Meet Mel Mac

This is my friend Melissa. She is new at VCS this year and brings with her a lot of enthusiasm, efficiency, and humor. I love it that she keeps me laughing! She works with elementary students as the elementary chaplain at school and is also great at substitute teaching and grading papers in her free moments. She is very talented and full of good ideas. She is also an avid blogger herself and has enjoyed giving me a lot of grief about not putting up a picture of her on my blog yet. So Mel Mac, this is for you!

Overnight Nanny Fun

These cute Dutch kids go to my school and church. Their parents asked me to stay with Rick, Anouk and Frank while they were out of town overnight. We had lots of fun flying a kite, watching Shrek 3 and baking American chocolate chip cookies together. Here the kids are playing in the sandbox (complete with water tray!) at the park.

Cultural Pluralism in Room 106

Our class recently completed our first Social Studies unit on culture. As we investigated our own cultures, the students created a biographical map that showed places they, their parents, and their grandparents have lived and visited. Their maps were color-coded and labeled with important family history information.

At the completion of our unit, we had a culture party. Students wore traditional clothing from their countries and brought traditional foods and games to share with the class. We also performed a skit about new immigrants arriving at Ellis Island in the early 1900s. Our parents, other teachers, and our principal were invited to join us for the party. It was an exciting time of celebrating the unique aspects of our cultures.

Lovin' the Library

This year's fifth grade class loves to read and loves to visit the library. Here they enjoy a story with our librarian, Mrs. Dax. She has made our school library such a fun and appealing place to go. We look forward to our library time every week.