It was a bittersweet day.  We had a lot of fun reminiscing about our year and savoring our last moments as the 2009-2010 Whales Community. We started the morning by releasing our Monarch butterflies, which emerged from their chrysalides last week.  We took last photos with our teachers and spent time enjoying our outdoor learning space with friends.  We got our classroom ready for next year’s Whales by cleaning out our cubbies and putting away our centers.  In the afternoon we gathered as a whole school community to watch a slideshow that Ms. Shelley put together of our year.  The slideshow contained photos from all the classes and was set to songs that we sang in our music making sessions this year. We ended the year by writing a letter to next year’s class.  We figured they might be nervous about kindergarten, just like we were at the beginning of the year. Here is our letter:

Dear New Whales,
Don’t worry- kinder is fun. At the end of the year you will get memory books.  Don’t worry- there’s lots of toys to play with.  You will make new friends. Your teachers are nice.
Love,
The Old Whales

Dear Whales,
Thank you for all the wonderful memories.  Each and every one of you made our community a happier, better place to be.  This year you made me laugh every single day and your smiles brightened my life.  You also gave so much love to my new baby.  You sang her songs and gave her tummy rubs; always hoping for a kick.  I hope that you come back next year and visit me and my new baby. I will miss you very, very much. Have a fabulous summer!
Love,
Ms. Aja

View more photos in our New Photos Gallery

Yesterday we celebrated our last birthday of the year. Happy Birthday, Ronin! We are so happy that you are a part of our classroom community.

View more photos in our New Photos Gallery.

It’s hard to believe that it’s already June and almost time to say good-bye.  This week we have been engaging in a variety of closure activities.  These activities allow students to reflect on the memories we’ve created this year and begin to process the fact that our time as the 2009-2010 Whales is coming to an end. This week we reread several stories that we read the first week of school.  We even reread The Night Before Kindergarten.  We discussed the anticipation we felt as we started the year.  We discussed how we feel now as the school year is coming to a close. 

This week we also spent time pouring over our memory books.  We laughed and reminisced as we admired our stories, art, and photos from this year.

We admired our classroom displays and discussed how our classroom became a second home to us this year.  Today we took down all of our art and began getting our classroom ready for the new and old students who will make up next year’s Whales class.

We were delighted to see several families at our Celebration of Learning.  Students were so thrilled to show their families around their school.  It was a wonderful opportunity for students and families to reflect on learning and participate in learning activities.

View more photos in our May 24-June 7 Photo Gallery
View more photos in our New Photos Gallery This gallery contains all the new photos taken from Tuesday, June 8-June 15 .  These photos were NOT included on the Memory Book Photo DVDs.

We have been busy celebrating our summer birthdays this week.  Happy Birthday Ewan, Brendan, Jack, and Lola. We are so glad that we got to celebrate with you! 

View more photos in our May 24-June 7 Photo Gallery
View more photos in our New Photos Gallery This gallery contains all the new photos taken from Tuesday, June 8-June 15 .  These photos were NOT included on the Memory Book Photo DVDs.