This week’s #ocsbFridayFeeling is about the days that are long and warm, when the school year is nearly done, and something in the air feels like a held breath before a leap. Our students are not winding down. They are ready to fly.
This was most evident in a Kindergarten classroom, where students watched in wonder as butterflies emerged from their chrysalides, spreading their wings and slowly, bravely learning to take flight. It’s easy to see this as a metaphor for everything that has happened this year.
The end of the school year has a feeling all its own. Students harvested vegetables they planted themselves and shared a salad together, the sweetest kind of ending to the growing season. A splash pad brought pure, unfiltered joy to an afternoon. Students discovered the perfect recipe for a good day: sunshine and a sprinkler. A year-end camp trip gave Grade 6 students new experiences and memories to carry into whatever comes next.
A generous group of students spent this final stretch giving back. They raised $1,000 for School Box, a nonprofit that helps to break down educational barriers faced by Indigenous youth. Other students who raised funds for Jump Rope for Heart earned the most creative reward imaginable, serving as Principal for the day. We can only imagine what policies were enacted (extra recess, presumably).
Classroom learning did not slow down either. Fifth graders explored the four seasons through sketching and outdoor sensory experiences. Other students learned about the vital role of bees in our ecosystem and made bee hats to match. A STEM learning session connected science to sustainability, and an organic gardening workshop came full circle with a shared harvest.
The last weeks of a school year are not really an ending. They are a launch. Everything this year taught, built, grew, and gave is going with our students into the summer and beyond. We cannot wait to see where they land. 🦋🌱💧🚲✨
