Final Post of the School Year...

Greetings Families of Room 10,

       I'd like to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for making our school year so amazing! I have enjoyed every single day with your children. I knew on that very first day of school, some ten months ago, that this would be a very special year. And I was right.

       Thank you for the thoughtful class photo book, but more importantly, for sharing 21 wonderful young ladies and gentlemen with me! I wish each of you a spectacular summer, and I look forward to hearing all about middle school. There will be an adjustment period, but you will find that the children will adjust very quickly. Soon, the unknown middle school will become their new home. (I know that's hard for you to believe right now. But trust me. It will happen!)

       The Moving-On Ceremony will take place on Tuesday evening at 7pm. When the children arrive, please send them to their homerooms, where we will line up for the processional. Hopefully, it will cool off a tad before that evening. We will rehearse for the ceremony on Tuesday morning! We have been practicing our musical selections for weeks, and the children are very excited to perform for you.

       We thoroughly enjoyed our luncheon on Thursday afternoon! It is always a pleasure to have you come in and visit with us. Special thanks to all of you who provided the watermelon and water bottles. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to Kelly Nace and Ellen O'Malley for all of their help this year. Your hard work has not gone unnoticed. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

       I am sharing several photos that I took at the science symposium and outside our classroom.  Enjoy!  Lester Betor and class

        

Nature's Classroom Day 2

Greetings from Camp Chimney Corners!

      Wow! What incredibly behaved group of students!!  Even the NC Teachers are thrilled and impressed by how kind, hardworking and respectful each of our students are. Last night, after our evening activity, QUEST, where the students worked on challenging and team building activities, we had a sing-a-long and roasted marshmallows for s'mores. At least half of the children volunteered to take showers last night, and the other half took showers this morning! We have a clean bunch!
      After breakfast of scrambled eggs, hash browns and muffins, the children set-out on a two hour field group hike. During that time, we also took a hike with lots of silly photos.  I will include some of the most recent photos I took.  You will note that my new and improved class photo includes Thomas!  YAY!  So glad he made it!       Take care, Lester B and class

We've Arrived!

Dear Parents of Room 10,

      Just a very quick update to the Blog to let you know we have arrived safely, moved into our cabins, had lunch and experienced our first Field Group!  The kids are LOVING every second of it! The weather is gorgeous and the black flies are not as bad as they could be. 

      I am attaching a class photo (sans Thomas, who will be joining us before dinner).  We plan to take many more photos to include the whole 5B class.  I will keep you updated along our journey.  Be well! Lester B. and class

Happy May the Forth Be With You Day & Happy Cinco DeMayo

Dear Parents of Room 10,

      Wow!  I can’t believe how quickly this year is flying by both personally and professionally. Your children have been an amazing class and 5B community, and I look forward to spending the remainder of the year with them. Today we marked another milestone. Not only is it May 4^th (May the Fourth be With You Day), but we also celebrated Cinco de Mayo. It was such a great day!  I am sharing some photos I took this morning!  In case you are wondering, the two Chewbaccas are Connor and Owen!

      Things are shaping up for our Nature’s Classroom visit, May 14-16. This is the first time we have ever had school the day after our return, so I suspect we will all be a tad tired on Thursday. Please expect us to arrive back to school at around 2pm Wednesday afteroon. You should either be here to pick up your child at that time, or you need to arrange for someone else to take them home.  Mrs. Bonacquist will keep you updated throughout the day on the 16^th about our exact arrival time. I have been asked by some folks about how to contact their child while we are away. Unless it is an emergency, you will not hear from me or your child by telephone during our trip. However, I will update the class blog with information and pictures.

….. Growing to Maturity (henceforth known as GTM) is scheduled for the end of May. I will be teaching the boys with Mr. Burns and Mrs. Ward, Mrs. O’Shea and Ms. Qualtere will work with the girls.  Details and an opportunity to view the materials we use will be coming soon!                                     Enjoy the weekend!  Lester B. and class

Cursive FUN!

Dear Students and Parents of Room 10,

      Last week was quite busy with NYS ELA testing.  During testing time, it can be very stressful for all of us.  With testing comes the promise of Spring and the attempts to get outside for a bit to relax and let the kids be kids.  I LOVED watching them play tag on Friday afternoon. They ran and played together, and I watched with amazement. Ah, to be 11 years old and carefree. Or better yet, to be 11  years old and be able to run all around the playground without breaking a sweat or huffing and puffing!

      Cursive has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. Several years ago, I was interviewed by a staff writer for the Times Union about the dying art of cursive. Although I wasn't crazy about the angle that the writer took in constructing this article, I appreciated the time given to the "Latin" of written communication. As you know, I have been working on cursive this year with your children. On Friday, we used shaving cream to practice all of the lower-case letters. This week, we will focus on upper-case letters. Whether you share my enthusiasm for cursive or view it as archaic, I have taken some really cute photos of the children using shaving cream to write their letters.  Unfortunately, Dylan and Harrison are missing from these photos.  Lester B. and class