Second-grader Marc Tarriela getting ready to meet Mackey the Siberian husky. Douglas Heitz is telling Marc to let Mackey smell his hand. - Mercer County, New Jersey 
Bordentown students get hands-on Yukon Quest learning experience
Second grade students at Clara Barton School made some new furry friends Feb. 3. Bryan Mitchell, who has been teaching at the school for 12 years, arranged for a musher and five of his sled dogs to come to the school as part of his annual lesson on dogsledding. The assembly was planned to coincide with the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest sled dog race through Alaska and Canada.
Mitchell’s classes have been covering dogsledding and the Iditarod, another well-known race, for about five years. Jade Delaney, one of his students, had a relative who lived in Anchorage, Alaska, where the Iditarod starts each year. She brought in to class a map of the trail, some books on dogsledding and a dog bootie, and Mitchell was inspired.
“The students learn about the sport, the mushers, and Alaska while following these events,” he said. “They write stories and poems, track the progress of the mushers via the internet sites, and create their own posters and dog teams. We also have a bulletin board in the hallway that I update each morning showing who is in the lead and other pertinent information. The students absolutely love it.”
