The Last Day

The last day of school arrived. It is ... was ... hard to believe. There were moments during this winter when many of us wondered if we would ever thaw out ... if there was such a thing as green grass ... or if our winter coats and accessories would ever be able to be put away ...

What do you do with two half days of school in the Elementary? You are sending report cards home with students when they leave, so assigning them work that you have no intention of looking at doesn't seem like the best use of class time ... students have an energy, a buzz, an excitement that you can't help but admire and appreciate ... the sky is an endless blue ... the shades of green are vivid ... the sun is shining ... time with friends seems fleeting ... so we walked over to REC Park for some last moments of time together.

we appreciate the grant for safe pathways ... and the disappearance of the 

lake that covered this area just two days earlier

Mrs. Arens and Ms. Prose organized a kickball game

other students found their own version of fun

some students chose to climb to new heights

others found the skateboard park obstacles more interesting

there was plenty of time to share our summer plans with friends

Some students found their spotlight on the Band Shell stage. It was a great way to spend the last morning of fourth grade!

Best wishes all of my students! This has been a magical year of memories!! See you around town!!

10,000 Minute Club

This year, I had TEN students meet the goal of reading 10,000 Minutes outside of class! This is the MOST students I have ever had achieve this goal. It means students were reading over 1100 minutes a month or about 36 minutes a day!! ALL students were invited and encouraged to participate.

The students received a medal and a certificate.

 Their picture will be added to Ms. Leom's "10,000 Minute Club" Hall of Fame. Congratulations to these successful readers!! SO PROUD!!

So what do you say to the student who completely blows your expectations out of the water?! It happened this year. This gentleman read over 28,000 Minutes! He met the 10,000 Minute Club nearly THREE TIMES OVER!!! (That is over 3000 minutes a month).

Congratulations! So PROUD!!

New Books

Thanks to our PTO, EVERY student at Milaca Elementary selected a new book on Monday June 2! Retired Milaca teachers, Mrs. Rankin-Meleen and Ms. K returned to help us with our selections.

 Students were give brand new books. Students may read the books and return them to any RAT (Read Around Town) place in town, share with a friend, and KEEP the books! What a fabulous gift!!

If you have an opportunity to support the PTO, please consider sharing your time, your experiences, or participating in their events. Recently, the PTO hosted the first annual 5K Family Fun Walk and Run. In the Fall, they will host the annual PTO Carnival. Get involved! The PTO fills many gaps within our school. Whatever your commitment ability you can share, your gifts are welcome and needed!

Our Buddies

This year, we were thankful to have the opportunity to team up with Mrs. Stuckmeyer's Kindergarten students. Our younger friends grew up a LOT in this school year. In the beginning of the year, there were students standing up as we started to read and wandering off ... or interrupting to tell us a story ... or interrupting to place a new book over the one we were reading ... or trying to build with blocks ...

It was also fun to see the friendships that we were developing. How our friends looked up to us, looked forward to seeing us, and enjoyed our time together.

On our last day, our Kindergarten Reading Buddies read to us. Then we drew pictures in chalk to welcome our guests into our school

I LOVE this ... the sun was too bright, so these fourth graders held up a jacket, so the kindergartener could finish reading!

Sometimes you do not need to talk to know you are not alone. We enjoyed spending time with our buddies this year!!

Talent

We had our second annual Talent Show last week. Mr. Voshell welcomed us. Mr. Meyer helped introduce the performers and shared some of his favorite jokes. There were many performers. This entry features a few of "our favorites".

Anticipation before the show ...

Mr. Voshell

Mr. Meyer

I am always amazed at the talents and gifts our students share. I KNOW they have them ... they don't always have the opportunities to share during the regular school day. What makes these performances truly special, is the CHANCE these students took to share a part of themselves with their peers and an audience. So brave. So amazing.

Talent.