Many Thanks!

Dear Families,
Many, many thanks to all of you who showed thoughtfulness during Teacher Appreciation Week and throughout the year.  I have received handwritten notes (from students and parents), gift cards, plants, goodies, a Build-A-Bear that says "You're a great teacher!", and other thoughtful gifts.  I also receive all year long the support of families in other ways.  Communicating, supporting your child with their school work, volunteering in and out of the classroom, coming in for meetings, and demonstrating a positive attitude toward learning and growing are just some of the ways that families show their support for teachers.  I have been lucky enough to receive these gifts all year long; and for that, I am very grateful!

As the school year winds down to a close, we will be busy with end-of-year testing, finishing up projects, attending year-end activities, and so on.  Our less-structured schedule, combined with long days of baseball and other outdoor activities, combined with "Summer Vacation Fever" will lead to what some might call a "bit of craziness"!  I will cherish these next few weeks as the students and I enjoy all the benefits of participating in this living and changing system we call school.  Let's make our own sunshine and bring in our sunny best as we finish out the year!

Thanks again to all those who were able to participate in our field trip to Abbe Museum!  Below are a few photos of our day:

Making ash and sweet grass inspired bookmarks.
We learned just how tricky the craft of weaving is!

These flower-shaped bookmarks are actually the
first stages of basket making.  This would be how
the bottom of a basket is made.

George is sharing a traditional Wabanaki tale about
Gluskap (a character who often helps us learn a
lesson in Maine Native American stories).

Learning about birch bark canoes.

On a Scavenger Hunt through a variety of artifacts.

Raney shares with us some more traditional stories, using
artifacts to help support her story.  She also read to us a
picture book called Kunu's Basket, written by
Lee Francis, a member of the Penobscot Indian Nation,
and teacher at Indian Island School.

Raney shows us strips of ash that can be later used
for weaving ash baskets.