Ty's Graduation - U of O

We hopped in the car early Sunday morning to make the nine hour drive to Eugene.  Ty won't be finished with school until December (3 classes left), but he was walking in graduation on Monday.  Ty would never participate in graduation, and he would never tell us that he was walking, but he did!  His motivation is sad.  His best friend and study-buddy lost her fiance a couple months ago.  He died in his sleep, and they may never know the cause.  One of Ty's best qualities is that he is a loyal, trustworthy, and top-notch friend. He's stepping up to support his friend.  They made plans to sit together.

When we arrived we made plans to take him to dinner.  We could go anywhere, but since it was Game 5 of the NBA championship we ended up at The Wild Duck, which was a loud sports pub with lots and lots of TVs, and pretty good food.  During commercials we headed back to his apartment to watch the end of the game, which sadly the Cavs lost.  It amazes me how much Ty knows about sports and the players.  I always thought he might end up working at ESPN.  If not, he would do well working in an environment where the clientele liked to "talk sports" all the time.  It had been a long day, so he took us up to campus and showed us where graduation would be and where to park.  He handed over the gown that he borrowed from a buddy that graduated last year, for me to iron, and we headed back to get in bed.  Just sitting in a car sure makes for a long day.

Ty went to work in the lab (taking care of a colony of leaf-eating ants) early that morning and had an appointment for more blood work and a shot, so we met him about 30 minutes before graduation with his wrinkle free gown.  I just wanted to hear them say his name, listen to an interesting speaker and get a couple good pictures.  None of those things worked out, however, it was a beautiful day and very entertaining graduation.

Oregon, and especially Eugene, has the reputation of being lay-back, hippie, and casual to the extreme.  Ty doesn't like Eugene, but it's alarming how well he fits in.  It will be good when he moves away from that culture.  He showed up in tennis shoes, shorts, and his Tennessee Titans jersey.  I like his hair longer, but his hair wasn't good.  It needs to be cut by a professional, or maybe just combed.  I thought I could get a good shot of him without showing his legs or shoes.  I didn't want his grandpa to see the tennis shoes. Ty doesn't really believe in photos, so this is the best I could get:

I think he's cute, not polished and professional looking, but cute.

All graduation ceremonies took place outside at different open spaces on campus. The biology department held theirs in front of the Knight library, there was another ceremony going on behind the library, and one behind us facing the opposite direction.  There were no signs or information anywhere.  The people behind us realized they were at the wrong graduation right at the beginning and I'm sure they weren't alone.  This is a blurry shot, but it's perfectly acceptable to bring your dogs to graduation:

The library.  We sat two rows behind the graduates (in the shade!).

I liked this above the library door.  The rest of the quote is above the other entrance.

We had front row seats and did a lot of observing before the ceremony.  The professors were asking around to know how to wear their robes and doctorate scarves.  There was one lady that was in charge of making things run smoothly, but they needed more than one person.  They had printed programs and one person made a feeble attempt to pass them out.  Terry found the box and picked up ours.  Others followed suit.  When the graduates walked in, they started down the wrong row of chairs and had to circle around to sit in the row behind them in order.  Then a guy had his chair collapse and break. He ended up on the ground and the whole back of his robe was torn open.  They grabbed a chair for him from the back row, threw the broken one in the scrubs, and about 10 minutes later came with safety pins to repair his robe.

The abandoned chair

Blurry again, but this was the lady in charge pinning the gown back together.  We were suppose to watching or listening to what was going on in the ceremony, but this was memorable.

The only speakers were the biology department's co-valedictorians.  The spoke together and had prepared a short, sort of funny, uninspiring address.  They were smart, but didn't have much wisdom to impart.

This is the head of the Biology Department.  He was at the podium for the entire program. He did the welcome, introductions, gave out special awards, said something about each graduate, conferred the degrees, and gave the closing comments.  He was in khakis and this green shirt that wasn't even tucked in.  Doesn't he look like he just returned from his Hawaiian vacation?  

Where are his robes?

