A Big Bite-Graduation Edition

For many years, I have attended Franklin High School Graduation.  I head to the cafeteria to see the Seniors, my former 4th graders, to take a picture with them and find out their plans for the future before they walk into the gymnasium.  Then, on Friday night, while they are enjoying the all night party, I post the pictures to the blog.  This has been one of the highlights of my career; getting to see my students, all grown up and heading out into the world to blaze new paths and make their mark.  This year, I decided to see if they would like to come to JFK to see me BEFORE graduation; visit their old classroom, collect their "I can't," letter (which I still had, of course!) and fill me in on their future plans.  I emailed as many of them as I could track down and asked them to create a slideshow for me to share, just like I would  any other year. This year's Senior class is one of the BEST!!! They were one of the NICEST groups of people I have ever had and I will NEVER FORGET THEM. To prove how wonderful they are, they will all be wearing maroon ribbons to honor the children and teachers who lost their lives to gun violence in Uvalde last week.  They understand humanity and our world will be better because of them, I just know it.

Five of them were able to come to JFK today and they were just as incredible as I remember them.  They are smart and kind and funny.  They even let my current fourth graders interview them for our classroom newspaper AND they gave them some life advice (see videos in the post below).  They GET IT!!!! They told the children to: stay happy, don't sweat the small stuff, ask for help when you need it, don't forget your friends, play outside, ride your bike, remember all of the good times and most importantly,  STAY TRUE TO YOU!!!!! Thank you Abhiram, Nathan, Cailyn, Madison and James; today was one of the best days of my teaching career ever and it was all because of you! 💓  Let me know if I have left out any of your "hardware," in the pictures below. 😎

Abhiram brought me flowers and chocolate!  As Vice President of the Senior Class he will make the welcome address at Graduation tonight. Abhriam wore all of his bling; National Honor Society, Top 5 % of the class, Spanish National Honor Society, Science Honor Society and Tri M Honor Society. He also had his Eagle Scout Pin.

Nathan wore all of his bling; National Honor Society, Top 5 % of the class, Spanish National Honor Society Tri M Honor Society and Decca.

Madison left her bling at home.  She has National Honor Society, Decca and Spanish National  Honor Society hardware.

Cailyn left her bling at home too.  She has National Honor Society, Decca, Empty Bowls and many pins for being a Captain and a record setting athlete as hardware for tonight.

James joined us a bit later.  James didn't have his bling with him but he is a member of the National Honor Society in addition to other honors. He played football for two years and lacrosse for 4 years.  I know he played one more sport and I think it was track and field.  I know he'll let me know. 😉

Some of my former students have stayed in Franklin but many have moved on.  These incredible JFK Ladybugs are going to do so many amazing things with their lives; there are going to be doctors, artists, engineers, business people, and scientists. Some of them are still deciding what they are going to do with their lives and that is OKAY!! It is difficult to know what you want to do EXACTLY with your life when you are 17 or 18.  They will figure it out, I know, because they are hard working, determined and special human beings.  Go forth Ladybugs, be happy, live in peace, stay safe, follow your dreams and make yourselves proud.  I'm already so very, very proud of you. 

Love,

Mrs. Williams

Last day of fourth grade-2014

Super job, Angie!

So proud of you, James!

Well done, Tyler!

Absolutely amazing, Abhiram!

Way to go, Cailyn!

Woohoo, Lindsey!

Simply wonderful, Madison!

Absolutely incredible, Erin!

Fantastic, Nathan!

A Big Bite-Advice from FHS Seniors 2022

 We were so BLESSED to be visited by Cailyn, Madison, Nathan, Abhiram and James today.  They are graduating from Franklin High School tonight and are former members of Room 23!  They offered some great advice to us about school, life, friendship and just being true to yourself.  Check it out!

A Big Bite!

 Ivan Day 2022!! Art work, debate, snacks and so many exciting learning opportunities.  Check it out!

 

2/4/22

More winter weather is upon us; par for the course here in New England! Who would have thought that we would have another snow day?!?! For those of you keeping track, the last day of school is now, Wednesday June 22, 2022 and it will be a half day for students. Monday June 20th will be a holiday for students and staff to celebrate Juneteenth.

 It has been another exciting week here at JFK.  We are working on multiplicative comparisons and measurement in math. We have been learning about the characteristics of a geographic region in the US, when states achieved statehood and how the country expanded westward.  We are wrapping up our final activities related to the book Saving Winslow in reader’s and writer’s workshop.  These activities relate to vocabulary, speaking and listening skills via a debate about farm animals living in town, and fiction writing.  We will start a new unit on mythology next week!

We did spend time learning about Chinese New Year this past week during Creative Arts Tuesday and we participated in World Read Aloud Day on Wednesday by reading picture books together and by listening to authors and celebrities read some of their favorite books. Dr. Ashley joined us as a mystery reader; the students were so excited to see her and to hear the story Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom by Angela Johnson.

Check out the pictures from the past few weeks!

I hope that you enjoyed the snow day.  Have a great weekend!

Mrs. A

Mrs. A's daughter demonstrating how to make snowflakes from a piece of square paper.

Juicy Nibble

It is BUSY in Room 23 so I don't always remember to take pictures but here are a few from this week. There was a beautiful sunset this week amidst the gray days.   Enjoy!

SCIENCE!!!!

Word work!  Adjectives to describe Dr. Connolly!

Book Talk

SCIENCE!!!

Staying safe and distanced.

A Big Bite

 

Last week the snowy weather was a sign of December and this week we have unseasonably warm weather, what could THAT be a sign of, do you think?  We are NOT complaining about the warmth, not one bit!  We love being able to get the children outside on such nice days.

In math, we continue to work on reading and writing numbers through 1,000,000 and working on concepts in place value.  In science we continue learning about our amazing planet and are focusing on earthquakes, volcanoes, weathering and erosion.

We continued to focus on text structures and text features in nonfiction works and are building stamina in independent reading.  We are connecting reading and writing by reading nonfiction books about dogs in order to research favorite breeds in order to create a persuasive essay on the best dog for our families.  Be aware that requests for a new dog may start coming your way soon!

During Creative Arts Tuesday (CAT) students are writing informational poems in any form.  In technology students continued working on their winter Rebus and practiced editing and revising in a conference with a partner. In project based learning, the students have participated in a digital escape room and now are working on saving Slide City from a landslide.  We are able to focus on many standards across the curriculum in an engaging way when it comes to Creative Arts Tuesday!

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks-ENJOY!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. A,