Ludden’s Lighthouse

Dear Gattis Teachers,

Teacher Appreciation Week has come and gone, but we wanted to take this opportunity to do something that Gattis 5th graders have traditionally done every year.  Sorry that it is late in coming.  Please read and enjoy the following posts!  We had a lot of fun walking down memory lane.

Sincerely,

The 5th grade

Our last trip to the Court will be this Wednesday, May 20, and we will be entertaining residents with songs and fun.  If any of you want to join us, please come.  We will be leaving around 9:30 and will return around 11:15.  You would be amazed to see some of the skills our students developed connecting to the residents.

I am asking students to respond to this post online after the trip and give their impressions of the whole experience.  Look for some responses by Friday.

Last Wednesday’s trip to the Court retirement center was a big success!  We finished our World War II projects just in time to take them and display for the residents.  Many were thrilled to see all of the hard work that the kids had put into them as well as the photographs of themselves being interviewed.  Students wrote letters when we returned about their experience, and I was very moved by many of the things they wrote and what they learned.

We left our projects at the Court for the residents’ families to enjoy over the weekend, but they will be on display in our library after the Book Fair ends next week.   I encourage you to drop by and see them.  I know you will be as proud of the kids as I am.

We will have one more trip to the Court on May 20 to share some of the songs we have learned this year in social studies and to visit. 

Hope everyone is gearing up for this week by getting plenty of rest.  Some of us are recovering from the flu as well, and you are in my thoughts.  Just a few reminders for Tuesday. . .

1. Be on time.  We want to start testing by 8:15.

2.  Bring a snack and water bottle.  We do have class snacks, but that doesn’t mean you will like the chex/goldfish mix!

3. You have to order a cafeteria lunch or bring your own.  Parents cannot bring lunches in that day. 

4. Lastly, listen to Mrs. Ludden about your strategies.  She’s been doing this a long time and knows what works.  You really don’t want to have to live through this stressful day more than once if you can help it!

I will be routing for you all day long. 

Love

We had a wonderful first visit with the folks at the Court Retirement Center.  Students presented skits and poems, and then we realized that I had grossly underestimated how much time this would take.  We decided to leave early but found there was no bus yet!  So we went back in and sang a few of our favorites which was just as well received.  The kids did a wonderful job of presenting their skits and then visiting the residents.  Many of them worked very hard to do things like the skits or starting conversations that might normally make them uncomfortable.

Our next trip will take place towards the end of March, and we will be interviewing the residents about their involvement in World War II either as a vet or from the homefront.  New book groups start this week for novels set during this time period, and we will also have a series of lessons highlighting important events.  Ultimately, we will be working in teams to create displays that explain one topic of research and returning to share them with the residents.  We will extend an invitation to you as well to share a celebration with us at the end of our project.

On Wednesday, we will be going to the Court Retirement Center for a Valentine’s visit with the residents there.  We will be presenting skits, poems, and playing some Valentine bingo.  This is the first of 4 visits that we will be making there.  The next few will involve interviews of the residents, with a focus on World War II, and we have been building up our background knowledge of this fascinating time in history.  Our final visit will be a presentation and celebration of student projects about the era.

After this first visit we will be practicing interview skills, and we have wrangled my mother into coming up here to serve as “fresh meat” for us to practice on.  She is looking forward to sharing stories about life on the homefront.

We value any memorabilia your family may have as well as the resource of any family members that were alive during that time.  Please contact me if you would like to be involved in any way.  You are welcome to travel with us or contribute to our research.

I am in need of tape recorders that have a built-in microphone, so if you have one and will be willing to loan it, let me know.

Students have started a new project called “The Great Mail Race”.  Each one has been assigned a state and is busy writing a letter of introduction that describes what a 5th grader’s life is like here in Round Rock, Texas.  Soon we will mail  our letters along with a survey, one to a school in each of the 50 states.  Our hope is to get back as many as possible from all across the country.  Some of you have already sent in some stamps for us to use, but we need a total of 100.  You may feel led to send us a book of stamps, and that would be great, but if everyone brought two, we would be in good shape. 

Can’t wait to share with you all the interesting things we learn about other states!

A resolution is another word for a firm decision.  It is a tradition for many people to make a New Year’s resolution which is usually a decision to change something about their life, break a habit, or try something new.  Unfortunately most people don’t make it past February with their resolutions.  I’ve only been successful a few times, but every year I think about how I could improve myself.

This year my first resolution is to consistently use the Wii fit that Mr. Ludden gave me for Christmas.  (In case you’re wondering, it was MY idea, not his)  :)  And my second is to do a better job of sending birthday cards to friends and family BEFORE their birthdays.  This is a weakness of mine.

Write me a post and tell me what your resolution is.  I would also love to hear about your Christmas! My Christmas was the most peaceful and wonderful that I have had in a long time, and I am so thankful for my family.

Happy New Year!!!

Meet me at the Tinseltown in Pflugerville this Monday, December 29 for the 10:10 showing of Despereaux.  I will check the movie times again this weekend, but they usually change on Fridays so I think we’ll be okay.  Please post a comment here or email me letting me know that you will be coming so that I can reserve seats for you and any family members that are coming along.   I will be there early so we can all sit together.   If you have trouble getting there, call a classmate and see if you can hitch a ride!

I ‘ve been thinking about this Christmas and what presents to buy my own children. Then I started thinking about when I was a kid and the presents I received.  You know, most of those presents aren’t around anymore.  They either broke or were lost or simply given away when I outgrew them.  Only a few are still with me.  Take my guitar for instance - the one I play in the class.  That was a gift to me as a teenager that I have always cherished.

I would like to know what is the best gift you have ever received?  As a kid, mine was a special doll that my dad couldn’t get out of the box fast enough.  My parents have a picture of me sobbing as he tried to undo the box.  As an adult, I think my mother passing on my grandmother’s engagement ring ranks pretty high.  I used to sneak into her bedroom as a kid and try on that ring and imagine I was engaged. 

So respond to my post and tell me what the best gift is that you have ever gotten and why- and it doesn’t have to be a Christmas gift.