Second Grade, 1990-1991

      McElhiney's second grade teacher at John Tyler Skills School was Mrs. Morrison. Patrick visited the Micke Grove Zoo in Lodi, California on September 28th, 1990 and really liked the fox.
      McElhiney received four certificates for Perfect Attendance in second grade (Morrison, 1991). He also received a Certificate of Achievement for being the Classroom Winner in the 1991 Math Contest at John Tyler Skills School, and he was recognized for his "Purrfect" work in the Compucat Club on January 14, 1991. He competed in "Mighty Math" and received a "Spectacular Speller Certificate" for winning in the spelling bee.
      Patrick had a lot of toys that he had to sell before he moved with his family to Turlock, CA in 1990 - including a nice set of dinosaurs with a map of a jungle, with a plastic volcano. He was really sad to see that one go.

First Grade, 1989-1990

      McElhiney's first grade teacher at John Tyler Skills School was Mrs. Carle. McElhiney was recognized for Perfect Attendance four times in first grade (Carle, 1989), (Carle, 1990). He spent a lot of time in the computer lab, and he was recognized for his "Purrfect" work in the Compucat Club on February 27 and October 11, 1990.
      Patrick used to play in his sandbox, and he had his own "Pat's Place" hangout that included a wooden structure, kind of like a playhouse, but a lot larger - in the backyard at the house on Telegraph Ave.

Kindergarten, 1988-1989

      McElhiney began school at the age of five. He had a positive environment in Mrs. Petsinger's kindergarten class that allowed him to make lots of friends at John Tyler Skills School.
        One school document by Patrick from kindergarten mentioned that he had a girlfriend, while there was no mention of what her name was. He didn't remember that before reading the document. McElhiney liked playing with the large wood blocks because he could build projects much larger than he could with his Legos. Everyone in Patrick's kindergarten class had to learn how to write their name in large letters, and he already knew how to write his name. Patrick liked writing in small letters.
        Patrick's mother said that she can still remember when she would go to pick up Patrick from kindergarten, and Mrs. Petsinger would say “HE’S ALL YOURS!”, informing her of how adventurous the day had been. One day when she went to pick Patrick up from Kindergarten, she heard the story about how Patrick took two pencils out of the cup in the middle of the table, and started playing drums. Mrs. Petsinger said to Patrick's mom, before she knew it, the entire class was doing it!
The students in Patrick's class were required to bring in healthy snacks when it was their turn, to share with everyone. Patrick's mother said that one day, she heard a story about how one of the students brought in over-ripened bananas, likely because the student's family couldn't afford to buy anything nice. Patrick was too young to understand the difference between rich and poor, however he respected everyone in the class equally. Looking back, Patrick wishes there were more he could have done to make a difference for the students that couldn't afford what they needed, as Patrick always had what he needed for school.
      Patrick was recognized three times for perfect attendance in kindergarten (Petsinger, 1989). He still has his graduation certificate.
      Patrick learned how to ride his bike. He had training wheels, but he still fell off a couple of times.