This past week was a short one but a fun one, because it was STEAM Week 2019! Ms. Tosches and the STEAM Week committee did an amazing job of organizing several engaging activities over the course of four days. We actually kicked things off on the Friday before Memorial Day Weekend with a whole-school assembly. We got to hear about what it means to be an entrepreneur from some inspiring speakers, and several brave student volunteers shared their thoughts (in front of a giant crowd!) about problems in our world that they would like to work towards and alleviate. On Tuesday, I introduced the kids to our social studies STEAM project. Students are working in groups to research a region of the United States and design an amusement park that represents that region. They then get to build a model of that design using all sorts of recycled materials. I love the creativity and teamwork I saw as they worked on this throughout the week, and I can't wait to see the final products come together! We also did a divergent thinking challenge this week that had students design and build a prototype out of limited materials, and we got to spend time outside for Field Day. But my favorite activity of the week came on Thursday. On Thursday, we got to make kindness rocks. Students painted rocks with sayings that promote kindness, gratitude, and positivity. They turned out really cool, and I had a blast making one myself.

Our Bucket Fillers this week were Basilia and Leanne. Basilia has a tendency to make me feel good. She is really thoughtful, like when she writes sweet little notes to me on her homework assignments and in her writing notebook. Stumbling upon them as I'm correcting and giving feedback always puts a smile on my face. I couldn't be more appreciative of her support, gratitude, and kindness towards me. Leanne made me so so so so so proud this week, and honestly, she's made me proud all year. That girl has grown an unbelievable amount this year, and it goes beyond academics. She is really coming into her own in terms of confidence, participation, and independence, and seeing her blossom has been an absolute joy this school year.