End of the Year Thoughts

Today was the last day of school. I'm so glad that it is over now. I spent the day party hopping, with visiting the 2nd grade, 5th grade, and 6th grade classes as they celebrated this special day. I enjoyed bagels, cupcakes, and juice while signing yearbooks and saying goodbye. Especially to the 6th graders, who are leaving for the middle school. The promotion ceremony this morning brought tears to everyone's eyes, especially when the little boy with Down's Syndrome was given over $1,000 in donations for the companion dog his family is wanting to purchase for him. There are such generous families here who are absolutely amazing!

This year has had its ups and downs for me. The ups were full of watching extraordinary teachers do their thing and watching kids learn and accomplish amazing tasks. One 6th grade class that I spend time in has increased their math scores significantly and every one of them can write a 5-paragraph essay.  That class of kids will be so ready for their 7th grade year and it is unfortunate that their teacher will be moving on to another school next year. I hope she knows how much she'll be missed and how much our kids benefited with her there.

The downs were watching some mediocre teaching going on which failed to motivate and inspire kids to learn. I worry about those kids next year and hope that they will be able to make up for lost skills.  I also witnessed staff who just didn't seem to care, who seemed depressed, and who weren't supportive of students. That really disappointed me this year. The worst thing to happen during this last month of school was to hear about the budget cuts that had to be made due to the financial crisis. Classes are being combined, which meant teachers had to change grades (some against their wishes), and now class sizes will be larger. Some  Instructional Assistants were not rehired for next year so will have to find other positions.

My position next year will change as a result of a couple of issues: the budget crunch has less available for IA's and one of my son's will be in the 5th and 6th grade resource room. Because of the budget issue, I have only been offered a position in the afternoons instead of mornings, still part time. Because of my son's grade, I'll have to move down to the lower grades to work. I'm not sure how I feel about these changes and have told my boss that I'll be thinking about it and will get back to her.

So summer vacation has now begun! The plans this summer include a lot of camping, visiting with friends, swimming at the pool, and hiking the trails. I look forward to next weekend, when I'll get to have a "Sister's Only" visit where we'll do things that we don't get to do with our families in tow. Another highlight of my summer will be when my parents come to visit and camp with us. It'll be a great summer and I know it will be far too short!

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Neat

Yummy Fruit Smoothie Recipe

Every week a guest speaker comes into the 5th grade science classes to do a program called "Just Be It! Healthy and Fit." It is sponsored by the New Mexico State University College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences department and is funded through the US Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service. According to the website I linked above, this program "reduces the risk factors for childhood obesity of 5th grade students located in the New Mexico Counties of Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, and Los Alamos." The kids really like the program and are learning so much about how to live healthy lives and make good choices about food and exercise. I've learned a lot as well!

Each lesson ends with a healthy snack that the kids can prepare themselves. We've had different fruits, vegetables, pita pockets, dips, and trail mix. Today's special treat was a fruit smoothie. I really don't have smoothies very often so for me to be impressed with one says something about the recipe. Hopefully I don't get in trouble for sharing it here.  I have, after all, given the credit where due.

Just Be It! Fruit Smoothie

2 cups nonfat vanilla yogurt

2 cups fruit (we used 1 banana and 1 cup frozen fruit smoothie blend from the grocery store)

1/2 cup apple juice

1/2 cup pineapple-mango juice

1 cup crushed ice

Put all the ingredients into a blender and turn it on for about 30 seconds.  Makes about 6 cups.

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Neat

Just Another Day

Today the 6th grade class went to music as their "special" class. Since they just had a performance last week, they are beginning a new grading period. This next project is to arrange or compose a piece of music using Garage Band. Now I've seen people using the program and have heard finished songs, but this is the first time I've actually used it myself. I spent the morning helping my two special needs kids find tracks that they like and combine them into the beginning of a song. My boy with Downs Syndrome likes upbeat Latin tracks and lots of drum beats.  My girl likes soft rhythms and soothing guitar sounds. I can't wait to continue helping them with their projects next week. This is a great project for all the kids. They were all so occupied during the whole class period.

In math today the 5th graders had a special team from the school district come in to teach a lesson. They do this about once a grading period and it is always a great day. They had the kids engaged in probability and outcome problems. I always enjoy it when these two come in to teach because they always get the kids excited about learning math. They do different activities and games, use examples from real life, allow for group interaction, and do no book work. It is a nice change from the normal math day and makes me miss being in charge of the classroom since I used to love to do lessons like this.

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Neat