Objects in the Rearview Mirror Are Closer than They Appear...

It will be a bittersweet day in The Jungle tomorrow as 16 amazing kids leave my classroom to embark upon fun-filled summers and the 5th grade. I have been blessed in so many ways this year...to share a few of my personal greatest blessings of the 2009-2010 year:

1. I was blessed to have 16 AWESOME kids greet me each morning. This class will definitely be remembered as one of my all-time favorites. The many talents they possess are true gifts from God that I know will take them far in life. Each one of them brought so many attributes to our classroom and will leave me with many fond memories of our time together as a Jungle Crew.

2. LAUGHTER is the closest thing to the grace of God, and we had plenty of it this year! I have many funny funny students in my classroom this year! They make me laugh every day.

3. PRAYER. One of my favorite things in the world is praying with my students. Listening to their most sincere prayers for their loved ones and people in our community is remarkable. As a child, we remember laying in bed at night with our prayer "lists"..."Dear God, please let me make the basketball team, get that toy I've been wanting, help me get an A on my test." The typical "me" prayers are part of every child's prayer routine. What fascinates me is the sincere empathy for OTHERS that I witnessed as my students' prayer requests mainly consisted of their concern for others, not themselves. Listening to them talk about their personal "God Moments" on an average Tuesday always left me feeling proud and profoundly moved spiritually.

3. The EFFORT put forth by my students this year was admirable. The growth I witnessed in each one of them was awe-inspiring. We had many trials and errors, but their willingness to try and sometimes fail was what made them the awesome students that they are today. I encouraged risks and they embraced challenges to became better investigators and students through their undying efforts and creativity.

4. Watching my students become teachers themselves...WOW! Talk about a proud moment when I could sit back and watch 10 year olds instruct each other and work as a team. I have many natural born leaders in this group, and through a few "interventions", they learned to accept each others' differences and work as a unit. As one of my good friends told me, "We are more alike than we are different."

5. Being my first year at HFS, I am so thankful that the transition has been an easy one for me. I left a school that I loved, and was very apprehensive about making the change. I left a teaching partner that will be a life-long friend...kids and a community that I miss dearly. However, when God closes one door, He often opens another, and it is up to us to embrace the changes in our life and make them all they are capable of becoming. I know that the change of schools was a positive one for my family; I am happy to say that I now know it was a positive change for me professionally, as well. I am grateful for my co-workers and the supportive community that I teach in every day. I look forward to what lies ahead for our school! I am hopeful. I am blessed.

Mrs. H

Fun Times at Fun Day

The Fierce Finlandian Fighters had a great day competing at Fun Day 2010! We won the jumproping contest with flying colors. HFS was blessed with a gorgeous day, too! Fun was had by all!

They Say it's Your...Almost Birthday

Since people with summer birthdays don't always get to celebrate during the school year (even though it is way cooler to have a summer birthday), I thought we would spend the afternoon celebrating those of us who have June, July, or early August birthdays! We played board games and snacked on many sweet treats. Fun was had by all! If you can't read the giant cookie, it says, "Happy Kinda, Sorta, Maybe Your Birthdays!"
Happy early birthday, boys and girls of summer!

"God danced the day you were born."

Thought for the Day

“A classroom you can hear laughter coming from on a daily basis is a healthy classroom. Laughter and the noise of learning is different from classroom chaos." -unknown

Art Miles Mural Project

After a school year of communicating via email with our friends in Narni, Italy, the mural finally arrived to Holy Family School! The Jungle Crew spent an afternoon painting and talking with a reporter and photographer from The Herald about the amazing experience that this project turned out to be. The mural will be traveling to Canada this summer before making its way to Egypt for the International Day of Peace in September. How blessed we are to be a part of such an amazing cause!

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world." -Mahatma Gandhi

The Final Countdown!

It is so hard to believe that our school year is coming to a close! What a great year we've had together. I feel like it was just yesterday that 16 brand new 4th graders were unpacking their backpacks for the first day of school! Wow! Time does fly when you're having fun. Each one of them brought their own piece of "awesomeness" to my classroom and heart.

We have many fun activities planned for the last two weeks of school. I will be hosting a Scrabble tournament next week! Bring in those extra Scrabble boards! We will be putting our acting and fluency skills to good use while performing the reader's theater script of A Bad Case of the Stripes. The last two weeks will allow us math time to review fraction and decimal concepts, as well.

I'm sure all the kids are looking forward to the Summer Birthday Bash on May 18th. 4 Jungle Crew members, along with myself, will be pre-celebrating our birthdays with some sweet treats and outdoor fun time. Fun Day is rapidly approaching, and even though I'm confident that my team will outshine the rest in the form of team spirit, I am looking forward to a day full of fun for all involved! The Jungle Store experience will take place on the morning of May 20 with the afternoon being devoted to AR rewards for my top readers!

Summer is approaching quickly! I want to thank all of the amazing parents of the Jungle Crew! Without you, the projects, activities, parties would not have been possible. I truly value the love and support my students receive at home.

Blessings for a safe and FUN-FILLED Summer,
Mrs. H