I cannot believe this year is over!!!  I woke up this morning and thought, "Is it REALLY the last day of school?"  It still doesn't feel real!

We have had a really exciting end of our year.  Here are some of the highlights:

Congratulations to Colt and his family for the birth of his new baby sister, Liberty!  She is a doll!

Congratulations to Amariona for making her AR goal last week and also to Tiara for making her AR challenge goal!  I'm so proud of all of our Super Readers!  

Thank you Kross for bringing in doughnuts last week.  They were delicious!

Happy Birthday to  Michael whose birthday was last week and Daylin whose birthday we celebrated today!  Also, Tyrie's birthday is Friday!  Thank you to Tyrie and Daylin for the yummy birthday treats!

Happy birthday to all of our summer birthdays:
Angelo, Landon, and Autumn

Wednesday was our all day Read In.  It was a fabulous day of reading fun!  We had some special visitors and guest readers, three of whom were Mr. Wells (Mrs. Wells' husband and former Whiteside student), Mr. Rakers, and Mr. Karstens (former assistant principal--current BTHSE principal).

Mayfest and Carnival were really fun even though we had to have it inside due to the weather.  Thank you to Mrs. Brush and all of the specials teachers for all of their hard work in making the Mayfest a success!

Our Good News Party and End of the Year party were also a great time!  Thank you to all of the parents who helped with the End of the Year party.  A big thank you goes out to Mrs. Jensen for organizing all of our classroom parties this year.  We wouldn't have had nearly as much fun if you hadn't been in charge!  THANK YOU for your time!

An even that our students really enjoyed was our JRFH assembly and the kick off for next year's character theme, "Character Rocks!"  It's safe to say our teachers really enjoyed it, too!  A group of us even learned a special dance to perform the day of the assembly.  I've heard many of you have already seen it on Facebook or YouTube.  I'm glad I put in so many practice hours so I didn't look like a total fool on social media!  ha ha

The summer packets that I sent home last week are for your children to complete over the summer to keep their skills fresh.  Please make an effort to listen to your child read for at least 20 minutes a day.  I know it's a big commitment. (I even struggle with doing it with my own children.)  However, it really will make a HUGE difference in their growth as a reader and their starting success as a second grader!  (SECOND GRADER??  Can you BELIEVE  it??)

Thank you to all of you for your kind words, cards, and end of the year gifts.  You have made me feel so appreciated and my heart is so full of love for your children.  Thank you for allowing me into your lives.  We will forever be bonded by this 2015-16 first grade school year.  I walk away from this year with many new friends who I will remember forever!    

I hope that you all have a safe, happy, relaxing, and exciting summer!  High Fives and Hugs!  :)