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Schools reach out to kids of deployed soldiers

Mar-21-2004 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

[Link to Full Article]
LISA PEMBERTON, THE OLYMPIAN

When 10-year-old Kelsi Nelson needed to design and build a cardboard house recently for a class project, she asked her dad for help -- even though he was halfway around the world.

"He gave us the idea of spray painting it," said the fifth-grader at Lydia Hawk Elementary School. "He gave us some pointers we could use."

Nelson's dad, Major Scott Nelson, is in charge of operations with the 898 Engineer Battalion in Iraq. He went over in January, and usually calls or e-mails his family every other day.

"He still stays very involved in their lives and in everyday stuff," said his wife, Traci Nelson. "The military is a lot different than it used to be. There are a lot of ways they can stay involved with family."

Kelsi and her brother are among nearly 800 military dependents in Lacey-area schools. Though military kids are nothing new to South Sound classrooms, the long-term deployments have brought new experiences, emotions and challenges for many local schools.


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