4th grade MCAS is officially a thing of the past, as we finished the math MCAS on Thursday this week. Fortunately, the math testing tends to be a bit less time-consuming than ELA for most students, so the days were a tad less draining this time around. We even got to spend some extra time outside after everyone had finished, as well as gather together in one room to relax and read a large chunk of our current read aloud, The One and Only Ivan. On the non-MCAS days, we focused our energy on research for our video game debate. Students will also be writing a research-based five-paragraph essay in support of their claim for the debate.

Another activity we did this week centered around kindness. To be honest, I've noticed that recently kids haven't been so nice to each other. There is a lot of bickering and impatience with one another, in addition to some behind-the-back hurtful comments, which are never fun. Perhaps it's the time of year, or maybe it's MCAS-related stress, but it was evident we needed some sort of "kindness revival". We ended up doing an activity that my friend Miss Bougas (who used to teach 5th grade at the Kennedy) has done in the past with her students. It went like this: first we discussed the importance of compliments and what makes a "good" compliment. Then, students were given a clipboard with a marker and a piece of card stock paper with their name written in the middle. We sat in a circle, and we began the activity by passing our clipboard to the person to the left of us. They had to silently write a genuine compliment about the person whose name was in the middle of the paper. After about 30-45 seconds, we then passed the paper to the next person. We continued this process until we were reunited with our own name. This time though, our name was surrounded by an assortment of compliments written by our peers. Students found a spot in the room to read all the nice things said about them. No names were included, which I think makes the final result more authentic. I got to participate too, and I'll forever treasure mine. I included a photo of that end product (from one of the homerooms) to the right. The quote "Kindness Matters" is sprinkled all over the place in my classroom, and this motto is one that I hope we can all continue to remind ourselves during this last month of school. 

Our Bucket Fillers this week were Leila and Mihali. Leila is filled with enthusiasm. Whether that eagerness is about her baby sister (Charlotte), her love of sports (she's a soccer star and big Bruins fan), or her favorite TV show ("Stranger Things"...), her excitement is often contagious. She's also one of those students who can sit anywhere in the classroom. I don't have to worry about any complaints from her, nor do I have to be concerned about who she sits next to. She gets along with everyone! I was reminded of that quality this week when I was planning out a new seating arrangement. For my homeroom, Mihali is one of those students. When I pulled his name out of the Bucket Filler jar yesterday, I immediately responded with, "Wait, didn't you just win?" In reality, I shouldn't be surprised, as he is a frequent filler of my bucket. Thanks for being so awesome, Mihali, you will be greatly missed when you move on to 5th grade!