One of the professors that was suppose to help hand out the degrees didn't show.  They announced his name and he didn't come to the stage.  The other guy just had to do it solo. The graduates could sit in any order they wanted and when they came on the stage, they came to a mic (that was way to short for all of them and never adjusted) said their name and where they were from.  Then the man pictured above would say something about each one of them.  Only about 5 of the 86 graduates knew what they were doing.  One was going to dental school, one finished in December and had a job, and a few knew where they were going to graduate school.  Many planned to "take a year" and travel, or work on applications to medical school or a graduate program, or just figure out a plan.

Ty on stage.  "He plans to work for a government agency or in the private sector."
He covered all his bases.  I'm glad he plans on working.

Almost ready to receive his empty diploma cover.

Blurry return to his seat next to his friend Choi.

We had just a few minutes with Ty after the ceremony.  He was going back to work at the lab and we were going to head back to Boise.  There was a reception for everyone afterward and even though I'm still trying to lose weight, I had a piece of cake - so did Terry, my health coach.  I wanted to take part in this whole experience.

I will not comment on these two pictures taken in those few precious minutes that we had to congratulate him and say goodbye:

Then we followed the duck prints past the Pioneer Cemetery (on campus) and six blocks down Harris Street to our prime parking spot.  It was a graduation that fits Eugene, and Ty, and I'm so glad we went.

  

Business Building

Kind of weird.

School"s Out!

We had a beautiful last day of school.  I didn't really plan it, but everything worked out.  I need to remember what we did and do a repeat next year.  Yesterday we had a big Presidential Awards Assembly, the EFT slide show, a fiesta lunch, and watched a movie. We were together with the whole sixth grade all day, and parents, and it was crazy.  Today was relaxed, subdued, and reflective.

We started with a class discussion reflecting on the year past year.  Then we stapled together little 3 page booklets with their names on the front.  We sat in a circle and passed the booklets around so that each person in the class had a chance to write in everyone's booklet an award that they thought that person should receive.  They also could write a short message or share a memory.  It took almost an hour for them to write in everyone's booklet.  Then they spent time silently reading everything.  Everyone then had a chance to share the awards and words that meant them most to them.  It was a positive experience for all.

We took a break and went out our back door for a recess on what we call the "back yard".  There are four classrooms at our school that share a private grassy field with a little hill and plenty of shade trees.  We ended up sharing the area with all the other sixth grade students and it was fun just spending a final recess together away from the other kids.

When we came in, we watched Tiny Toons Adventures, How I Spent My Summer Vacation. This movie came out in 1992, and starts on the last day of school and follows the toons throughout the summer.  It had crazy parodies and old stuff that the kids wouldn't get, but it's pretty hilarious.  I love when the pigs pick-up the Texas chainsaw lunatic on their way to Happy World Land, and there's a girl that loves kitties and her adventures are the funniest thing I've ever seen.  I love her!



We finished in time to go to lunch, pick-up their report cards, and then count down the last 10 seconds of their elementary career.

Safety Patrol at Wahooz

Early in the morning and after school everyday, in all kinds of weather, and taking abuse from fellow students, the school safety patrol deserves some pay.  They come to my room for 2 pieces of candy at the end of each week, but the real reason they don the fluorescent vests is our field trip on the last week of school.  The PTO and principal finance us. Everyone gets 3 hours of unlimited fun at Wahooz.  We give them a wrist band for bumper boats, mini golf, and lazer tag, plus a $5 card for the arcade, and then turn them loose. They go non-stop and have a blast!  I just hang around and play a little golf with them once in a while.  It's a great end of the year activity.

EFT 2015

That stands for Environmental Field Trip.  Every year we take the sixth graders to a camp in Cascade for three nights and four days.  It's a rite of passage before moving on to junior high.  They look forward to it all year.  We also take about 33 parents to help.  They teach classes like fishing, archery, and Dutch oven cooking, take pictures, lead evening activities and provide nursing skills.  The planning takes all year, but once we're there, it's beautiful, fun, and even relaxing.

This year we got home from Eugene late Sunday afternoon.  I had to do a couple loads of wash and pack for EFT.  I was rested and ready to go in my tie-dye the next day.

Our 6th grade teachers on the last day of camp - Yipee!

