An Important Legislation

by Rujul s.

Laws are an essential part of our government. We require laws in order to efficiently run a country. Our class is trying to make an invertebrate a national symbol. Rachel Jacobs, one of the assistants of the well known representative Geoff Davis came to our classroom to assist us to do it.

Government and the general welfare of the people all rest around laws. Laws bring order to the state. Laws enable an effective government which is powerful enough to control its people. For the same reason laws have to go through rigorous tests to prove efficient. If the wrong law is passed the community ceases to exist. We believe that our bill is effective enough to be passed. Our bill is to make an invertebrate a national symbol. That is where Ms.Jacobs came in.


As she came in, you could observe that all the members in our class were brimming with excitement. We all were anxious and needed all the help that we could get. She started off by telling us about the Senate and the House of Representatives. “To pass a bill you first need a senator or representative to propose it” she quoted. She assumed that Geoff Davis might be able to help if it is a bill worth proposing.


Next she explained the steps to enforcing a bill after it has already been introduced into Congress. She explained that the bill next goes to the committee. The committee studies the bill and it either dies or goes to distribution. Many laws die in this part of the process. This is the most crucial point that a bill has to be accepted.” If the bill cannot get past the committee it will die”, she said. After it is distributed she told us that it goes to the calendar. The calendar is a waiting list for bills to be voted on.

The bill then goes to voting in either the House or the Senate. A majority is needed or the bill will die. One student asked, “What happens next?” She told us “It (the bill) goes to the Senate if it was voted in the House and it goes to the House if it started in the Senate.” If the bill is approved it goes to the president for signing. If it is not the House and the Senate will keep making amendments until it is accepted”. If the president signs it we will have a new bill. If he vetoes it (does not sign) it has to be voted on and if two thirds of the vote in Congress say yes it is passed without the president’s signing. If the vote is less than two thirds the bill dies.



Finally she had us play an exciting game. We all nominated an invertebrate and debated. One student alleged, “The butterfly should be the national symbol because it is beautiful”. Another disagreed. We finally voted and the worm won. As Ms.Jacobs left we thanked her. We were all awestruck with all the complicated steps to passing bills. From all the bills through all the years we are presenting one that is unique, one that will alter history forever.

Dr. Lorenz Visit

A Thomas More College professor and ichthyologist, Dr. Christopher Lorenz came into Mr. Guenther’s 5th grade class to teach us about the qualities, benefits and characteristics of invertebrates. Our friend, Emma, got her dad to talk to Dr. Lorenz and ask him to come to our class. When Emma’s dad talked to Dr. Lorenz, talked about the Invertebrate Games, and how we need to know about them in order to train them, and to get one as a national symbol, Dr. Lorenz said he would be delighted to come in and teach us about invertebrates.

When he came in, he told us some interesting facts, like. . .
1. The giant squid is the biggest invertebrates in the world and we have only seen one living, just 5 years ago.
2. Invertebrates are 95% of the world population, over 6 billion!
3. Invertebrates are found everywhere on the planet.
4. We rely on them, but they don’t rely on us.
5. A blue ringed octopus is the most venomous invertebrate in the world.
6. The simplest invertebrate in the world is a sea sponge.

Now aren’t those interesting? It’s not just me who thinks the visit was fun. Andi said, “I thought it was very interesting.” Dee said, “ It was very fun and I learned a lot.”

Questions? Comments? Contact Mr. Guenther’s room in 303

The Professor and Invertebrates

by Katelyn M.

Have you ever heard of invertebrates? Invertebrates are animals without any bones in their bodies. They are very important to our world. Without them, we couldn’t live. Professor Christopher Lorenz, who is an ichthyologist, a person who studies fish, from Thomas More College, came in to Mr. Guenther’s fifth grade class at North Pointe Elementary to tell us about them.

Professor Lorenz told us about some of the qualities of invertebrates. “Invertebrates are modest, humble, inventive, unselfish and hardworking,” he said. “They are self-reliant, steady, and industrious. But they aren’t appreciated as much as they should be.” Professor Lorenz studies invertebrates, and has learned that they have saved the US economy over $60 billion!

Professor Lorenz says that invertebrates help us immensely. “Vertebrates couldn’t survive without invertebrates,” he explained. “Some invertebrates decompose garbage to make the Earth healthier, and dung beetles bury dung so that parasites, flies and pests are prevented from breeding there. Flies bother us, and dung beetles help lower the amount of them.” Professor Lorenz is very educated on the subject of invertebrates.

There are many benefits of invertebrates. Fish and eagles eat invertebrates, and some people love seafood. Fish is a popular dish to devour, and if the invertebrates aren’t around for the fish to ingest, there won’t be any fish for humans to eat.

Many students in the class learned lots of information from Professor Lorenz. “The speech that he gave was very informative,” says Laura L., who was present at the time of Professor Lorenz’s visit. “It was awesome and gave us information we didn’t know about before he came,” says Devin Heffernan, who attended the lecture. “I liked it,” comments Dee G.. “The discussion was well-said,” adds Ashay S. “Very cool,” says Hannah L. “I learned tons of information.” Andi D remarks, “I found it extremely interesting.” All of these students were present at the visit.

There are more invertebrates than vertebrates. And, invertebrates live everywhere. They all have different lifestyles. Invertebrates built the Great Barrier Reef, which is over 1 thousand miles long! There are many different kinds of invertebrates, and they are diverse, which means very distinct from one another.

Invertebrates are very important, and we couldn’t live without them. Please be kind to invertebrates, as they have been kind to us.