Announcements
Art Walk is Tonight from 5-7: Ms. Staci is inviting all Renaissance families to stop by and see our art filled hallways, featuring the art that your child has made in art class this year. There is a scavenger hunt, and it is very family friendly.
If you are unable to make it, you will be able to see your child's art from this year when you come for Student Led Conferences on May 31st, and then you will be able to take it home.
Student Led Conferences: If you have not gotten a chance, please sign up for a time slot for student led conferences. This is our time to celebrate your child's growth as a kindergartner. I hope to meet with every family! Ms. Lauren's Crew Conferences
School Newsletter: Check out all the updates and announcements in this week's school newsletter. School Newsletter Link. Camp Elim might be featured in this week's school news, so check it out! Thanks for staying updated!
Showcase of Learning: At Renaissance, all students participate in a Showcase Celebration during their 3rd grade year and 6th grade year. This is an opportunity for our students to share their learning with an audience outside of their parents or teacher. We need panelist to help celebrate our students. This is a unique and fun opportunity to see the learning at Renaissance. No prior experience necessary! We pair you with a more experienced panel member and you learn 'on the job'. Third grade parents/family may not serve on panels for third grade and sixth grade parents/family may not serve on panels for sixth grade. I had the privilege of teaching 3rd grade for 5 years, and this was my favorite event of the year. Please consider volunteering. You will not be disappointed! To hear how Renaissance students can speak clearly and passionately about their learning is truly inspiring and further validation of our incredible school. You will walk away beaming with pride about the learning that your lucky children get to experience in their upcoming years. :) Renaissance NEEDS more volunteers. Please help!
Sixth Grade Showcases are on May 25th from 1-4pm.
Birthday Celebrations: If your child has a May, June, or July birthday that has not been celebrated yet, then we need to set up a time to celebrate! In kindergarten, we celebrate by reading a book. It can be a parent, a sibling, or the teacher who reads a special story chosen by your child. Please note that we do not celebrate with food, treats, or passing out toys. We could do M/Tu/F at 3:35. Another option is 12:35 on Wednesdays. Let me know what works for you! Please email me to coordinate.
-Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities:
-Second Semester Rug Washing (Fridays)-Letter & Number Formation Volunteers (M, Tu, & Th 8:30-9)
-Reading Volunteers (M, Tu, Th, Fri 9:25-9:50)
-Teacher Helper Volunteers (at home projects- Friday; in-classroom helper Friday morning; and iPad helper Friday afternoon)
Calendar
May 19th: Day of Rest of Kindergarten- No School; 5-7pm Art Walk
May 26th: 8:30-9am Community Reading
May 29th: Memorial Day; No School
May 31st: Ms. Lauren's Crew Conferences
May 26th: 8:30-9am Last Community Reading
June 8th: Last Day of Kindergarten!
Crew Highlights
Welcome to Camp Elim.
We Are Crew!
Our 4th grade buddies gave us a special sendoff with a tunnel clap out!
Such a fun way to start our adventure!
When we arrived, chaperones helped unload all the gear.
I got pictures of all the students carrying their gear to their cabins.
Lunch under the Pavillion.
As predicted, the Camp Elim playground was a hit!
Everyone had big smiles!
In the afternoon, we did a 2 mile hike around Manitou Lake.
The weather was perfect, and Pike's Peak was stunning!
Check out the beaver dams in the foreground.
We got to learn about and see quite a few different birds, such as the pelican, red winged blackbird, and hummingbirds.
We were all thrilled to be outside, enjoying the glorious day.
It was very peaceful and serene.
A HUGE shoutout to our incredible chaperones!
They did an incredible job supporting our crew and making this a positive experience for everyone.
After our hike, we shared our personal highlights.
Once we were back at camp, we took a walking tour of the camp. A favorite moment was going inside the teepee and listening to stories about Native Americans.
Teambuilding!
Mr. Cody led teabuilding games such as the Intergrity Run and "Where's My Water Bottle?"
I got videos of both! Both were silly and involved a lot of running, but then they were connected to themes of intergrity, working as a team, listening to each other's ideas, learning from mistakes, trying again without getting discouraged, and supporting each other.
Yummy Dinner!
Camp Elim is known for its delicious food.
After dinner and playtime, we sat around the campfire.
Camp Elim staff did a few songs/skits, Ms. Bethany sang "The Green Grass Grows All Around," and our crew sang "The Button Factory."
THE ABSOLUTE FAVORITES were Mr. Cody's story about the Purple Gorilla
and and his song about Berfel Hunting. :)
Our evening ended with a Closing Circle and bedtime stories.
It was heart-warming to hear everyone's reflections of how the day went and celebrate our incredible crew of independent, flexible, and persevering kindergartners.
What a FANTASTIC FIRST DAY!
We had a successful night! Here are the cabin groups:
Time to pack up.
Just like we practiced, students stuffed their own sleeping bags! :)
We began our day with Morning Meeting. So many celebrations from overnight!
I was happy to hear that students were respectful of "Lights Out" time, they celebrated successfully sleeping away from Mom or Dad, and they felt good about their first overnight experience.
What a big deal!
Pancakes, sausage, scrambled egges, fruit, yogart with granola, and oatmeal were our breakfast options. YUM!
After breakfast, we headed over to the obstacle course. I tried to get actions shots of everyone who came my way! Ms. Martha and Ms. Denise were also photographers during this time, so I am hoping we got pictures of everyone. :)
Nice jump!
Next up was our forest hike. The weather could not have been any more perfect! Partly cloudy and just enough of a breeze to keep us from getting too hot.
Mr. Cody led our hike, and he pointed out different kinds of plants along the way. We hiked up and over a pretty steep hill.
Our destination was a valley of sandstone rocks.
Our crew loved exploring the area.
Thank you Ms. Martha for all your help on the voyage!
One of MY FAVORITE highlights was when we had solitude at the top of the hill. Sometimes our days and even our time in nature is filled with an urgent sense of busy-ness and go-go-go. It was nice to have a quiet time to sit and reflect, listening to the wind blow in the trees and take in the beauty surrounding us. This is a great tradition to continue on your family hikes at home.
Our crew was eager to share their writing and drawings from solo time. It filled me with joy to see their words that captured the moment perfectly. These came home in daypacks.
I didn't think to get a picture of the whole meal until after because we were all so hungry!
Luch was chicken sandwiches, salad, apples, and tater tots.
It began to thunderstorm, rain, and hail during our lunch time.
So afterward, we ended our time with indoor games and teambuilding.
This one is called "the human knot." Student untie themselves without letting go! It requires communication, teamwork, and patience!
It was a quick dash to the bus and cars.
I am so glad that the rain stayed away until the end!
Goodbye Camp Elim.
Thank you for a wonderful voyage!
Our day concluded with a POWERFUL debrief circle. I am so thankful for all of the chaperones participating and sharing their valuable insight and celebrations of our crew. We went around the circle and everyone shared something that they were feeling proud about. I must say that it is TRULY remarkable what our kindie crew just accomplished and the growth that we witnessed over the course of two days.
It is incredible how our adventure education program pushes students to overcome adversity, persevere, be flexible, set and achieve personal goals, be reflective, work together, lift each other up in kindness & support, and know the true meaning of
WE ARE CREW.
I cannot be more proud.
Well done crew!
One more huge shout out to our chaperones. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!
And thank you for all the pictures!
I hope everyone has enjoyed a well-deserved day of rest.
Check out and enjoy the hundreds (!!!) of pictures taken during our voyage.
More pictures will be added throughout the weekend, so check back for new additions on Monday.
See you Monday!
Your proud kindie teacher,
~Ms. Lauren
