Last Fun-Filled Days of School!

The last couple of weeks of the school year are always the most fun! We wrapped up an exciting week today with the 5th grade picnic at a cozy little spot tucked away off the highway in San Ramon called Little Hills Ranch. The kids went swimming, played softball, horseshoes, basketball, tug-of-war, and volleyball. We had bbq and listened to music courtesy of our DJ. The whole day was a lot of fun!

On Thursday, the other guy that teaches at my school - Mr. Silzle - and I officiated the second half of the intramural soccer championship game. We did our very own World Cup at the school during recess for the past couple of months in honor of the 2010 South Africa World Cup. Our version of the Spanish soccer team defeated our German team, 1-0, to win the title! We'll have an Awards Assembly next Tuesday to crown the champions. This was a very successful activity at the school and came to an exciting conclusion with our final game held this past week on Tuesday and Thursday morning.

This was a picture of the pre-game festivities on the field with both teams showing off their country's flag. We really had a great time with the soccer tournament with over 90 participants!

On Tuesday of this past week it was time for our Too Good For Drugs graduation ceremony in the Arts Center at our school. You might recall something called the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program. It changed and became the TGFD program. Anyhow, we had our final meeting and the kids received t-shirts and certificates of completion from the Deputy.

One of the most fun assemblies we have in June is something we call our Happy Feet Dance Assembly. Prior to the dancing we held an awards assembly for perfect attendance, Student Council participation, Citizen of the Yeard finalists, and so forth. But then comes the fun! Each grade level performs their own dance before the rest of the school that our P.E. teachers spend about a month practicing with the kids, as do we with our students prior to performing. Claire danced with the 2nd grade class to "You Talk Too Much."

Kari made it up to the school with Grace, Will, and even Dieter in tow, to watch the performance. She is such a supportive and amazing mom (and wife!) and I was very impressed at how she is able to do so much all the time. It meant a lot to Claire and I that Kari was there with the kids. That was very cool! Thanks again, darling!

Here Claire is being recognized for having contributed many, many Box Tops for Education box tops this year. She received a certificate and a Smencil for her efforts. What she wouldn't do is actually look at me while I tried to take a picture of her! Claire also - on a side note - won the school wide Bubble Gum Bubble-Blowing Contest today at Field Day. I think it's because she's missing both of her front teeth. Anyhow, she's the champion bubble blower!

Lastly, in case I didn't mention it already, my class enjoyed a trip out to Superior Court to perform mock trials. We do children's stories (Humpty Dumpty and The Three Little Pigs) set to both a civil trial and a criminal trial. The kids had a great time, although one of my students isn't pictured because she tried on an ankle restraint in the jury box (for the elder abuse case suspects) and got locked in there until the court clerk could round up a key to let her go. Won't make that mistake again, I'll bet.

There we were on the steps of the Oakland Museum heading home from the courthouse. It's been a very fun end to the school year, filled with trips and assemblies and exciting activities we've all been able to enjoy! Summer, here we come!