I blogged and blogged and blogged about our daily adventures so that parents back in Boise could stay informed.  If you want to read all about it and see thousands of pictures, go here:

Trail Wind EFT 2015

Tie-dye Day

Every May our 100 sixth graders and 40 adults (35 parents, 4 teachers, & 1 instructional aide/former hippie) spend a morning tie-dying T-shirts.  It's a hassle getting ready (getting to the art supply store across town to buy soda ash, and soaking all the shirts in it, and finding volunteer parent helpers), expensive (buying the shirts and about 10 bottles of powdered dye at $25-$35 a piece, plus gloves and zip-lock bags), and a ton of work (mixing dye, getting the area prepped, folding and rubber-banding shirts, and a lot of clean-up), but it is so worth it.  Everyone gets to be creative, but you don't have to be.  You can just go for it - free style - and that works too. There are no mistakes in tie-dye.  It's always an exciting surprise when you unwrap the creation, something like fireworks.  When we all show up in tie-day for our first day of EFT, everything is so bright and happy, you just have to laugh!

6th graders dying dyeing

My creation and a matching student

   

Cinco de Mayo

It couldn't have worked out better.  We study Mexico, and Cinco de Mayo landed on a Tuesday.  We taste tested salsas!  Fresh, bottled (Pace), green, pineapple, mango, and hot - they were all winners, but the bottled Pace was the most popular.  What a fun afternoon!

Taste Test Tuesday

This Tuesday we explored a new grain - quinoa.  It worked out perfectly because quinoa is harvested mainly in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile.  We study these countries in sixth grade and I was able to give them a little history lesson during our tasting.  The Incas had a big celebration centered on quinoa where the King planted it with a golden trowel, but the conquistadors saw it as a threat to their power and made them switch to planting wheat.

I took in plain quinoa with milk and cinnamon and sugar, a summer quinoa salad with blueberries and a lemon vinegarette, and ham fried quinoa with soy sauce.  They licked the platters clean.  The winner was the ham fried one.  They all copied down the recipe.  Taste Test Tuesday is also a big winner.    

Taste Test Tuesday

Today was all about veggies.  We had four colors of peppers, English and regular cucumbers, raw sweet potatoes, kohlrabi, and turnips.  They devoured everything.  The veggies were every bit as popular as the fruit.

Accept maybe this kid didn't like it.

SBAC

I should know what those letters stand for, but I don't.  They're the big long tests that the kids need to take that assess their knowledge of the Common Core.  (They used to be the ISAT tests, and when I was a kid, they were the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills.)  This is the second year that the kids have taken them in Idaho, but it was my first year giving them.  We use to hire a sub for the month and she would proctor all the tests.  Last year we weren't suppose to be there when our own class was taking the test, so we used student teachers.  This year we had a 20 minute training on how to get everything going on the computer, and then we were suppose to be good to go.  I wasn't.  It was a rough start and I had to call the principal to come get us going.  In the end, all but three students were able to finish.  (Not sure how they did.)  We have three more sessions to go.  I think I'll do better.  Hope the kids do too.

Taste Test Thursday

Our Triple T didn't happen on Tuesday this week because we had testing to do instead, so we postponed things until Thursday.  I had a mom who had just returned from Singapore, and she brought things for the class to taste.  She had tried to bring something like pork jerky, but it was confiscated at the airport.  So we ended up with....

Mangosteen is a type of fruit.  The left corner of the package shows the purple fruit.  You twist the green stem part off, and then you see the mango colored flesh with the white flower like thing inside.  Very interesting.  They tasted just like good butter cookies to me.  They were in the shape on the merlion.  I think he lives in the sea, just outside the harbor.

Not sure why this one is turned, but I'm too lazy to fix it.  These were something like veggie sticks, made from purple potatoes.  They were a hit too.

The mom also brought in little pieces of expensive and smooth chocolate.  She brought me two pieces.  The kids had pieces cut in fourths.  It was too good to waste on children.

We projected all her pictures from her i-phone onto our screen and learned a lot about Singapore.  It was a big success!

