The 2023-2024 school year has come to an end. This year had many highlights for upper students. New additions included JUNA, Robotics, STEM Lab, and Mr. Brendan. Upper students excelled in The Hunt for Milo Gato, The Lion King, The Living Wax Museum, the Art Show, and the Winter and Spring Concerts. The class went on field trips to The Birmingham Children’s Theater to see The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and Mr. Chickee’s Funny Money. Students also attended the Birmingham Squadron game and the annual trip to Camp McDowell. While this is not an exhaustive list of the experiences Upper students had this year, they made the most of each experience. Many class activities and projects outside the work cycle promoted curiosity and knowledge retention through hands-on learning and self-exploration.
Our days remained busy during our final few weeks in Upper Elementary. Mr. Joel (a former Upper parent) returned to our class after a STEAM DAY presentation on User Experience. He challenged students to find a design error in something and decide what they would do to improve the design. Students identified design errors and proposed thoughtful solutions to improve the design.
As the last day approached, academics wrapped up in Cultural, Geography, Science, Writing, and our work cycle. Students cleaned their cubbies and lockers and packed up their belongings to take home for the summer.
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Promotion Ceremony
We started a new tradition this year by organizing a promotion ceremony for our rising middle school students. The week before the ceremony, 6th-grade students wrote reflections on their time in Upper Elementary and shared fond memories. Some students gave speeches expressing heartfelt moments, friendships, feelings of acceptance, memories from Camp McDowell, and their favorite experiences with different educators. The speeches were well-written and thoughtful. Upper educators also addressed the group, highlighting what made their class unique to each educator.
Along with the new tradition of a promotion ceremony, rising middle school students were each given a Certificate of Superlative. Upper educators convened to determine the most fitting superlative for each student. In no particular order, the superlatives included:
Most likely to be a Primatologist. Most likely to do something amazing, and never tell anyone about it. Most likely to play the piano at Carnegie Hall. Most likely to run a wildlife refuge. Most likely to win a landmark Supreme Court case. Most likely to be the next real estate mogul. Most likely to design the first jet for Mars. Most likely to play in the Masters. Most likely to work on Broadway. Most likely to use their fame for positive change. Most likely to have a cartoon in the New York Times. Most likely to be a History professor. Most likely to have a piece displayed in an Art Museum. Most likely to be the next Sam Raimi. Most likely to read every book in the Library. Most likely to be the best sculptor (like no one ever was).
Field Day
This year’s Field Day theme was “The Olympics.” Students from Lower through Middle school enjoyed participating in mixed groups. Each group chose a country and created a flag to represent their team. The variety of water games was the highlight of Field Day. Thank you to all the volunteers and the PTO for providing the snow cones! A new tradition added to the end of Field Day was the Volleyball Team challenging the staff to a game. Despite the staff’s best efforts, the Bruno Volleyball Team’s youthful skills led them to victory. (Pictures on Facebook and Instagram).
American Heart Society Fundraiser
One of our Upper Elementary students raised the most money for the AHS fundraiser. Their prize was throwing a pie in Coach’s face. Thank you for all the donations to the AHS and to Coach for being a good sport for a good cause!