Liberty Lake elementary hosts Rep. McMorris

Fifth-grader Evan Grinalds waited impatiently inside the front doors of Liberty Lake Elementary School Thursday morning.

As cars came and went outside, he craned his head to get a peek.

He was assigned to be a page, and the first to shake the hand of U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris as she arrived for a visit at the Central Valley school.

“I’ve never really met a state representative before,” Grinalds, 11, said. “I’m pretty excited.”

Grinalds was more than ready for the freshman congresswoman’s visit. He even wrote out one question he wanted to ask her.

McMorris’ visit was the culmination of a yearlong study of the U.S. government for fifth-grade classes at the school, and the students welcomed her with a standing-ovation.

They held an assembly for McMorris with music performed by students, and presented her with a scrapbook of essays written by the students on why they love America.

In turn, McMorris talked to the students about how she got her start and what it’s like to be a politician.

She talked about how it was important to her parents that she went to college, and as a senior in college she was asked to be the legislative assistant to now Sen. Bob Morton, R-Kettle Falls.

She went on to five terms as a legislator in Olympia before being elected in November to serve as representative of the 5th Congressional District in Washington, D.C.

“I’m new to this job, and I am tremendously grateful,” McMorris said.

The four classes of fifth-graders at the school have spent the school year studying government issues, in part to help them prepare for the visit. The students also attended a mock trial at Gonzaga University and visited the Spokane County courthouse.

They were visited at the school by a panel of judges, law enforcement and other government officials to discuss the judicial system.

The curriculum included the study of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the basic structure of government, including the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The students worked hard, and it showed.

When McMorris asked the students if they knew how many representatives make up the House, every hand in the room shot up.

“It helps the children make that long distance connection in Washington, D.C.,” said Colleen Mick, one of the fifth-grade teachers. “It’s very important that they put what we’ve learned into the real world.”

Like Grinalds, each student was asked to write a question for McMorris. After the assembly, she visited the four classrooms separately to talk to the students and hopefully answer their questions.

“I wanted to ask her what is one way to solve the problems with the governor’s race, and how close it was,” Grinalds said. “We watched in on the news in my house a lot.”

He wasn’t sure whether he would get an answer to his question, but he was hopeful.

“We’ll see,” he said.

When asked if he wanted to be a politician when he grows up, Grinalds said, “No way. I want to be a chef.”

Maybe he can be the White House chef.