Happy Holidays

No matter what you believe, the music from England's King College Chapel is incredibly beautiful and worth listening to during the holiday season.  I leave you with this rendition of "Once in Royal David's City, from Christmas Eve, an annual tradition from my childhood listening on the radio.

And it turns out, my colleague posted it on his facebook page today as one of the top ten Christmas carols of all time.  Enjoy, have a restful and healthy and happy holiday, and see you in the new year, 2016!!

King's College Chapel Christmas Eve

                                         
                                                                 Greatest Gift of All
                                                           The Spirit of Christmas 2015

My Dear Companion

This week in music class we sang a song called "My Dear Companion".  We discussed the song's meaning at the beginning of the class, and then sang it together as a group, working on our sightreading skills and discussing the repeated patterns in the song.  The song is about someone who has gone away and does not return and the person who is singing is very sad that they are gone.  I used this as a way to have students write a letter to someone who they care about who has left, gone away, moved, died, or who they had a bad fight with.  I have some wonderful letters to share, including some pictures as well.  Thank you for reading my blog!! and Enjoy my students' great work!

Dear Lily,
I saw pictures of you on facebook. I can’t believe you were Clara in the nutcracker!(Okay, well maybe I can believe it.) Did you have to dance with the nutcracker? I miss going to your house and playing with our american girl dolls. I also really miss playing store.(Remember the money writing contest?) I wish you could visit more often. Maybe you could come this summer! So anyway, back to the nutcracker, what was it like to be the star of the show!?!?! Did you like being Clara? (Actually, don’t answer that. I already know.)How surprised were you when you found out that you were the Clara?!  I’m so happy and proud that I can say “my friend was clara in the nutcracker.” 

So… how’s life? I haven’t seen or heard from you in like FOREVER so I need to catch up. Anyway, time to talk about my nutcracker. It looks like it’s been a great nutcracker year for both of us! I was a party girl, angle, and the black sheep (the black sheep part got me my first solo!) It was really fun being a party girl because my dance teachers 3 year old daughter was my sister in the party scene. Too cute! I’m sooooooo sad the nutcracker is over though. I didn’t want to take off my costume! Me and another girl at my dance school were the oldest angels so we had to keep the younger ones behaved. Of Course, we didn’t do a good job of it. The other angels lost two head pieces and two candles so we had to go without. But since we were at the front, that just made us look like the leads😀. 

   Are you still into American Girl Dolls? Remember when hurricane sandy hit and we got to sleep over? Also, do you remember when the bus was late because of snow and we went sledding at your house? Or what about the summer you came to visit and we built that awesome fort? I wish we could do more together and visit each other more often.


Love,
   Maya Neel

P.S. we have a new family member ;) 
P.P.S. please wright back!

12/14/15

Dear Rowan,  

Ever since I saw you last trip I have missed a lot of things you taught me. One of them is teaching me how to do the rubik's cube. You have a lot of rubik's cubes. I have to say my favorite one is the 1X1 it is really “hard”. Also I have missed playing ghost in the graveyard where you count to twelve and then the grave keepers have to find the ghosts. Remember that time when we were playing ghost in the graveyard and I hid on the top of the basketball hoop so no one would tag me, and you hid in the bushes and no one could find you, that was fun. Another memory I miss is going on the roof of the garage. That was fun because when we did it we jumped to the neighbor's garage roof. Also there was the time when you taught me that game where there was the desert and the cards and  you could not get dehydrated or you would die. Remember that time when you came to Maine and we were at the beach and we were really bored so we built a sand castle and it was at least six feet tall. My favorite memory is when you came from springfield and it was the first time you saw the ocean and you were so happy. It was kind of funny. When you first saw it you were kind of scared and then you went in it and you loved it. My last memory is when you showed me all your rubik's cubes. You have the megaminx, the pyraminx, the egg, the mirror, the 1X1, the 2X2, the 3X3, and the 4X4. I still think it’s amazing how you can solve all of them except the pyramix. How do you remember the algorithms?

I thinks it’s kind of cool how are parents are best friends and we are too. I don’t know the next time we are going to visit Springfield but I hope it's soon. Also I heard that you guys might be moving to massachusetts. If you are where are you moving? If you do move please bring your rubik's cubes, they are fun. Also next time you visit bring the desert game, and teach me how to solve the megaminx rubik's cube. Lastly bring any games or toys, they are always really fun and exciting.

Sincerely,

Damon Whitcomb

P.S How's solving the pyraminx rubik's cube going?

