mart. There I found a large cardboard box that used to be home to a Kenmore dishwasher. I dragged this box to school with me today and placed it as discreetly as I could behind my desk. Of course, my students were elated at the sight at the giant box and asked over 1,000 questions about its purpose.
Hannah: Are we going to make robots?
Jamie: Is somebody moving? Every time I see a box like that, we move to a new house.
Kramer: Box! Box! Box!
Robbie: I bet I could fit over a million GI Joes in that thing!
Josh: I bet I could fit all the girls in our classroom in that thing!
I delicately let the kids know that the box did have a very special purpose, but that purpose would not be disclosed until the following week.
During my planning period, I composed the following letter to be sent home with all of my students…
Dear Friends,
Over the Winter Holidays, one of my students lost his home in a house fire. All of the family’s belongings were destroyed in the fire. I have placed a box labeled “Donations” in my classroom. If any you have items you would like to give, please stop by at anytime. Any contributions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Teacher
I convinced Caroline’s substitute to send a copy home with her students, but Esther refused because my newsletter had not been approved by Principal. As far as I’m concerned, Principal may have said the school couldn’t do anything for Demarcus, but she never said that his classmates couldn’t do anything for the boy. Before I left for the day, I taped a huge sign labeled DONATIONS to the front of the Kenmore box.