Fifth and Final Day at St. Joseph School

Well, it was my last day at SJS, and it was bittersweet. I enjoyed having such a good time with my pals, but I also felt sad about having to leave. I did lots of activities in various subjects, and I went to gym class with my 5B buddies, too!





The students picked me to be the "Personality of the Week", and they wrote positive comments about me on "apples" and hung them on the tree behind me.



The really exciting thing about today was that I was able to attend the DARE Graduation Program with my friends and six other fifth grade classes from the area. I was even given a DARE T-shirt to wear...just like my buddies!









My favorite part of my time at St. Joseph School was being passed from student to student in 5B. I enjoyed sitting with them, learning with them, and feeling their hugs. I will never forget them and how nice they were to me. I wish them all the best! Thank you, and auf wiedersehen!

Weekend with Morpheus

Hi Everyone, Morpheus here.

I am here again at SJS after a very busy and fun weekend. Here is what
I did with one of my new friends from 5B.

On Friday, I went to soccer practice with friends from kindergarten and
1A. They had great fun learning to play soccer, and I even learned how
to kick a soccer ball.





While my friends were playing soccer, I had a
chance to lift some weights and run the obstacle course outside.







Finally, I got to meet Coach Dennis who is from Ireland.

On Saturday, I went to the 1st Communion of some of my SJS friends who
are in second grade.



Then we went back home and had a great cookout
with hot dogs, hamburgers, macaroni salad, baked beans, and so much
more. Yummy!

On Sunday, I went on a nice nature hike with some Girl Scouts from SJS.
We saw lots of birds, squirrels, rabbits, and a babbling brook. Here I am with some girls from the 5B class who also happen to be Girl Scouts.




After the hike, even though I was very tired, I learned how to make a pet journal
and homemade doggie treats. On Sunday night, I got to relax and hang
out with the red-eared slider turtles at my friend's house.

Day Four at St. Joseph School

I had another fine day today. I learned more about the U.S. Constitution by reading and discussing the play, "Shh! We're Writing the Constitution". The students also received their parts for the play. It's too bad I won't be here for the play... I would like to have the part of James Madison or George Washington.

I took a reading selection test as well as a spelling test on contractions. The tests were pretty easy. I had a science test today, too. Some of it was easy, but some of it really made me have to think hard. I read some more from the book, Hoot, and I learned more about the sacrament of Holy Orders. I did my very best in math class. A class I really enjoyed was keyboarding. The students in 5B were working on comments to eventually publish to my blog here.

Oh... I almost forgot to mention that I played kick ball at recess. The first picture shows me helping one of the fifth grade girls kick the ball. The second picture shows me helping her run to first base. We made it! Safe!






I have just one more school day with 5B. Then I'm off to Florida!

One-Act Plays and a Classroom Visitor

Soon I was off to the gymnasium where I sat in the bleachers to watch three one-act plays performed by the drama club. The plays were really entertaining, and the actors were very talented. Two thumbs up! Here I am waiting for the show to begin.



I practiced some reading skills, math, and science. Then it was time for recess and lunch. Today was Hot Lunch Day. Hmmm...rigatoni or a hot dog?



I continued learning more about early American history in social studies and then enjoyed a visit from one of the parish priests who spoke about Holy Orders and studying in Uganda and Kenya. Here I am with Father and my friends in 5B.




At the end of the day, I sat in on a session at which many of the teachers were learning extra features to use with Easy Grade Pro. Here I am giving the teachers some tips.



Tomorrow is Dress Down Day. The fifth graders look forward to that two times a month!

Day Three at St. Joseph School

Today I visited a third grade classroom to see the recently-hatched chicks. They were still under the warmth of a light and were chirping happily.



After that, I went back to the 5B classroom and read another chapter of Hoot.

Happy Administrative Professionals Day!

After lunch I had language arts class. I am learning how to spell and use contractions correctly. I am also watching and listening to my new friends as they share their family history (making a family tree) and write about their grandparents and great grandparents.

I then went to art class. My 5th grade friends are very talented when it comes to art!

I also visited the school office to wish the secretaries a happy day. Here I am with one of the girls in 5B and her mother. She is proud that her mom works in the office!

This picture shows me with just some of our administrative professionals. They even showed me how to make an announcement over the public address system. Happy Day!

Salad and Dessert Day

I went to science class where I learned about plants. Next I worked on some reading skills such as comparing and contrasting. Another skill I practiced was gathering information from "Help Wanted" ads. I wonder if anyone could use help from a bog turtle?

I read a chapter from the book Hoot, and then I had Math class followed by religion class. I learned about deacons, priests, bishops, and the pope. Mrs. Earnest talked a little more about being in New York City at the Papal Mass on Sunday.

Then it was time for lunch! I was invited to a celebration for Administrative Professionals Day. I had a healthy salad and some dessert. Here I am trying to decide which dessert to choose!

Day Two at St. Joseph School

Today I learned about the Confederation Period in social studies. I learned about the need for a stronger central government and the events that led to the writing of the Constitution. I also watched a video called "Shh! We're Writing the Constitution" which is based on the book of the same name by Jean Fritz. I learned that in May my friends in fifth grade will be performing the musical based on this book.

