Monday, May 27, 2013

Amazing Progress!

All year we have focused on writing. This writing has been documented in our Poetry Journals that we write in each week. The last week of school, I was AMAZED as I looked back at our Poetry Journals. The progress that the students have made from the first entry to the last is truly OUTSTANDING! I had to share!

This is Camren's journal entries. Camren went from barely being able to trace (in JANUARY) to copying a journal on his own (in MAY). WOW!



These are entries from Dontavious' journal. Back in August, his writing was barely legible. But... look at his writing in April. Way to go!



In August, Eliana wrote in the center of her paper. She had difficulties remembering to space appropriately between her words as well as with writing on the line. In March, her handwriting is beautiful!



Hunter came to us in January. At that time, he needed a lot of support to write his journal entries. He needed bolded lines and reminders to write smaller. His journal in May is the complete opposite and was written independently. Awesome!



At the beginning of the year, Lynec's handwriting was very big. She spaced between her sentences and had difficulty with the sizing of her letters. Her journal entry from April shows how much she matured over the year. Good job Lynec!



When Marquis came to us in March, he could write some letters. However it was very slow and required step-by-step assistance. So, he traced most of his journals. Marquis went from completely tracing (in March) to completely copying on his own (in April). Such amazing progress in a short period of time!



WOW!!! In August, Mettano could barely trace. In May, he is copying from the board independently and keeping up with the "big boys". Incredible!



Tanayry's writing in August was not legible at all. She wrote very big and did not pay attention to the boundary lines. By March she was writing smaller, writing on the lines, and her work is completely legible. YAY!



In August, we described Tony's handwriting as "doctor's handwriting". He wrote very fast and it was very unorganized. Amazing progress was shown by May. He now has "Tony handwriting". His writing is very organized. He spaces appropriately between his words and writes his "tall letters" and "short letters" appropriately. Awesome!



Looking back on this progress is truly humbling. A lot of hard work, sweat, and tears has gone into these journals. We are so proud of our precious students and all of their hard work!

Field Day Fun!

 It is safe to say that this year's Field Day was the best one yet.

We started off with relay races!










We had lots of fun with balls!




We used jump ropes!



We were awesome at the hurdles!



 

We worked together in the three-legged race!





We showed how strong we were in the wheelbarrow race!


We were very determined to cross the finish line in the cup walking race!


We were so proud of our students at Field Day. They displayed great determination, wonderful sportsmanship, and earned the respect of their peers. 

Thank you so much to Coach Sloop and Ms. Calloway for making this year's Field Day a day to remember. Another special THANKS to the 5th graders that were chosen to compete against our class in the afternoon relay events and tug-of-war. These 5th graders were compassionate and made our students feel loved and respected. You guys are AMAZING!


Parrot Show!

We were soooooo excited about our Parrot Show. A lady named Ms. Bean came to our school and brought several beautiful and interesting birds. She talked to us about endangered species and about parrots. We learned about where parrots live, what they eat, and many other interesting facts!


All of the birds were beautiful and special in their own way!



Some of them did tricks. 
These two birds held on to each other and formed a chain!


This bird played dead!


The coolest part was when Ms. Bean and her assistant brought the birds around so that we could see them up close and personal!


We got to hold them and touch them!






Ms. Bean even let the bigger parrots fly to us and land on our arms. That was awesome!








This day is one that our students will never forget. They learned so much about parrots and have talked about them ever since. 

Thank you so much Ms. Bean for coming to share your beautiful birds with us. A special THANK YOU to Mr. and Mrs. Morrow (Dontavious' parents) who made this day possible for us!