He's Almost Home! (From Aaron's Mom)

just wanted to let you know. it's official. aaron will be arriving in marion, illinois, on monday, september 28 at 5 p.m. welcome home ceremonies will be held there. that is less than 48 hours now. but who's counting. have talked to him by phone several times and he is super excited.

He's On His Way Home!

kiddos,

within 2 weeks i should be sitting at my couch in good ole ballard county. we are at camp phoenix in kabul waiting for a flight to go home. it has been a wild ride over the past year. i will give you a more detailed update when i have more time. laters!

aaron

yo kiddos,

so i have officially moved out west. and man is it hot. i made it to herat a couple of days ago on the 3rd and today (the 6th) i got pushed out to another PMT team. here i will be doing a lot of what i did before, training the afghan police. i am at a place called shouz which is near the border of fararrah province. i said it before but man is it freakin hot out here. during the day it has gotten up to 140 degrees out here. dry heat or not, that is crazy hot. i hope you all are enjoying your new school year and ready to have your little brains filled with priceless knowledge. have a great day.

Aaron has moved to the Farah Province. Check out the map of Afghanistan at the bottom of the blog. Ferah is a provice south of the province of Herat on the western side of Afghanistan (it's purple on the map) and east of the country of Iran.

Check Out Aaron's New Home

Aaron has moved to Herat. Check out the map of Afghanistan at the bottom of the blog. Herat is a city in the provice of Herat on the western side of Afghanistan (it's yellow on the map) and just south of the country of Turkmenistan and east of the country of Iran.

I've Moved!

kiddos,

hey guys i hope you have/are having a great summer. i am currently moving out west and havent been able to get to a computer lately. myself along with all the other guys i came with are moving out west to Herat near the Iranian border. i had to leave my doggies but they are all growed up now which is good. there is a bit of good news though. within roughly 50 days i should be on a plane back to the United States. I can not wait. this has been a long 9 months. but all in due time. i hope you guys have a great rest of the summer and have fun when school starts. laters

aaron

kiddos,

well howdy there. havent been on here in a while because i have been busy doing what i love to do the most, go fishing. yes thats right i go to go fishing at the good ole ballard country refuge. i was fortunate enough to take my midtour leave a few days ago so i get to come home and hang out with my mom and dad for a few days. as you may or may not have known the TV segment got cancelled. no worries though, we are trying to work something out for the fall when i get home. that way we can schedule the appropriate things and all you guys will be corralled in the school. i have to report back to atlanta on the 27 and then its back to afghanistan for a couple more months. but until then i am going to spend all the time on the water i can. you guys take care and have a great summer.

aaron

To the Sixth-Grade social studies class,

I just wanted to say that I am very proud of SPC Connor in support of our mission here. He is a very determined and self-motivated soldier who truly believes in our mission. I only wish I had more soldiers like Aaron. I am also very proud of you kids for taking such an interest in what is going on over here and in the welfare of our soldiers. The most important thing for a soldier is to know that he has not been forgotten by those back home.

Thanks again, and keep up the good work.

CPT Keith W. Humbard
Commanding

Latest from Aaron

kiddos,
hey there guys! long time since i have last posted anything. i have been a little busy these past few days. so to answer haleys question....i am suspossed to be home somtime between august and september of 2009. And as far as the puppies go, sadly they all died. Blondie gave birth to them a little to early and they didnt make it. and your welcome for fighting the bad guys! somebody has to take care of all those crazy bad guys out there. i am really tickled about how big this whole blog thing is getting. i was only expecting a few emails and such. i never in my wildest dreams ever think it would gain national attention. so school is out for you guys. way to go. i remember looking forward to my summers off, those were great times. enjoy your summer guys and i will keep u all informed with all that is going on over here.
take care
aaron

Do you know when you might be coming home? How are the puppies? Thanks for fighting the bad guys!

Haley

From The New York Times

In War Zone, Soldier Uses Blog to Teach


By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: May 30, 2009
LA CENTER, Ky. (AP) — Sixth-grade social studies students at Ballard County Middle School know what time it is in Afghanistan and what the weather is like there on a given day.
The students have become acquainted with the country though Aaron Connor, a Ballard Memorial High School graduate now serving near Ghazni City, Afghanistan, with the Illinois National Guard. Mr. Connor answers the students’ questions through a blog.
Ashley Bodell, a teacher at the middle school who graduated with Mr. Connor in 2001, arranged the correspondence between him and Cathey Seaton’s social studies classes.
On the blog, Mr. Connor wrote: “I make mention about our little shootouts not to scare folks, but because I want people to know that this is a dangerous country. People hear about ‘safe’ parts of this country. There is no such thing. There are only places with more or less a degree of danger.”
Mr. Connor, 26, will most likely be overseas until fall.
A version of this article appeared in print on May 31, 2009, on page A16 of the New York edition.

