Six Novels, Six Weeks!

Our Marcus High School Soccer players are great
celebrity readers. Elementary students love
spending time reading with their older mentors!

I love sitting in training thinking about stuff that has nothing to do with the professional learning opportunity at hand. It never fails that I am totally focused then the trainer says something that leads me on a brilliantly exciting and invigorating bunny trail! Today, she was talking about writing across curriculum. Then, she said something about vocabulary and reading and Bam! There is was: the most enticing bunny trail I’ve encountered in a week or two!

Call me Alice, but I love a bunny trail. So, off I went on my own – smiling and nodding in encouragement to the trainer, and even taking an occasional note (on my idea) to look engaged!

Here’s kind of what I was envisioning. I LOVE to read. I always have. It may have been that Gilligan’s Island and the Brady Bunch could only engage me for so long or the fact that my parents only allowed me to watch an hour of television a day as a kiddo. Regardless, I love to read. I love the classics, grew up with Shelia the Great, wondered if I was a 4^th Grade Nothing, befriended Ramona and Beezes, and snuck a copy of Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret under the covers and read with a flashlight! I’ve also mourned the death of the great Albus Dumbledore, imagined myself with a dozen siblings, belabored the impact of utopia in The Giver, agonized about surviving in my own little house in the big woods, cried when Leslie drowned in Terabithia, and fell asleep at work after having to sit up all night to make sure Katniss Everdeen would win the Hunger Games.

So, I just don’t think kids get to experience growing up with some of the fictional characters that shaped my childhood. I’m envisioning some type of principal’s summer reading list. I’m thinking there should be a list of classics that we really encourage our students to read – a list that a student would consider it an accomplishment to say that they’ve read most or even all of them. I’ve bantered the idea with myself for a couple of years, but nothing has ever come out of it. Today, however, I may have found a jumping off point.

We operate on a six weeks grading schedule because that just works. Six weeks, six novels – all six grade levels K-5! This would be done independently so we could encourage families to participate. The list of the titles for the year will be distributed at the beginning of the year, along with a list of ways to access them (local bookstores, websites, personal devices, libraries…) I will read (C.S. Lewis said “I can’t imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once.”) and prepare opportunities for students and families. There should certainly be an online component. I’m thinking something like a reader’s response forum. Everyone reading along with us could post comments and thoughts. What if we could even get grandparents and local city leader or even a celebrity to read and comment too?!We could track where comments originate using Google Earth. Wait. There goes another bunny trail! At the end of the six weeks, there would have to be some type of culminating activity that enriches the novel for those kiddos who read the book! I’m not thinking a reward; I’m thinking a guest speaker, a Skype session with an author, a game or activity.

I think this is a perfect segue into promoting the Principal’s Summer Reading List next spring! Now, what I need are six novels that would be perfect for elementary students and their families to read. Stronger readers can read independently while younger students can read with their parents and siblings! This promotes family time, reading and learning – without even realizing that we are increasing our thinking and our vocabulary!

Vocabulary, that was it. That’s where the bunny trail began, but look where it got me!

Please email, tweet, or leave a comment with a suggestion for a novel! I’d love your thoughts!

I’d also love to share this endeavor with a couple of other elementary schools so our students could Skype or work on a project together! What a great opportunity for global discussion and collaboration!

Great Ways to End a School Year

The last day (week) of school can be hard on everyone. Everyone is tired, and the All-Star teams have already been chosen for spring sports. We're burning the candles at both ends, and school is just an obligation that must be fullfilled to get us to summertime!
As a principal, it's my job to make sure we are still having "school" even in late May - and even when the grades are already posted! So, I take the last couple of weeks very seriously. We started Handwriting Camp the second and third weeks of May. It was a great time to trial something that we'll do in the fall semester. I'll have to post more information about that later because it was a cool concept, and I think it will be important to continue. We also took a shot at Boater Safety Week the last week of school. We'll do that again, but I'll definitely give more direction next time.
My favorite thing is the last day of school. It's a shortened day, and we have every minute planned. This eliminates opportunity for misbehavior. It also eliminates time for students to clean and load the teachers' cars! (I personally like that!)
So, the last day is our Tom Hammerle Rock 'n Run. Tom was a student at our school who passed away after his battle with cancer. His parents are wonderful supporters of our school and attend the yearly Rock 'n Run. Students gather sponsors to support their efforts then, divided into grades K-1st, 2nd-3rd, and 4th-5th, they race at the park next to our school. Half of the money raised goes to support cancer research and the other half goes back to the school. This year we ran for iPads!
We take a full sound system and lots of water, and we have a blast! Parents and family members, along with the family pets, are all welcome to join us. Students who don't want to run are encouraged to walk, enjoy the music, and just have fun! Here is a link to this year's post race dance party:
http://youtu.be/7p2B-H4jedE
After the race, the Hammerle family provides popsicles for all of the students, teachers, and everyone who joins us. Students get to hang out at the park and cheer on their friends. Many grades have their students bring their lunches to the park so they can enjoy their lunch there too.
Students return to the school in time to get their bags together then they head to the cafeteria for the Closing Celebration. I believe it's important to start a school year with a big welcome and goal setting time and end the year celebrating the great accomplishments achieved.
Our Closing Celebration is one of my favorite things. We begin with the teachers entertaining with an opening song or dance. Students are encouraged to sing along and celebrate! Here is a link to this year's Closing Celebration teacher dance:
http://youtu.be/tPXPd5zwkeM

Last year, it was VERY HOT at the Rock 'n Run so
our local fire department came to the park and
hosed down the 4th - 5th graders! (Well, they
let me hose them down!)

We recognize the Top Readers and Top Reading Classes. We recognize different academic and citizenship achievements. (Most awards are done in the individual classes or on the daily televised announcements.) Then, we recognize the students who ran the most laps during the Rock 'n Run. Trophies are awarded to the top runners and the kids love cheering on their friends. They LOVE the trophies! Finally, we recognize those students and classes raising the most money. Our 5th graders leave and get into position for their last walk through the halls of elementary school as we wind down the Closing Celebration. This is my time to recognize my 4th graders as the new leaders and role models of the school. Everyone is pumped for summer when they leave to line the halls for the 5th Grade Walk.
The 5th Grade Walk is our way of saying good bye and good luck to our kiddos leaving for middle school. The entire school, along with the guests for the Closing Celebration, line the hallways. The 5th graders start outside the kindergarten doors and walk to the tune of a medley of great "best wishes" and "great memory" music through the parent/student - lined hallways. Students who started kindergarten together begin the walk and carry a sign saying "Kindergarten." Behind them, the students who started our school in 1st Grade walk together with a 1st Grade sign. Students are grouped with the peers that joined them when they started here at our school, each group with a sign. Each of the 5th graders have flowers that they share with teachers, special friends, and younger siblings. The onlookers cheer and also return flowers to the 5th grade graduates. It's a sweet and often emotional walk through the school by each grade and then finally out the doors toward their middle school. Here is a link to this year's 5th Grade Walk:
http://youtu.be/6F7wE8ulx0U
School's out! No fights, no arguments, no being mean - just a great end to another awesome year! Everything great needs a great closing! Another year down and another cheery on top!