[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 14779]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                      RECOGNIZING MONFORTON SCHOOL

 Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I wish today to recognize the 
achievements of an outstanding teacher and her seventh grade students. 
This is a story of community and folks coming together to make their 
town a better place to live. The students at Monforton School in 
Bozeman, MT, with their teacher, Sally Broughton, saw a playground at 
the school that was outdated and unsafe. These ambitious young people 
then sprung into action and set out to inform the principal, school 
board, other students, and community members of the subpar condition of 
the playground and gathered input and support for building a new 
playground.
  In the Montana spirit of folks working together to make their 
community a better place to live, local businesses pitched in by 
donating nearly $40,000 worth of supplies and labor toward completion 
of the playground. Monforton parent and carpenter, Alan Ripley, worked 
with students to design the octagonal climbing structure for the 
playground. The students spent countless hours with volunteers in 
building the playground.
  Thanks to the work of these students, their teacher, and the 
community all Monforton students now have a safe playground at their 
school. The efforts of these fine young people have not gone unnoticed. 
The Corporation for National and Community Service honored the students 
and their teacher, Sally Broughton, with the 2008 Spirit of Service 
Award, and We the People: Project Citizen presented them with the 
Montana Project Citizen Award for their contributions to the community.
  This spirit of service is prevalent at Monforton School as all 
students participate in service-learning projects. Classroom lessons 
are combined with meaningful service to their community. Through these 
efforts students have been responsible for improving the food service 
at the school, constructing a walking path, and informing the larger 
community about the need for a new jail and a warning system for 
Hyalite Dam among other projects.
  I would like to join the chorus recognizing the seventh grade 
students of Monforton and their teacher, Sally Broughton. They are a 
perfect example of how Montana's world-class education system is 
preparing children across Big Sky country to meet the challenges they 
will face. These outstanding young people are the future of our Nation, 
and I am sure that they will continue to serve and make many 
contributions to their communities.

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