by Jim Boyle
Editor
It’s impossible to know if he’s budding broadcast journalist, a DJ or a public address announcer of some type who will hold a microphone for an occupation, but 6-year-old Logan Turkowski became laser-focused on a dream of giving the morning announcements at Otsego Elementary School.
Logan Turkowski in his kindergarten classroom at Otsego Elementary School explained how he earned something special with Eagle Eggs.
The offer no sooner left Principal Todd VanErp’s lips over the school’s public address system that students who earn enough Eagle Eggs could give the morning announcements, and Logan set the goal for himself.
And he told his kindergarten teacher Janine Ahrens about it. He had already been saving his Eagle Eggs at home, where he felt they were safest. Now he knew what they would be used for once he had enough.
“I wasn’t sure if the offer was open to kindergarten students,” Ahrens wondered aloud.
Eagle Eggs are given to Otsego Elementary students for good deeds. They can be simple acts of kindness, like opening the door for others, or they can be following directions or making good choices when presented with a bad choice. Logan took them home and filed them in a safe place, only to be counted occasionally and to hone in on his dream.
Logan, now nearing his half-birthday on June 1, had accumulated enough Eagle Eggs. VanErp granted the request and it was orchestrated on May 12.
He read from a script, though he might not have needed it. He recited what he read nine days later during an interview with the Star News. He did it perfectly on the first try.
When asked to replicate again for a second and third time so it could be captured on video for the newspaper, it got more difficult. But Logan indulged his teacher, classmates and the Star News reporter who came to his school.
Logan Turkowski got his wish on May 12.
His debut in the school’s main office, however, for the whole school was definitely a highlight of the year.
It has been a big year for the Otsego boy. He entered school not knowing sight words, and now he rattles them off easily, which, he says, helped make it easier for him to write.
On May 20, Logan explained the school’s Eagle Eggs program and talked about the clever tricks he’s learned with the use of Beanie Babies in reading strategies to help himself when he’s stuck on a word. For instance, “stretchy the snake,” reminds him to stretch words out when sounding them out and the “chunky monkey” reminds him to look for chunks in words that he has discovered in other words.
“If I know the inside words, it helps me figure out the word,” he said.
Logan couldn’t articulate on this particular day why he wanted to give the morning announcements so badly. He said he just knew he wanted to, and it was only a matter of collecting enough eggs and protecting them until he could turn them in.
Whether he identifies his career path and chases it down the same way remains to be seen.