End of Summer School

The end is here! This summer went by fast, but it was a lot of fun. We had our Carnival day on Friday. Stations included: a story teller, the Book Fair, tye-dying t-shirts, arts and crafts, along with games. We had our talent show on Monday where we reenacted the battle on the pirate ship from Peter Pan. This summer was fun, but the work starts in September!

Strong Museum

Yesterday was our trip to the Strong Museum of Play! the students enjoyed the evolution of dance exhibit where they got to try out their different dance moves. They also enjoyed the history of video games where we were able to play several classic arcade games. After the museum we went to McDonald's for lunch. We even stopped for dessert at Bruester's Ice Cream Shop!

Generosity Store

The Generosity Store had its grand opening on Wednesday! The store sells woodworking products made by the adult staff at School of the Holy Childhood as well as pies from the bakery. The store will also be one of our community work sites starting in the fall. A few of the students from our class were invited to attend the ribbon cutting and some were asked to volunteer.

The store is located at the corner of Park Avenue and Goodman Street in the city of Rochester. They will have a booth at the Park Avenue Arts Festival this weekend so please stop by the booth and/or the store to see what it is all about!

Here are some pictures taken at the ceremony.

We Won Again!

On Friday July 29th, 2011 School of the Holy Childhood had its annual summer scavenger hunt "The Great Race." I am proud to let everyone know that this year Mr. Pincelli's class came in first place! Mr. Singer's class came in second, and Mrs. Boyle's class came in third. With this victory, Mr. Pincelli's class has now won two consecutive 1st place trophies: the candy sale being the first.

The odds seemed to be stacked against us, but the students worked together and were able to all make it to every station and participate in the group effort. Here is a picture of our two trophies in our room. The one on the left is from the candy sale and the one on the right is from the scavenger hunt.

Box of Happy Thoughts

Hi everyone! It has been a while, but I wanted to fill you in on what has been happening in our class. For this past Fun Friday we had a yoga class and a zumba class! The students got to relax with some yoga first thing in the morning and then dance their feet off with some zumba!

In Peter Pan all you need to fly is some fairy dust and happy thoughts. In the afternoon we discussed our own personal happy thoughts. We created our own Boxes of Happy Thoughts. On the outside is all of the things that make us happy in our lives. The inside will have our ultimate happy thought that would lift us into the air if we were in Neverland. Many of the students picked family and friends as what would help them defy gravity. I will post a picture of our boxes soon!

A Shel Silverstein Poem

 Here is a poem by Shel Silverstein I found in his collected book of poems Where the Sidewalk Ends. We will be reading it today in class and I hope it encourages an interest in poetry.

Captain Hook

Captain Hook must remember

Not to scratch his toes.

Captain Hook must watch out

And never pick his nose.

Captain Hook must be gentle

When he shakes your hand.

Captain Hook must be careful

Openin' sardine cans

And playing tag and pouring tea

And turnin' pages of his book.

Lots of folks I'm glad I ain't--

But mostly Captain Hook!

Shel Silverstein

Monroe County Fair

On Friday we went to the Monroe County Fair with Patrick Singer's class, Cicely Neri's class, and Beth Looby's class. The students enjoyed many rides such as the ferris wheel, swings, and the "orbiter." Three of our students played a ping pong toss game and all of them won twice! They won a goldfish for each time they landed a ping pong ball on top of a glass bottle.

Our first full week went great! We have just reached the point in Peter Pan where the Darling children leave the nursery. We have discussed the characterization of Peter, Wendy, and Captain Hook. We have also discussed how this is a fantasy because people cannot fly, a dog cannot be a nanny, and stars cannot speak. Everyone is enjoying the novel so far, especially because of the amazing pictures in our books!