Track

The elementary schools had their first track meet of the season.  Since our school hosted, I was one of the volunteers that gave out ribbons.  I love seeing all the smiling faces and the foot races.  You get all shapes and sizes competing.  This was the first year that we didn't have anyone running in jeans.  Every team seemed to have team T-shirts and good shoes. The past two years we've seen a lot of neon colors - socks, shoes, shorts and shirts.

This kid in my class is an amazing runner.  He runs the mile and usually laps most of the competition.  He loves running and without even breathing hard he runs a 5:30 mile.  I'm excited to see him break the record at the city meet.

The track program is so fun for the kids, and big things can happen.  I get updates on one of my Jefferson kids that ran track.  He was an average student, but a little lazy.  He just signed a letter of intent to go to Purdue University.  He doesn't run anymore - just jumps, long jump and triple jump.  He could be my first Olympian.

Today we sent home report cards and I had two students crying when they saw their grades.  Hmmmm?  Maybe they should put more effort into their work.  My class is not that hard!

Moving In

A new student joined my class today, from Alaska.  I thought he'd be a little timid, but when I asked him to tell us little about himself, he came to the front of the room and proceeded to talk for 15 minutes, then answered questions.  We learned all about the geography of Juneau, the glacier, the islands close by, bear hunting, and wolves.  There aren't any moose in Juneau.  He also played on his middle school's championship football team, but they only played three games, because they couldn't find any other teams close by.  His name is DeVaun, which is French.  He has two sisters at our school.  I talked to one of the other teachers and apparently the sister in fourth grade couldn't quit talking all morning.  These kids are just happy to be in a big city where they have plenty of people to talk to.  

Taste Test Tuesday

I've been trying to come up with ways to keep my sixth graders engaged until the end of the year.  We have a good routine going, but it gets kind of routine.  We'll be studying Greek and Roman mythology just for fun and they typically like that.  But I read something in the newspaper about a daycare that had Taste Test Tuesday where they tried different kinds of food and then wrote about it in a journal.  Food is engaging, so I stole that idea.  

We had our first one today which focused on fruit.  I showed them the fruit and some of them couldn't identify the pears!  We had red pears that they thought were apples, and bosc pears that they thought looked moldy.  We also had papaya, mango, and star fruit.  They loved it!  All but one participated and tried everything.  The star fruit and the ugly bosc pears were the big winners, and the papaya was the loser, but it was devoured along with the rest and they thought the seeds were cool - like fish eggs.  Of course a few boys tried the seeds.

We're going to try different flavored waters as an alternative to sodas, different vegetables and dressings beyond Ranch, quinoa, ethnic foods (Cinco de Mayo is on a Tuesday), and we have a parent bringing us snacks from Singapore.  We might try popcorn with different toppings.  I need to come up with some other ideas.  I'll ask for help from parents. One of them was telling me about bread sticks made out of cauliflower.  That's another idea - sneaky foods.  I'm sure we can come up with healthy and interesting things for the next eight weeks. Anything to keep them engaged!

Why I Like 6th Graders

Sixth graders make me laugh every day.  They're witty and clever and kind of dumb and pretty smart.  Here's a sampling:

First use of the restroom sign-out board.

Students earn Way to Go Wagons to put in a monthly drawing for prizes.  I had a counterfeiter in my class.

Who does this?  How do you do this?

Wait for it......

Done!  Who even thinks to try something like this?

Left over butcher paper from an art project.  I asked him to put it in the recycling bin.  He up-cycled it.

I really love my class this year.  I love spending my day with them.  I'm actually excited to see them tomorrow.  Spring Break was great, but I don't mind going back.  We have some fun things planned.

St. Patrick's Day

My principal is Irish with relatives still living in Ireland.  She goes a little crazy on St. Patrick's Day, and it's a lot of fun.  We start the day with Irish soda bread, clotted cream (like whipped cream) and jam.  Everyone, who's feeling lucky, puts their name in a pot of gold and a little leprechaun pulls names for prizes such as lottery tickets, green bead necklaces, and boxes of Lucky Charms.  We have a potluck lunch of Irish stew, corned beef, cabbage salads, more soda bread, and green frosted shamrock cookies.  Everyone's spirits were lifted. Green is my favorite color, and it was fun being Judy O'Swainy for the day. 

