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Speaker 2: Welcome to Mondays with Maria, brought to you by the Foundation for Orange County Public Schools. Here's OCPS Superintendent, Dr. Maria Vazquez.
Dr. Maria Vazquez: Hi everyone. I'm here with a few of my new friends for a special Thanksgiving segment. They're here from Lake Silver Elementary School right here in College Park. I wanted to read another great children's book. This one is written by Alicia Ortega. It's called, Gratitude is my Superpower. Little Betsy is learning where gratitude comes from. Please stay with us because there is a surprise at the end. Are you ready for me to continue reading the story? Okay. So gratitude is in all of us, I said, and all we have to do is stop and think how thankful we are instead of feeling blue. Next day during playtime, there's a new boy there with shiny braces on his teeth and curly light brown hair. Tears are falling down his face. He wished he had not moved, a decision made by his parents, and he had not approved. Have you ever seen someone crying at school because they were sad? Yes.
Dr. Maria Vazquez: I tell him of the gratitude stone and ask if we can find something to be thankful for, that he can bear in mind. He holds the stone and thinks a minute, a smile comes across his face. I'm thankful for our new home the garden has so much space. Now let's see what people are grateful for. Mom says, I'm grateful to have Betsy and my husband Bob. Dad says, I'm grateful to have a family, a house, and my job. Betsy says, I'm grateful to have a lovely teacher and a Barbie doll. Mr. T is grateful to live with Betsy instead of the zoo. And Alicia Ortega, who is the author of this book, I am grateful for my little readers and their parents too. Leo says that he is grateful to have football boots and a soccer ball. Now, every time I go out, I make sure to have with me at least one stone to pass on along with my story. The more we share about gratitude, the happier we will be. Will you share the story and help other children like me? The end? Did you like it? Okay, great. Oh my goodness. Well, do you want to share something that you're grateful for? Go ahead. Tell us what you're grateful for.
Speaker 4: I'm grateful for the food and drinks.
Dr. Maria Vazquez: Okay. Anybody else wanna share something they're grateful for? Yes,
Speaker 4: I'm grateful for my family and my mom.
Dr. Maria Vazquez: Those are wonderful things to be grateful for. Did you want to share one more?
Speaker 4: I'm thankful for my family and my pets.
Dr. Maria Vazquez: And your pets. Okay, great. I got a pet. You do too. So are you grateful for your pet? Okay, now, before we leave, I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. It really is a special time for traditions with family and friends, and one of my favorite times of the year. Now, remember I said we had a surprise. Are you ready for the surprise? Yeah. Okay. So I've got a couple of them for you. So first I have a copy of the book for you. Okay? So we're going to see Aiden. That's for you. And Sebastian, that's for you. And Morgan. That's for you. And this one, Jameson is for you. All right. Thank you. Oh, you are most welcome. And now I have another surprise for you, which is, I know. What do you think might be in here? What do you think?
Speaker 4: A dinosaur.
Dr. Maria Vazquez: A Well, it's a, no, it's too small. Too small for a dinosaur. Yes, sir. Yes.
Speaker 4: Probably like some monies.
Dr. Maria Vazquez: Well, you're, that's a good guess. Now I have stones for you. Okay. So I'm gonna let you, I'm going to give you each a stone. Okay? There's a stone. Thank you, Morgan and Sebastian, you want to come and get your stone? Here you go. One and two. Now, if you look at the stone, there's a word on it.
Speaker 4: It's mine. Says Dream.
Dr. Maria Vazquez: Yes, it says dream. And so you are going to remember, as you're dreaming about all of the things that you're going to do in life, I want you to remember how grateful you are for all the things that you have. So important for us to be grateful. I hope everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving. All right. So I have one more surprise for you. Are you ready? Ready? Alright, here we go. Close your eyes. 1, 2, 3.
Dr. Maria Vazquez: Open your eyes.
Speaker 5: Is it raining leaves?
Dr. Maria Vazquez: It's raining leaves. It really is raining Leaves.
Speaker 5: When is the rain? When are the leaves gonna fall?
Speaker 2: Mondays with Maria has been brought to you by the Foundation for Orange County Public Schools. Investing in our children today to strengthen our community tomorrow. For more OCPS news and information, visit theslice.ocps.net.