Well, it finally came, our visit from our Crystal Bay pen pals. One of the students in our class explained that the class was maybe a bit rowdier than usual in French today, because everyone was so excited about our penpals visiting at 10 o'clock this morning. I don't know if that's the excuse for other days, but it sounded like a good description of how everyone was feeling this morning.
We started the day with a little rehearsal of what was going to happen, and of the three songs we were going to perform for our pals on ukuleles , and everything went smoothly. After French we did a short mini lesson in math, and then it was downstairs to prepare for our pals. A few students held the front doors, and lined the hallways, while the rest of us set up the gymnasium for our visit. Once they got everyone off the busses, we let them into the gymnasium, where introductions were made and students moved off into different groups around the room to chat, play games, and interact in a variety of ways. In our debriefing later on in the day, students from our class described feeling excited, nervous, uncomfortable, and really happy. The overall feeling was that it was really fun to try and communicate, and find common areas of interest with their penpals .
After a short while getting to know each other, penpals moved over to the snack table and got a quick snack, before the students from Churchhill then gathered to perform three songs on ukuleles and guitars. We had decided on our song choices Friday, and brushed up on the cords and words once Friday, and again this morning. The student students I was proud, and got the churc we had decided on our song choices Friday, and brushed up on the cords and words once Friday, and again this morning. The student students I was proud, and got the Crystal Bay visitors clapping and singing along with big smiles on their faces.
Students helped their Crystal Bay pals get back out to the bus, and we stood and waved as they drove off. After our debriefing in the classroom, we talked about an opportunity to visit Crystal Bay ourselves. On June 16, Crystal Bay is providing us with a bus to transport us to their school for a visit. We are going to bring some equipment from our school, and run an outdoor activity day for their students. They have approximately 90 students in the school, who will come out one class or two classes at a time to visit the outdoor activities that we will be setting up in their playground.
This is the second year that Churchhill students will have organized and run the fun day for Crystal Bay, and I am already confident that we will do a wonderful job with it. Today we created a list of activities we can set up, and the students have a real good idea of how that day will play out. Forms for this trip will be coming home in the next few days. We could really appreciate a couple volunteers to come along and help out . I believe we will leave Churchhill approximately 10 o'clock, and be back by about 130. Lunch will be provided by the Crystal bay cafeteria. It should prove to be another magical day with Churchhill students shining in their roles as leaders, learners, and friends.
Thank you to everyone in the room 211 Community for your support either coming out today to lend a hand, sending in snacks, or just your kind words. Everyone should be very proud of their children, and the way they showed empathy, and kindness today. It really was a magical experience for everyone, and the staff at Crystal Bay sent messages later in the day after reflecting on how amazed they were with the way our students handled the visit. They really did us all proud :-) 
No comments:
Post a Comment