School Book Fair / Grandparents Day

This was the week that they turn our school library into a book store.  Kids shop during recesses and after school.  It's a big fund raiser where they earn $3000-$4000 for library books every year.  These are some of the books that were donated to our classroom by students or parents.  I'm so excited to get these read:

One Came Home- part mystery, part adventure, reads like an homage to True Grit.
A Long Walk to Water - dual stories, one in 2008 and one in 1985 in Sudan, based on a true story.

Inside Out & Back Again - based on the author's experiences, the story of a 10 year old girl leaving Saigon for America.
Navigating Early - How can Fred's daughter resist this cover? Reminiscent of Huck Finn, two boys set out for the Appalachian Trail on a quest for a great black bear.

I just started One Came Home and here's the first sentences: "So it comes to this, I remember thinking on Wednesday, June 7, 1871.  The date sticks in my mind because it was the day of my sister's first funeral, and I knew it wasn't her last - which is why I left."  I'm hooked already and will be reading all weekend.

Part of the great success of the book fair is the marketing plan.  This was also the week of kindergarten registration and all of the kids and their parents came through and bought. There was also a Bingo Night where you could escape the loud, hot gym and just browse through the book selection in the quiet library.  The best marketing ploy though is scheduling Grandparent's Day during the Book Fair.  Grandparents visit the child's classroom for 30 minutes of activities, bring lunches or eat school lunch, and then take their grandchild to the Book Fair.  For two and a half hours, they make bank!

I love having the grandparents visit our classroom.  I start a discussion and ask them to share some of their experiences in grade school, experiences in life, and wisdom they might want to share.  All the grandparents talk and share, and the students listen transfixed. There is always one or two that went to a small one or two room school, one who went to a strict Catholic school with nuns, and one that went to a big school in a big city.  This year, a grandparent had gone to school in Thailand.  Another grandparent had a band in high school and was the opening act to Paul Revere and the Raiders, at the fair in Portland. Grandparents talk about military service, travels, hobbies, and most of all, the importance of education as a means to a good life.  We had 27 grandparents visit this year.  Two came up from Roy, Utah, just to have lunch and go to the book fair one last time. It's a crazy day, but one of the best days.  

Kindergarten Registration

We had kindergarten registration yesterday in the gym and cafeteria.  Parents and almost kindergarteners come through and meet the teachers, the principal, check with the nurse, get a free book, visit the book fair, AND take a short assessment.  I always volunteer to help give assessments, because it's so sweet and sometimes funny to meet these little kids. Some of the girls come in Sunday dresses with their hair all fixed.  During the assessments, their parents have to wait at a table that has some reading materials, but none of them look at it.  They're all watching for clues to see how their child is doing.  They always do fine, but you can tell who's been getting ready.  They're suppose to know their letters, numbers, colors, shapes, and be able to write their name, trace a line, and color a square.  The hard questions are about rhyming words and a beginning sounds.  I showed one girl a picture of a mouse and emphasized the M sound - mmmmmouse - before asking her the beginning sound in mouse.  She said, "Eeek, Eeek!"  Pretty funny.  

Art Night

Here are the promised pictures from my school's art night:

Every class does a clay project.  This is my favorite.  I want one of these for an olive dish.

I liked these frames and the quote next to it.

1st grade work.

I thought these were cool.  The top is cut styrofoam, and the reflection is a print.

Loved these.  They had all kind of animals - giraffes, snakes, birds.

I don't know the name of the artist that they studied, but the 2nd graders put all kinds of things in the picture with themselves.  I liked the girl with Kermit the Frog, but I couldn't find the pic.

Fourth Grade

My class studied and artist that made skinny sculptures.  Ours were made with wire and duct tape.

I should have learned the names of these artist.  These were self-portraits, but the artist we copied drew long necks and distorted features.

My art mom brought in an old typewriter and sewing machine.  The kids had to draw these with one continuous line.  I'd like to frame these for an office or sewing room.

I'd like to frame these too.