Dear Karen Ramstead,

We are the 6B class from Strathcona Tweedsmuir School, in Okotoks, Alberta. We voted for you as the musher we wanted to follow and throw our support behind during the 200l Iditarod. We chose you because you are a fellow Albertan and a woman with determination and drive. We admired you from the start, as we reviewed the biographies of the 68 mushers who were registered for the 2001 Iditarod.

There were so many things to do and learn throughout the Iditarod project. One of the many interesting things we learned was how this amazing dog sled race originated. We learned, through reading a book called Balto that the origin of the Iditarod race began on January 27, 1925 in the small town of Nome, Alaska. Many children were diagnosed with a fatal disease, Diphtheria, and needed medicine--fast. Because the snow blocked the trains, many dog teams were needed to help transport the medicine. The most significant contribution to the dog sled relay was Balto and his determined team. Balto and his team of dogs and musher went twice the distance than any other team because there was no one to take over at the checkpoint, Safety. Balto’s team pressed on, got the medicine to Nome, and the children were saved. It is truly amazing that one dog team could do so much to change the lives of many people. We are sure that you and your team shared Balto’s determination while you were participating in the 2001 Iditarod.

Not only was the history of the Iditarod interesting but learning about the Red Lantern Award was also of significant interest. We learned that this honorable award was started because the red lantern was the light that Balto followed for the last leg of his harrowing journey. This award is presented to the final team that finishes the race. We know that you were presented with this award for the 2001 Iditarod race--an amazing accomplishment and honor. Congratulations Karen, on your significant achievement!

As a class, we performed most of the Iditarod project online. We found the live, online videos, like the Nome cam, and the Anchorage cam, very interesting. We took digital pictures of our work and posted them on the Internet to share with the other classes that participated in the project. Every morning we would go onto the Iditarod web site and check your status. When you reached a checkpoint, we took turns sending e-mails with thoughts of encouragement and posed questions to you. In the return e-mails we were given information, projects and challenges, which we performed to excellence. We moved your picture (a marker) on our mural through every single checkpoint on the trail. Your picture is currently pinned to Nome, Alaska--the finish line of the Iditarod. Congratulations, Karen, on going through all 27 checkpoints in the southern route of the Iditarod race. Many people only dream of completing the Iditarod, but you did it!

The 6B class now understands the struggles that you went through, like encountering the Farewell Burn and mushing long periods of time without stopping for a rest. In order to follow your progress closely, we made a mural with the route and the checkpoints. We tracked your advancement with a picture of you mounted on a sled. On the mural we also drew a map of Alaska, to scale, which we found on the Internet. We made the mural out of rip art meaning that we would rip all of the figures out of construction paper. Our class studied the geography and the weather of the Iditarod route, and added the information. We depicted storms, avalanches and other hazards, and also ripped out different Alaskan animals that you could have encountered along the trail. Not only did we make a creative mural but we also made a banner.

As a class, we made a banner for your support, including a hand-drawn picture of you. Then we wrote, “Go Karen Ramstead!” in big, bold and colorful letters. Our teacher, Mrs. Duncan-Moore, took a picture with everyone holding the banner outside in the forest and then we posted the picture on the Internet. Everyone in the class signed it and wrote a little message of encouragement for you. We enjoyed making the mural and the banner and we hope you enjoy the pictures of them.

To meet one of the challenges of the Iditarod project, some of us made dog sleds out of various materials. You can look at the photo and see if they look anything like the REAL thing. We used the Iditarod theme for some math problem solving, too. In one of our question we were given the ingredients for making dog biscuits and determined how many batches it would take to make 5 pounds of dog biscuits. Here is the recipe, in case you want to treat your own dogs. Congratulations on keeping fifteen of your dogs throughout the race! They deserve a treat, as they worked awfully hard in the race, too!

Ingredients:

¾ of a cup of hot water or meat juices

1/3 cup of margarine

½ cup of powdered milk

½ teaspoon of salt

1 beaten egg

3 cups of whole wheat flower

Makes 1 ¼ pounds

Not only was “Iditarod math” fun, but so was learning about dog booties. We watched a video clip on the Internet and learned how important it was for mushers to put booties on their dog’s paws. We learned that you put the dog booties over the dog’s feet and then tighten the booties so that no snow will get in to freeze the dog’s feet. But the musher has to make sure that there is enough room because the dog’s foot spreads when the dog steps down. We didn’t see any pictures of your dogs on the trail, but we are certain we know what they had on their feet!

While studying the Iditarod, our class very briefly learned details of Alaska, like the capital is Juneau. Although much of our unit was more directly based around the actual great race, Alaska’s history and facts were uncovered and brought to our attention. During this unit, we tracked your progress as you passed though town after town, stop after stop. We discovered that Iditarod used to be an old mining district and is now a “ghost town”. It also marks the official halfway point of the trail during the Iditarod, as you know. Did you know that Shageluk is actually an Igalik Indian name, and it means “village of the dog people”? Between these checkpoints, many hazards blocked your path and we were always concerned for you and your dogs’ safety.

When we were tracking the race, we learned about the trail hazards. Wildlife can be very treacherous, like a moose can kill dogs and humans. It’s a good thing that these animals didn’t want anything from you! As we know, snowmobiles can also be a hazard. It’s too bad about that one musher and team who got hit by a rider and machine. The weather can affect the challenges on the trail, too. By having too much, or too little, snow a musher can wander off the trail or wreck the sled. We were glad to see that you made it through the Farewell Burn without too much trouble. We know there are a lot of fallen trees and sparse snow in that vast area. It can get to below -50o in Alaska. A musher can get hypothermia and have to scratch, or leave their dogs because of frostbite. We thought maybe that was why you had to leave one of your dogs. We were interested that you finished with l5 of your dogs while so many of the other mushers finished with half the team they started with. We shared some strategy ideas in various class discussions we had but your strategy worked—you finished!

Karen, the 6B class are very proud of you. We learned so much while tracking your progress and success in the 200l Iditarod. We learned about perseverance, the importance of striving for goals set high, and of the pride that one can feel when watching others overcome struggles and hardships in order to achieve their ambitions. We still have our mural and banner up; the sleds still adorn our classroom; pictures of you and the other mushers are posted, too. Although the race is finished, the excitement still lingers in our hearts and in our class. We hope to see you again next year, Karen. Know that we will be with you in spirit, cheering you and your wonderful team of devoted dogs on.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Duncan-Moore and the 6B Class Strathcona Tweedsmuir School Okotoks, Alberta