LESSONS KEEP ON TRUCKIN' : DRIVERS' POSTCARDS HELP TEACH GEOGRAPHY.Byline: Jeanne Mariani-Belding Daily News Staff WriterCheers and squeals of excitement greeted truck driver Rivers Livous as he circled the blacktop playground at Serrania Avenue School on Wednesday, honking the big rig's horn. Livous and two other truckers came to the school for the first time Wednesday to meet the students they have been sending postcards from stops across the country throughout the school year. Livous and drivers Joe Barboa and Victor Muchmore brought geography to life for the students with three dozen postcards from coast to coast. With each postcard, students learned geography, history and facts about each city on the driver's route - and a little bit about the drivers. Ten-year-old Nersay Naoum considers Livous his buddy. ``He would travel all around the state, and he thought about us. He took the time to send us postcards,'' Nersay said. Erika Dantuin, 11, said Wednesday that her favorite postcard is the one Livous sent from Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas, 18th-largest city in the United States[1], and voted one of "America’s Most Livable Communities. , because of ``all the neat sights and stuff.'' ``They would tell us all kinds of information every time they sent us a postcard - about what the place was like and what the climate was like,'' said Erika, who lives in West Hills. ``I think it's pretty cool to be able to meet these guys because they've been keeping in touch with us for so long.'' In return, students sent bags of letters to the drivers at their home base in Gardena and asked questions such as ``What color is your hair?'' and ``How old are you?'' and ``Are you married?'' ``It's such a great, heartwarming heart·warm·ing or heart-warm·ing adj. 1. Causing gladness and pleasure. 2. Eliciting sympathy and tender feelings: a heartwarming tale. Adj. 1. feeling,'' said Livous, 36, of Pico Rivera Pico Rivera (pē`kō rĭvĕr`ə), city (1990 pop. 59,177), Los Angeles co., SW Calif., SE of Los Angeles on the San Gabriel and Rio Hondo rivers; inc. 1958 with the union of Pico and Rivera into one community. . ``I'd give these kids an A. It was fun. And with this type of response, of course I would do it again.'' The postcard program was arranged by fifth-grade teacher Meredith Smith Meredith Smith is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. He replaced Larry Lessett in 2007. Smith is an alumnus of UMES, having graduated in 1975. and Kim T. Foster, vice president and general manager of Auto Transport Co. in Gardena, where the truckers are employed. The truckers were ferrying new sport utility vehicles This page lists sports utility vehicles currently in production (as of April 2007), as well as past models. The list includes crossover SUVs, Mini SUVs, Compact SUVs and other similar vehicles. to production tracks across the country as part of a nationwide promotional tour. Smith said her fifth-graders looked forward to the mail. ``They learned so much. They learned about geography, U.S. history, the capitols of states, communication - it's really hands-on learning. They were so excited about it. Every day they would ask, `Did we get a postcard?' '' Smith said. The students prepared a heroes' welcome Wednesday for the three drivers, decorating the outdoor courtyard with red, white and blue streamers Streamers is a play by David Rabe. The last in his Vietnam War trilogy that began with The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel and Sticks and Bones and balloons. The drivers were given official school T-shirts while parents, teachers and administrators snapped pictures of the big event. Curious students bombarded the drivers with questions about their work and looked over the big blue trucks loaded with cars - poking their noses into every nook and cranny Noun 1. nook and cranny - something remote; "he explored every nook and cranny of science" nooks and crannies detail, item, point - an isolated fact that is considered separately from the whole; "several of the details are similar"; "a point of information" . ``We're all still on cloud nine,'' Smith said after the drivers left. ``I've already set it up again for next year.'' CAPTION(S): 3 Photos Photo: (1) Transporting cars, the driver of a big rig Big Rig was a punk band from the San Francisco Bay Area fronted by singer/songwriter Jesse Michaels. Michaels performed with the group after the break up of his previous project, Operation Ivy, and before forming the band Common Rider. pu lls into the school parking lot to meet children he sends cards. (2) Trucker Rivers Livous shows his rig to his fifth-grade pen pals Pen Pals or penpals may refer to:
(3) Children cheer as they prepare to meet a pen pal pen pal n. A person with whom one becomes acquainted through a friendly, regular correspondence. pen pal Noun Informal same as pen friend Noun 1. . Hans Gutknecht/Daily News |
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