Sometimes, every once in a while, a class comes along that just gels. That are immediately friends. That care for each other and genuinely want what is best for their friends on a daily basis and puts the needs of their friends above their own. And I was lucky enough to experience that with my Team this year. They are a group of kind, caring, helpful individuals who went out of their way to keep our classroom a happy place for everyone, every day. As their teacher, it was amazing to see and I appreciated every minute of it more than you can know. It is my hope that as Team Awesome moves through their lives and continues their educational journey, they carry and share their empathy and kindness with a world that is often not either. 
And thank you, Parents, for trusting me with your most treasured and precious possessions. For letting me share in their childhood for just a tiny amount of time. For allowing me the privilege of being their second 'formal' teacher, as you are their first. For having faith that I would encourage, support, guide and lift them up just as you would. It is never lost on me how much of a gift this is. Thank you.
​Enjoy the summer with your awesome peeps and I look forward to seeing you all in September!

This is the last Friday Housekeeping for the school year. Next Thursday will be a blur of emotion and activity as parents and children burdened with shopping bags crammed with artwork, inside shoes and report cards make their way out into the summer heat after hugs and well-wishing for a good holiday. The calm afterward is reminiscent of Boxing Day after Christmas- unsettling, relieving and bittersweet. Another year in the books. And for your reading pleasure, this made me laugh. Sorry.

• All library books are due back ASAP.
• Last posts and pictures for the year should be up early the first week of July, if not sooner.
• Big Little Science Centre will join us outside for an afternoon of bubbles on Monday, June 25.
• Our all-day trip to Isobel Lake is June 26. Parent helpers are needed please, although if there are too many volunteers some of you may have to travel in your vehicles. See previous post for more info. Please check the weather and plan accordingly.
• Classroom things will come home on Wednesday, June 27 (except inside shoes), so expect those stuffed-full plastic grocery bags of things we've been using all year.
• Thursday, June 28 is our last day (!!!), with an assembly and 12:00ish dismissal. Please send a snack as well as a backpack and make sure you take all of your child's belongings home, including insi​de shoes.
• Don't forget to download your favourite pictures and videos from the year onto your computer from the Google photo albums. 
• The BEST newsletter can be found here.
• June sight words are: day, has, made, off, saw, they, them, went. Please feel free to practice them at home.

Go forth and Be Awesome our last week!

​​Our trip to Isobel Lake is on Tuesday, June 26! So here's the plan- although it is wobbly as out there in the forest we are not restricted to time constraints so things are fairly relaxed other than our departure time at the end of the day.
We will be leaving the school as soon as possible in the morning (8:45ish). Be sure to pack lots of lunch/snacks (they turn into voracious eaters on field trips), a water bottle, a sweater and a hat. The children will be expected to carry their own packs all day so make sure they are manageable. The weather is supposed to be warm but of course is unpredictable, so please dress your child appropriately. Apply sunscreen and bug repellent before leaving the house as the children have a tendency to share and over-apply, getting it into eyes/hair etc. The bus will drop us off at the top of the hill and we will either use the bathrooms (outhouses) at the top or the bottom of the hill... or both. Children will be divided up among the adults after we get off the bus and the groups will be encouraged to explore but to stay together. We will eat our snacks after a short walk and take our garbage with us. We will make our way around the lake, stopping and exploring and staying out of the water. It is not inconceivable that someone will 'accidently' fall/ slip into the water (it has happened before) so I will pack a change of clothes just in case. Partway around the lake we will stop to see what we can see in the lake from the shore and the pond kits will be brought out to use and later we will carefully go out onto the docks. Slightly further on we will stop in a large grassy area with covered picnic tables to eat our lunches and then slowly make our way back to the bus so we can leave by 2:00. Sometime during the day we will get a picture of all the Ks together. Sounds like a great day! Hope you can join us.

PS The document below states 'no preschoolers' but I'm OK with it so long as you keep a close eye on them as we will be near water. I am not responsible for children not in my class.