From The Starting Bell...NEA Publication

Middle School Students In Kentucky Correspond With Soldier In Afghanistan Via Blog.
The New York Times /AP (6/1, A16) reports that "Aaron Connor, a Ballard Memorial High School graduate now serving near Ghazni City, Afghanistan, with the Illinois National Guard," answers questions from "sixth-grade social studies students at Ballard County Middle School" via his blog.
Kentucky's Courier Journal (5/30, Kinsey) added that "middle school teacher Ashley Bodell, who graduated with Connor in 2001, arranged the correspondence between him and Cathey Seaton's social studies classes." Seaton had first planned to have her students write letters by hand, but finally settled on the internet correspondence. "Student Logan Pickett helped design the blog. He included a photo of [an] ice storm" that hit the area "in January and a local weather map."

Article from Paducah Sun

Soldier brings real world to classroom Ballard Middle School students follow Guardsman’s life in Afghanistan through his blog
By Adam Shull ashull@paducahsun.com--

Aaron Connor (right, second from front in T-shirt), a Ballard Memorial High School graduate, eats an Easter brunch that Polish soldiers provide at his Afghanistan base. Connor has been corresponding with Ballard County Middle School students through a blog.
Friday, May 22, 2009
LA CENTER, Ky. — Sixth-grade social studies students at Ballard County Middle School know what time it is in Afghanistan and what the weather is like there on a given day.
The students have become acquainted with the Middle Eastern country though Aaron Connor, a Ballard Memorial High School graduate now serving near Ghazni City, Afghanistan, with the Illinois National Guard. Connor answers the students’ questions through a blog, aaronafghanistan.blogspot.com.
Middle school teacher Ashley Bodell, who graduated with Connor in 2001, arranged the correspondence between him and Cathey Seaton’s social studies classes.
“He was excited about it,” Bodell said. “He had sent me some e-mails and the social studies classes had just started studying the Middle East.”
Seaton set up a blog so all the students could contribute.
“Initially, I was going to have them write a hard letter,” she said. “This way each kid can do it here or if they have computer access at home. They ask questions and he responds. We’re putting in pictures of class activities, so he can see different faces. They can do it all summer, if they want to.”
Student Logan Pickett helped design the blog. He included a photo of the ice storm in January and a local weather map.
Connor called Seaton’s classroom on April 30 and spoke to the students on speaker phone.
“We asked him what he does over there,” student Haley Bond said. “He goes on missions or trains people to be police officers.”
Student Jade Tilford asked him about the weather.
“It changes every day,” she said. “It’s warm one day and cold and frosty the next day.”
Student Breanna Jones wrote a report about the class project and mentioned the risk Connor faces every day.
“I make mention about our little shootouts not to scare folks, but because I want people to know that this is a dangerous country,” Connor wrote. “People hear about ‘safe’ parts of this country. There is no such thing. There are only places with more or less a degree of danger.”
Connor, 26, was deployed Dec. 6 and will likely be overseas until fall. His mother, Beverly Connor, a teacher at Ballard County preschool, said he joined the 33rd Infantry Battalion because it was the same unit with which his grandfather and uncle had served.
Beverly Connor said her son loves educating the students.
“He thought he would only have three or four responses and he’s had a bunch,” she said. “He’s very excited about what he’s doing. He feels it’s a very worthwhile cause. People have been very, very nice, but he said we can’t imagine how poor it is.”
Connor told the students how much Afghani children loved lollipops and now they are collecting suckers to mail to Connor to distribute to the children. They will be mailed on Tuesday, the last day of school. For information about how to donate, call Seaton or Bodell at 665-8400.
Contact Angie Kinsey, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8657.

Check out the Home Page of Ballard County Schools Website

http://www.ballard.k12.ky.us/

There's an article written by Breanna Jones telling about our blog.

Also

Check the Friday, May 22 Paducah Sun...

There is an article there about Aaron and our blog.

Mrs. Seaton's testing group prepare for the scavenger hunt.

Mrs. Hatley's testing group throw themselves into their artistic creation.

Mrs. White's testing group working on their artistic creation.

Mrs. Adams' testing group exhibiting their artistic talents.

Mrs. Seaton's testing group and their chalk drawing.

Mrs. Meriwether's testing group doing chalk drawings.

Musical Chairs Semi-Finalists in CATS Olympics

Getting psyched up for the CATS Olympics

Human Table competion for the CATS Olympics

6th Graders cheer for their classmates during volleyball competition against BCMS teachers.

Mrs. Meriwether and her 6th grade testing group play volleyball during CATS testing activities.

Austin wears Aaron's IBA proudly. Aaron's "just in case vest" is just in case he has to dismount and fight on foot

Mrs. Bodell helps Justina try on Aaron's IBA. Aaron's "just in case vest" holds ammo, grenades, night vision goggles and medical pouch that attach to the vest by velcro.

Cooper models Aaron's IBA. When Aaron goes out on a mission he takes his helmet, body armor, weapon and his "just in case vest."

Mrs. Bodell helps TJ try on Aaron's Individual Body Armor (IBA). Aaron wears this anytime he goes out on a mission.

3rd Block Social Studies Class

5th Block Social Studies Class

2nd Block Social Studies Class

7th Block Social Studies Class

6th Block Social Studies Class

Fr. Masilamani Suvakkin from India spoke to our class about his country.