We had our poetry test on Thursday, and I was so proud of how hard students worked on this assessment. The test itself was only six questions, and those questions centered around a poem titled "Hear Me" that wrote about the ocean from the ocean's perspective. Students had to read and make sense of the poem, and then answer corresponding multiple choice questions. They then had to plan and write a text-based essay around the poet's message. Since the beginning of the year, I've noticed a real growth in stamina during independent work time, and honestly the poetry unit in general has brought out increasingly positive work habits in most kids. On Monday, we'll be going over the poem and questions, and students will be given the opportunity to revise their written responses.

Prior to our test, we had a special guest: our wonderful vice principal Mr. Marshall. He was gracious enough to come in and read us a few of his original poems, one of them centered around confidence and perseverance. Mr. Marshall has been regularly writing poetry since elementary school, and it's been a yearly tradition for him to come in during our poetry unit to share a little about his "poetry journey" and why he enjoys the genre so much. We're so fortunate to have such a respected adult figure come in and model a passion for poetry, and I love that so many students have been writing their own poetry. I'm looking forward to our trip to the Longfellow House this week, where we'll spend even more time celebrating this unique genre.

Our Bucket Fillers this week were Chris and Quinn. Despite being out sick mid-week, Chris came in on Thursday and put his all into that poetry test. His effort, focus, and independence solidified how far he's come this fourth grade school year...and it's only the beginning of the 3rd quarter! Speaking of growth, I pulled Quinn aside this week to look back at his writing from the beginning of the year in comparison to his writing now. It's clear as day that all of the hard work he's been putting in is paying off, as it's like the Quick Writes from September and the ones from now were written by two different people! He's been doing a lot of extra writing at home, which has undoubtedly contributed to that improvement. I get to have lunch with both boys over the next few days, and I'm really looking forward to it.