Our Lovely Classroom

We enjoyed our last day of school immensely and want to thank every parent for doing your part to make this a wonderful school year!   Yearbooks and Individual Self-Published Books I hope you have enjoyed our lovely color yearbooks that reflect the hard work of each child.  It was a pleasure to see that the last of all our students' novels and anthologies were printed, sewn, bound, and decorated in a myriad of ways.  While most of our instruction is focused on process, I cherish the end of the year when everyone has a chance to truly see themselves as a capable and professional writer as we help each child express and organize their wildest ideas on paper.  I am so grateful for our parent volunteers and Ms. Peggy, who were both so willing to help our students publish the book of their dreams.  I am thankful for Ms. Emily who has recorded many of the songs we have sung all year  and Ms. Kathy who is happy to make a last minute trip to the store when needed. I am thankful

These last weeks have been a whirlwind of activity as our students prepared and carried out a phenomenal graduation program for our outgoing 6th and 7th graders.  Everyone worked so hard to make it the best graduation celebration ever.  Today, we took our graduates out for a special lunch and movie while the others finished sewing, binding, and decorating their books.   Hidden Figures Movie Tomorrow On Thursday, we will watch the movie Hidden Figures, based on the book we read in class last year.  Please make sure you sign the permission slip so that your child may watch with the class or simply write your own permission on a slip of paper if your child has lost theirs. Makutu's  Island on Friday We are still missing a couple of forms and payments, so please let us know if your child will be at school on Friday, so that we can provide an alternative activity for them if they aren't going with us.  Also, every child needs a signed waiver and clean socks to attend.  

Dear Parents,  We have had to spend a great deal of time today talking about incidents that occur off school grounds on student's laptops, tablets, and smartphones and we wanted to start an important conversation about social media use in children ages 9 and up.  With the continuing changes of technology, during a time that your child's brain is going through crucial development, it is important to be aware of the dangers of too much reliance on technology for social interactions. The most important social interactions begin in the home and continue with family and friends outside the home.  Social media is not an adequate replacement for meaningful social activities that help build community, courtesy, and new connections that can last for life.  Research shows that screen time should be limited in the early years to make more room for concrete experiences that are a true preparation for life.  Scientists from Dr. Montessori to our more modern neurology researchers

We are amazed at how hard everyone has been working on their books and that most are ready to publish!  A couple of students are still working on typing their final copies into their google docs so we can format, print and bind their books tomorrow. Please ask your child how they are doing.  We are truly astounded by the plots, poetry, pictures and persistence of our learning community.  All have assured us that their final copy will be finished tomorrow morning so we can begin the final stages of formatting, folding, stitching, and hardcover binding.  Water Day Our water day is tomorrow morning, from 10:30-12.  Please make sure your child is wearing adequate sunscreen and has a change of clothes. Only children with signed release forms may participate. See the separate email from the school for more details.  6th grade graduation  It's hard to believe our graduation ceremony is this Friday!  Our fifth graders have been busy preparing a class luncheon and fancy appe