With the coming of May, so too came a whole host of
third-grade activities as well!
First was our MCA Reward Outing on May 1st, which included a
two-hour morning swim period at Vogel Arena in New Ulm. Everyone had a great
time sliding down the waterslide, playing Popsicle in the hot tub, fighting
over and/or floating on the pool tubes, or just splashing about with one
another! For lunch we headed over to Herman Heights Park with a school-provided
bag meal, with a lot of the students joining in a spirited game of football
afterwards. Then it was off to see the “Martin Luther King Junior” play at
Martin Luther College before finally heading home.
Wednesday, May 6th, marked Grandparents’ Day for
the whole school, with no shortage of third-grade grandmas and grandpas in
attendance. Students and their family members were divided into groups
beforehand and then assigned to three different group activities, ranging from
“Name That Tune”, Karaoke, a 70s TV Theme Show Sing Along, Picture Frame
Making, Card Games, Playing Parachute, Hula Hooping and Jump Roping in the gym,
an Ice Cream Sunday Social in the cafeteria, and/or partaking in Me Moves. The
latter a classroom exercise/stretching program used to help students focus and
de-stress. The whole event lasted
approximately ninety minutes, with over 370 grandparents attending for all
grades.
Following that was the first of three performances of the
school’s production of Disney’s “The Jungle Book Kids” on May 8th,
which all third-graders attended. There is absolutely no question that the
afternoon production was a SMASH hit with everyone! The play’s cast and crew
did a phenomenal job and was well represented by our very own students,
including the following third-grade cast members:
Mowgli—Zach R.
Kaa 1—Envy M.
Kaa 2—Lydia H.
Kaa 4—Kylyn W.
Kaa 5—Julia B.
Monkey 1 and Prickly Pears—Isaac L.
Elephant Troupe—Winsten N., Ellen W., and Austin U.
Flowers—Madison S.
Hopefully friends and family all had a chance to catch one
of the two shows that were open to the public that weekend!
After rain threatened to mar our original class picnic date,
third-grade students opted to head to Flandrau State Park on May 14th
instead where they then dined on roasted hot dogs and freshly assembled smores!
In addition to playing in the park, students and chaperones also went on a
hike, logging sightings of at least twenty-five turtles sitting on a log, two
deer, a whole slew of butterflies, and two different kinds of flowers that
apparently got an early start blooming this spring. There was also a rousing
game of kick ball, which was enjoyed by all as well!
Our annual class trip to Como Park Zoo and Conservatory this
year was also cut a little short due to the closing of Como Town as a result of
the cold, damp weather on Monday, May 18th; however, there was still
plenty of time for everyone to enjoy all of the open exhibits. In addition to
checking out some of the animals studied as part of our Alaskan Adaptations Unit,
including a pair of arctic foxes, several caribou/reindeer, a group of
penguins, two polar bears, lots of puffins, a seal, a small colony of sea
lions, and a pair of roaming wolves. Students also enjoyed a very special viewing
treat that included other baby animals--most notable was Baby Arlene, a Western
Lowland Gorilla born on February 22, 2015. Though cradled in her mother’s arms,
she was still quite visible while nestling there. Students were thrilled with
the sight and also enjoyed seeing the other babies that were also located in the
Primate Building, including the baby orangutan Kemala who was born January 7,
20015, and an equally adorable baby tamarin that sat atop its parent’s back and
sported an already well-established white “mustache” and curious peering eyes
that studied us with just as much intent as ours did studying it!
Following a bag lunch that was, again, provided by the
school, students then made their way over to Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall
of America in order to fill out the rest of the day and compensate for the
closure of the Como amusement ride portion of our trip. Once wristbands were
distributed, students spent another three hours whirling away on everything
that was offered before we headed home!
Thank you for a memorable and fantastic year Sleepy Eye
third-grade students and their families.
Good luck to all of you next year as fourth graders!
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