Last Day of School!

Today the boys finished first and second grade! They attended ACS for the past 3 years, and leaving the school will be bitter sweet. The boys have had wonderful teachers, made many friends, and have learned and developed so much. We are very appreciative of the education and support the school has provided them the past few years, and we now they will have fond memories of their time here. It has been an interesting year, especially the last 10 weeks of online learning due to Coronavirus, and we could not be more proud of Caleb and Benjamin for all of their hard work, perseverance, and great attitudes this year.

Benjamin finished first grade in Mrs. Sweiss's class, and she was a perfect teacher for him. She was very attentive to him as an individual and encouraged him every day. Benjamin learned and grew a lot in her class. She said he was always looking for ways to be a helper, excelled at math, and we especially loved how she encouraged him with confident reading.

The last day of school was different, but a very sweet day. During their morning meeting today, Mrs. Sweiss streamed presentations that the class made for the 3 departing students, sharing memories of their friends. Afterwards, each student had a chance to share with the class. It was sentimental, and I had tears in my eyes sitting by him watching. A lot of his class mates shared memories of playing 4 square with Benjamin (and winning when they were on his team - he loves 4 square :), trading Pokemon cards, and Benjamin being a good friend to others. It is bitter sweet to say goodbye, but with the way things go for us, we have no doubt he will see some of his friends from ACS again one day!

Caleb finished 2nd grade in Mrs. Malhas class, and he had a great year. Mrs. Malhas fostered Caleb's imagination, and she encouraged him to explore his ideas. She said Caleb was one of the most active participators in class, and he always listened when she spoke. Caleb learned so much year, and he especially grew in his love for reading, and we have equally enjoyed watching him explore and learn new things through reading books.

There were 4 students leaving in Caleb's class this year, and during the last few morning meetings, each day they would share memories of one of the students. Nathan and I got to listen to Caleb's morning meeting, and we loved hearing what the other students and teachers said about Caleb. The most common things we heard people tell Caleb was they will miss his sense of humor and jokes, that he was a good friend to others in class, and he often asked people to play. Caleb made many new friends this year, and he was lucky to also have a couple of good friends from previous years in his class. He will miss 'his boys' as he calls them, but thanks to technology, which Caleb is very good at using, we know he will be able to keep in touch with them as they spread across the world.

We celebrated their accomplishments with dinner delivery from our favorite Chinese restaurant and cupcakes from the bakery.

The boys each got a new stuffed puppy. They REALLY want a german shepherd and a husky...we are NOT getting a dog, but they were very happy to get the stuffed ones!

We are thankful for the wonderful teachers, friends, and how much they have grown and developed at ACS these past 3 years. They say, once a Scorpion, always a Scorpion...

Second and third grade, here they come!