theme of this term’s topic What My Country Means to Me You might want to base it on a special place a special memory or a special person It’s entirely up to you And the good news is that Miss Patterson and I will be working on a project of our own as well a themed treasure hunt around the school on the morning of the fair as a reward for all your hard work It had been hard work yes but fun too And apart from the poor owner of Craft-Stick Bridge Number Three who’d disappeared into the stationery cupboard in search of some radioactive-monster-proof glue the students couldn’t have been more pleased with the finished results proudly showing off their own projects while admiring everyone else’s Another Brooklyn Bridge Snap I’ve never seen an alligator up close before Look at those teeth Ninety-seven verses That must be the longest poem about a football game EVER There was no shortage of unique ideas Jake Parry had made a four-hour film about libraries Mina Henderson had made a tiny model of her own house inside a matchbox And Sam Witt well Sam had made a sandwich That’s right Sam Witt’s finished project was a sandwich But oh boy what a sandwich it was It was a wonder A whopper An eye-boggling breathtaking jaw-dropper of a thing It was America on a plate with flag-topped Sandwich Shenanigans
Missing burger picks to keep the tomatoes from escaping and a different filling for each state Yes Sam Witt's sandwich was a work of art a triple quadruple decker built with loaf sized slices and stuffed with some of the most delicious foods known to man from pastrami pickles and peanut butter to chipotle chicken and cheese with sauces in all the colors of the rainbow The other projects were forgotten the moment Sam walked in with his creation his classmates jostling around his desk for a closer look
Holy underpants Batman said Ravi eyes bulging behind his steamed-up glasses that’s INCREDIBLE It’s a mega-mutant monster I wish I’d thought of this said Mateo licking his lips It looks delicious That is one eee-norrrr-mous sandwich announced Deena in her best funny voice That sandwich deserves a place in the She stopped short glancing up at the teacher who’d appeared in the doorway Who’s that she whispered And where’s Mr Hargrove Good morning students said the teacher in question heading heading for Mr Hargrove’s desk She was a tall lady with a shock of long red hair and a huge bulging stomach She was clearly several months pregnant My name is Mrs Ample and I’ll be teaching your class this morning If you could leave your projects at the back and find your seats we’ll be ready to begin What happened to Mr Hargrove asked Ravi wiping his glasses on the front of his T-shirt He’s supposed to be putting on a treasure hunt for us today A joint one with Miss Patterson’s class There was a loud chorus of disappointed groans as the students remembered their last substitute teacher who’d treated them to a two-hour math test in silence followed by an hour of spelling Don’t worry Mrs Ample assured them I understand from Sandwich Shenanigans
Miss Patterson that the treasure hunt is already set up with more than a hundred fact cards hidden around the school grounds for you to find Each card covers a different fact about the United States so you’ll be learning as you go Don’t look so anxious she added There’s no reason why the hunt can’t go ahead as planned once we’ve taken attendance The children’s groans turned to cheers and all thoughts of Mr Hargrove were forgotten especially when Mrs Ample explained that there’d be prizes for the class who found the most cards This was their class’s big chance to beat those boastful show-offs next door The students ferried their projects to the long table at the back of the room with Sam Witt’s sandwich in pride of place like a glowing beacon of breaded wonder then hurried back to their seats for attendance Here Yep Present Mrs Ample ticked them all off one by one apart from Shaniqua who would probably be late as usual and then sent them next door to get their instructions for the treasure hunt She’d be out to help supervise in a bit she told them once she finished getting everything ready for the fair WHOOSH SCRAM Missing
