Cathy and I don’t remember learning to write our names or when the jumbled up words on a page turned into stories. We wish that we could recall these memories of where our learning began but it has been far too long. What we do remember are the faces and voices of the teachers that we had. We can hear our kindergarten teachers' voices and see their smiles. We remember our first grade teachers and how old and fierce they seemed. My fifth grade teacher was 'cool' and wore corduroy pants. We have no doubt that the memories we do have from elementary school helped make us the teachers we are today. 
It is because of this that we often wonder what memories our students will take away from our learning spaces. Academics are important but we all know there’s more to it than that. We wonder if they will remember that we were at the door to greet them every morning, that they bickered to sit on our laps at the end of the day or that we encouraged them to be the best version of themselves and always try their best.
It is our hope that one day they will look back on kindergarten and remember us and the children who shared a small part of their lives. They may not remember that we taught them to read but it is our hope that they remember how we made them feel. Maybe one day they will find a class picture or a saved piece of work and, just for a minute, they will remember.
We would also like to thank you, the parents, for all of the support you have given ourselves and Team Awesome throughout the year. It is difficult to hand over the care and responsibility of your child to a complete stranger and we hope we have met all of your expectations. Thank you so much for trusting us with your babies. Kindergarten is just the beginning of Team Awesome's journey and we hope every year, for both them and you, is wonderful and exciting. Have an awesome summer and we will see you all in the fall!​

Today was the last of our whirlwind marathon of field tips this June and we hope you enjoyed them as much as Team Awesome did. We would like to give you a heartfelt 'Thank You' for coming and supporting the team. Without your help we would not be able to take field trips and we appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedules to join us. For those of you who weren't able to come, we hope you enjoyed the pictures and stories the children shared with you. So from Team Awesome- and us- THANK YOU!

This is the last Friday Housekeeping for the school year. Next Wednesday 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.

• Thank you for returning ​all library books!
• Thank you for all the help with our field trip to Centennial Park! It was such a great day! We hope to see you Monday at Isobel Lake. Info has been posted.
• All student materials will come home on Tuesday, June 28.
• Wednesday, June 29 is our last day of Kindergarten with a 12:30(ish) dismissal.  Please sent a snack and backpacks to carry our last minute items home. Look for report cards in packs. There will be an end of year assembly on that day beginning at 11:00.​
• There will be NO school lunch program the last week of June.​
• The TNRD runs a great reading program throughout the summer! The goal of SRC is to encourage a love of reading. Any reading done between June 28-August 21 can be counted as part of SRC.
  
• Register your child for Camp Read-A-Lot with Scholastic for the summer.​
• Don't forget the Bright Red Book Bus will be visiting school locations throughout the summer, July 4- Aug 19, to help facilitate your child's summer reading.
  
• We will get the last few photos and videos to you as soon as possible next week. Please don't forget to download any you would like to save to your computer.
• ​If your child will not be here Wednesday, June 29, make arrangements to pick up their report cards from the office by July 8. Report cards can not be picked up before Wednesday.
• The June newsletter for BEST can be found here.
• Scholastic flyers are available online monthly. June's is available here. Our class code is RC210022.
• June sight words are: day, has, made, off, saw, they, them, went. If a word comes up repeatedly in our studies we will sometimes add it to our words for the month. Please feel free to practice them at home.​​

Go forth and be Anxious/ Sad/ Excited/ Sad/ Relieved/ Sad/ Tired/ Sad for the end of Kindergarten!

​Research has shown that young students may experience a decline in their reading skills if they do not read over the summer. Access to high quality books helps ensure students continue reading. As a collaborative project with Literacy in Kamloops and Boys & Girls Club of Kamloops, the Bright Red Book Bus visits schools and local parks throughout the summer, providing children with free new books and encouraging reading for pleasure. Unfortunately, Bert Edwards School of Technology will not be hosting the BRBB this summer but it can be found at a number of other schools and parks in the district throughout the week during July and August.
Feel free to visit the Bright Red Book Bus' Facebook page by going to the link below.
https://www.facebook.com/brightredbookbus/

Our trip to Isobel Lake is on Monday, 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 we 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 As per our previous fieldtrips this year, parents will be required to drive their own vehicles. Thank you.