Next I visited the library to check out books and to listen to a story read by the school librarian.

Get Out the Vote!

It was Primary Day in Pennsylvania, and so I went to the polls with 5B's teacher, Mrs. Earnest.



The people at the polling place were very nice and even let me "vote". Here I am ready to insert my vote card in the machine. I think the new voting machines with the touch screens are really cool! I received an "I voted" sticker when I was finished. Don't ask me who I voted for...it's a secret!

Art Show

Some of the students in 5B belong to an after-school art enrichment club. They held an art show after school today at which they displayed some of the prints they made. Here is one of 5B's students with the art teacher.



I really think these pieces of art are wonderful!

Music and the Beach

I had the chance to sing and also hear the beautiful voices of 5B during music class today. I also was able to sit in the "Beach Chair" for parts of the day. Since early February, the students have been taking daily turns sitting in that chair to help them think about the warmer days ahead.

Morpheus Arrives at St. Joseph School!

Hooray! I arrived at St. Joseph School in Mechanicsburg just in time for the school's "Grandparents Day"! Here I am with a few of the 5B students and their grandparents. It was really fun watching the grandparents and students learn together. We had math and religion classes. Then it was off to music class...

Goodbye to Bower Hill!

This morning I was on TV! Two boys from Mrs. Wardzinski's class gave a special report about me on their BeeTV. I felt famous! Then, back in the class, I played reading games on a laptop with one of the boys. Then, a speaker came in to teach us about the Mt. St. Helens eruption in 1980. I learned how 1,300 feet of the volcano disappeared! I also got to touch some of the ash and some of the rocks from Mt. St. Helens. She showed us pictures of the eruption. It was so cool! Then, we had reading stations with Miss Armstrong again. Today I went to the station called book club. We read an article about volcanoes. It was fun! After that, I read chapter 4 in Volcano Disaster. It is one of my favorite books! Today's chapter was really exciting because Warren accidentally transported himself to Mt. St. Helens right before it was going to erupt!

In Math I learned about how to change centimeters to meters. Then, I went to lunch. I thought the food looked delicious! I wish I could have more time at Bower Hill. At recess today I played basketball and tag. It was so much fun! When we got back to the room, the class brought out handheld computers! I learned how to write on them with grafitti and even played a game called giraffe to practice. The kids were all writing poems about me on the handhelds. Some of them were so funny! Then we went to music and I got to play a song to practice for the solar system play. Finally, at the end of the day, I played with all of the kids outside for an extra recess. Then, I had to say goodbye to Bower Hill since I need to be on my way to St. Joseph's School. I will miss my third grade friends, but I am excited for a new adventure!

Thursday at Bower Hill

These are some things I did today with the students in Mrs. Wardzinski's class. I helped them write their morning journals. Today we wrote about keeping our environment clean. At the morning meeting, I shared that I went with Mrs. Wardzinski yesterday to clean up Peterswood Park. It was fun! Then, we took our spelling test on words with -ing and -ed endings. After that, we wrote summaries for chapters 1-3 in Volcano Disaster. It was kind of hard for me, but I got the hang of it. Miss Armstrong came in for reading centers and taught me how to make different words with the same letters. I helped the class take the reading test for Volcano Disaster, and then we had snack! I had Whales (they're like goldfish) and they were yummy!

At gym class we played hockey, and the blue team won! I got to play goalie for a while and I even saved a shot. Then, I went to lunch and recess. I played tag and catch, and I got really hot! I got to cool down inside while we built sculptures out of recycled materials. My group built a dragon castle! Then, in math class, I helped answer questions about temperature on the Smart board. After that, we went to the computer lab and I learned about typing! I know where the home row is and how to use it. I couldn't type well since I don't have any fingers, but I tried really hard. I had a great day. One more day left here, and then I go to another school.

Wednesday at Bower Hill

I spent my day in Mrs.Wardzinki's class and I had a ball. I watched the class write letters to their 4th grade Bee Mail buddies, and we had a morning meeting. I also helped a kid turn on the computers and I learned to write spelling words in cursive. I also learned the measurements of capacity and we had reading centers. I also read a wonderful book called Volcano Disaster. We read chapter 3 today where Warren broke the Instant Commuter just as he was about to test it. I can't wait to read more in this book tomorrow!

In the afternoon I went to music class and I learned how to play Orff instruments. I had a lot of fun!!! Next we went to lunch and I had some Doritos [not really]. Then we went to recess where I went on the slide. It was so much fun! Then I watched a movie about volcanos with the class. I learned about the Mt. St Helens eruption in 1980. It caused a lot of damage, and some people got hurt. I enjoyed the movie! Finally, I packed up got ready to go home. I had so much fun today!!!

Morpheus Arrives in Peters Township!

Morpheus here! Today I arrived at Bower Hill Elementary School in Peters Township, which is south of Pittsburgh. It was great to stretch after a few days of travel, and the kids were so excited to see me! They've already given me a great bag to keep my stuff in and have promised to teach me many things. Mrs. Wardzinski's third grade class seems to be busy all the time! I've got to go now, but I promise to post more later!

Love,
Morpheus