We finally made it! The last day of school, Joseph’s fifth grade promotion, packing up my classroom…it all was squeezed into a whirlwind of a few days this past week. I’m looking forward to sleeping in a bit and not having to worry about lesson planning. I do have one more test to take (I’ll be taking it this next Thursday) and a few trainings to attend over the summer, but I’m looking forward to getting to spend time with the kids, getting to relax, and getting centered so that I will be ready for next year.
We’ve been gathering supplies for Joseph to take to young men’s camp and this camp stool was one of them. Methinks he might have a hard time packing it. 😉It sure is nice having a fully functioning stove. One of my new favorite things that I didn’t realize would be a favorite thing is that back center burner which is really a warming center. I can set a pot on it, turn it on, and it will keep the pot warm without burning the contents. Pretty nifty!The fifth grade had a water day during the last week of school. They had all sorts of water-related games and sponge dodge ball was one of them. Those little sponges held a surprising amount of water, haha.Joseph’s memory shield. Each fifth grader made one. It has things like their favorite teacher, a picture of them, goals, what they want to be when they grow up, inspirational quotes, etc. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to find his (they were all displayed in the hallway between the entrance of the school and the cafeteria and there were 125 fifth graders this past year), but his was right on a corner that I walked by often.This was a fun picture taking opportunity spot they had set up. They made super hero bodies for each teacher with giant heads so that we looked like bobble-heads. I was Captain Marvel. 🙂Joseph walking in……getting his promotion certificate……and smiling for pictures. I was glad Paul was able to get the morning off to come. I was up on the stage with the other fifth grade teachers.Joseph and his teacher, Mrs. Elsayed. Her bobble-head was Wonder Woman and she really was. She was such a great teacher for him and she was such a great leader for our team of fifth grade teachers. I feel like I learned so much from her!Mrs. Elsayed sneakily got my students to sign the mat for this picture frame for me so I could stick the class photo in there. It was such a thoughtful gift! I plan to have it displayed in my classroom next year.This was yet another thoughtful gift. Mrs. Terry (2nd from the right) took a picture that we had taken as a team and made a cute background for it so that we could remember our team. This is also going up in my room next year.The room was all packed up and I was pulling my last wagon full of stuff out. I had to snap a quick picture because I won’t be in this room next year. I’m actually moving down to fourth grade, teaching one of the Mac-GT classes (a class with a mix of GT kids and GenEd kids). The GT kids will still be going to GT outside of the classroom, but the curriculum is going to be designed in a way that I will have more enrichment activities at my fingertips to keep them engaged during the times that they are in their GenEd classroom with me. I’m excited for a new grade (I don’t have much experience with fourth grade) and new students to get to help learn, grow, and progress.Ah…THE book. This is the copy of Oh, The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss that I have been sneaking to each of Joseph’s teachers since pre-k to sign for him. I’ve been keeping it a secret until now. He was so impressed and a little overwhelmed with it all. He read through their messages and then gave me a huge hug (and even teared up a little). I told him if he wanted to, he could continue to have teachers he respects and gets along with over the years sign it (the logistics of me trying to sneak it to 6+ different teachers every year from now until HS graduation was a bit too daunting for me). I’m so proud of the young man he is becoming!