The Gift of the Magi

In my creative drama class I had the idea to take the story "The Gift of the Magi" and read it aloud to my class.  We had an amazing discussion about this timeless story by O. Henry, and then we read it together as a reader's theater.  There are many words that are in that story that are not really 6th grade words, but we talked about those as well as other important subjects.  Most of these students are not familiar with the bible, so I explained the title to them..who was the "magi"?  They were the wise men who brought gifts to the infant Jesus.

What is the meaning of this story, I asked them.  Why are they, the two main characters in the story the "wisest of all"?  Many ideas came up from this discussion, and it was magical.  They are the wisest of all because they know that love is the greatest gift of all, so it doesn't matter that she cannot use the combs for her hair or he cannot use the watch chain for his pocket watch.  They are wise, because they know this and they practice this all the time. There are tiny subtle examples of their love throughout the story.  For example, how she greets him at the end of the day.  How they treat each other, no matter what.  How he says to her there is nothing that could make me love you less, no matter how short your hair was, or how you changed your looks.  It is one of my favorite stories of all time, and certainly one of the best stories ever written.

The most interesting comment that day was from a sixth grade boy who said, "It isn't really fair, how it works out.  Her hair will grow back, and eventually she will be able to wear the combs.  But he will never get his pocket watch back, so he won't be able to ever use the chain."  I explained to him that that is what makes them so wise.  They know that giving the gift is the greatest satisfaction anyone can have, and it has nothing to do with what is even or fair or equal.  Does it matter to him that he can't use the pocket watch but eventually she can use the combs when her hair grows back?  No, because, of course, he loves her so much that to him, the greatest gift is that she loves him so much that she would make such a sacrifice for him, and he loves her so much that he would sacrifice his only expensive possession for a gift for her.   When you love someone that much, you will make any sacrifice for that person, and you never need to have things be even or equal on both sides.  Love is infinite, and that is what this story tells us.  Let us remember this during this time where commercialism and stress seep into our everyday lives and confuse the most important message of the season.   LOVE!

                                        

On Turning Ten..and further

We discussed the Billy Collins' poem "On Turning Ten" last week in my creative drama class.  The students were inspired by this poem and understood very well what he was talking about.  Growing up is not easy to do, and it causes a lot of concern and anxiety and complex emotions.  Here is the poem that they wrote collaboratively after they discussed "On Turning Ten".

                                                                         CHILDHOOD

Full of happiness

At one.

Start to walk

At two.

At three

Joyous as can be

All the while

Innocent as a newborn

At four

Cute as can be

And then School.

Everything Changed.

Meet friends

on the bus.

Wrong Ones.

Blow to the face.

Broken nose,

Cower in fear.

At eight,

I escape

I lose my faith

At nine,

Stress Explosion.

End of elementary

Now you are

in the middle

So big I could

get lost

New friends

New teachers

Fresh start.

The end

Is my beginning.  

I was more than impressed..then we had poems from them individually, like these that I will now post. Enough said. Happy Thanksgiving and see you next week!!!

Bedtime

The time has come get the popcorn,

get the butter popcorn done

put the movie in

let's watch star wars

                what?

where's the drinks no one knows,

we found them too late bedtime.

        next night

get home from basketball practice too late to watch tv bedtime. Bed time is so frustrating thinking in my head on the bed. next day got home early I had time but home work came first 

The Ride

By Sylvain MacGovern

What happened?

One second

A five year old

Careless

Imaginative

Not a care in the world

Free

But then

The dreaded

Big yellow bus

Huge kids

I mean

Third graders

What is this nonsense?

I try to back out

But the bus doors

Have already shut

The bus driver is looking at me

Telling me to find a seat

I look at him

Then decide I have no choice

I sit

And look out the window

Watching my parents wave me goodbye

The bus

Turns a corner

And seals my fate

Twenty minutes

Of fretful waiting

For the time

To meet my teacher

Who knows if

She’ll be mean

Or skinny

Or old?

Then

The horrible

Squeaking

Of the doors

Opening

Letting me

Out of the bus

I leave

I see another door

Opening

Letting me

Into

The school

That I have been dreading

Fearing

What do I do

I take a deep breath

And step through

The

School

Doors.

  

   Track & Field      

By Colin Monsen                                                    

Started in 2010

still doing it in 2015

wasn’t as good in 2010

as I am now but made it

to States

made it to State the next

5 years sprinting around

the track waiting for the

gun to go off

high jumping over the

bar waiting anxiously

for my name to

be called jumping over

hurdles sprinting then

jumping into the

long jump pit

so many track meets

all the times I

had to go against older kids

in my events always push myself

to be better that worked out

pretty well speaking that I got

first or second

in all my events

high jump record

5 feet long jump

record 13 feet and

10 inches hurdle record

14.67 seconds all

my personal best

got first, second, and sixth

out of the whole State of Maine

the only thing slowing you

down is yourself

keep pushing yourself.  

I AM Poems

This week in Creative Drama class with a new group we created I Am poems.  I have explained to the kids that if you want to create a character, you need to know yourself really well.  I gave them my "I Am" poem as an example, and then we created an I Am poem for Batman, and then they created poems for themselves.  Here are the examples I would like to share with you..

I Am

I am a grandmother

I am a mother

I am a runner

I am a knitter

I am a classical singer

I am a piano player

I am a teacher

I am a sensitive person

I am thoughtful, wise, kind

I am a girlfriend

I am a daughter

I am a sister

I am a mother-in-law

I am a motherless woman

I am a stylish dresser

I am a lover of bright colors

I am bilingual

I am a hard worker

I am a thinker

I am a believer

I am a facilitator of music

I am helpless sometimes to change the world.

I am someone you can count on

I am flexible

I am a graduate of Smith College

I am a graduate of Northwestern University

I am a passionate reader

I am a choral singer

I am a soloist

I am an opera lover

I am a moviegoer

I am an aunt

I am a cousin

I am someone who does at least one thing

I am fair

I am an art appreciator

I am lover of naps

I am a pop music lover

I am a concert-goer

I am a friend

I am a confidante
I Am Susan Storey Frank
After I read this one out loud, we collaborated on this one about our favorite superhero, BATMAN!

I Am Batman

I am a stealthman

I am a man who calls himself “Batman”

I am Bruce Wayne.

I am an orphan.

I am depressed.

I am a man who eats villains for breakfast.

I am a member of the justice league.

I am a skilled fighter.

I am a superhero.

I am usually a loner.

I am a joker-hater.

I am strong.

I am a Bane Breaker.

I am mysterious.

I am courageous.

I am usually standing on top of Joker.

I am Batman.

I am Joker’s nemesis.

I am the boss of Robin.

I am kind.

I am good to my butler, most of the time.

I am a billionaire.

I am generous.

I am fighting for the good guys.

Here are now a few examples of the other ones that were created, after we worked on one together.

I Am Daniel

I am Daniel

I am a baseball lover

I am a homerun hitter

I am a good, smart, and talented person

I am a person who tries to help others

I am a worry freak

I am a dog and baby lover

I am a person who can’t believe how people can be so evil

I am a person who loves his family

I am a person who believes in God

I am a person who has had his feeling hurt and has been bullied

I am a person whose skin you don’t want to get under

I am a person whose nicknames are Dan and Danny

I am a person who almost always has a smile on his face

I am nice and kind to others

I am goofy

I am a baseball statistician

I am a big brother

I am a procrastinator

I am a food fanatic

I am a person who doesn’t like chores

I am a person who needs more sleep

I am a Minecraft lover

I am a person whose room is all sports

I am a person who has over seven binders of baseball cards

I am a person who couldn’t live without baseball

I am a HUGE Red Sox fan

I am a first baseman and catcher in baseball

I am a person who likes to swim in his pool

I am a lego lover

I am a Ted Williams fan

I am a person who has friends he can help out

I am a person who has been looking for a Little League title for 4 years

I am a baseball player who wants to make the best plays on the diamond

I am a baseball lover

I am Daniel Cammarota
 

I am
I am awesome
I am a gamer
I am a cat lover and dog lover
I am a nice guy (unless you get on my bad side
I am a kid with bad spelling
I am a goof ball
I am almost always happy
I am a helper
I am a movie watcher
I am a kid who likes to play games
I am a kid with curvy hand writing
I am a good drawer
I am always hugging my cat Indie
I am taking karate lessons.
I am a blue belt with a green stripe
I am smart
I am a swimmer
I am hungry
I can flip someone over with a hip roll
I am always thinking about others
I am a good friend.

I AM

I am a wrestler

I am an athlete

I am strong

I am a Patriots hater

I am a Broncos fan

I am flexible

I am quick on my feet

I am a fisherman

I am most like Colossus as a superhero

I am fast

I am mostly nice

I am a supporter of the U.S military

I am not a supporter of war

I am sometimes a gamer

I am a minecraft fan

I am humorous

I am a baseball fan

I am a supporter of Under Armour

I am a fan of TV

I am mostly German

I am quiet but yet, I’m loud

I am tall

I am not neat

I am sometimes responsible

I am big

I am friendly

I am a Yankees supporter

I have re2pect (Derek Jeter)

I am active

I am a middle schooler

I am a baseball player

I am a Mainer

I am a golfer

I am a musician

I am a God believer

I am a traveler

I am an eater

Have I told you lately how much I love my job!!!??? Have a great week!! Happy Thanksgiving!! More next week before the actual turkey day! Enjoy!!