Saying Goodbye: End of Year Activities - Αποχαιρετώντας τους μαθητές της έκτης δημοτικού της Σχολής Χιλλ

Former Student Graffiti
Outside Our School:
Hill, here begins and ends
a fairytale. 

• Coming from a family of teachers, I thought that I had a pretty good idea of what  teachers do and how. Teachers wake up early, have long holidays, correct a lot, study a lot, prepare a lot, talk about their students often, some of them are obsessed with their job. No one told me that teachers also say goodbye.

• I work in a relatively small, family school, with a long history in education. We, teachers, know all the students by name even if they are not in our class. From Kindergarten to 6th Grade, we watch them play, learn, form friendships, develop skills and preferences, we know where they like to have lunch and which their favourite band is. We somehow take it for granted that these children are always going to be around. Children grow up fast, and unfortunately so do we, and one fine morning they simply... graduate.

• Saying goodbye to your students leaves a bittersweet aftertaste. You can't help feeling proud of them and what they have become, even a bit proud of yourself for helping a tiny bit, optimistic about their future and certain that whatever they choose in life is going to be the right choice. Graduation in our school is not just a ceremony. We have only a few weeks ahead of us before the school year ends. This year I have two classes graduating so that means I have to get busy!

Memory Boxes

It was while I was studying abroad that I bought my first Memory Box. It was a simple cardboard box, in which I kept memorabilia from my time in Scotland. I still have that box, full of photos, tickets, notes, though I haven't opened it in a very long time. But when I do open it, I know that whatever I have kept in there is going to take me back in time. This is why this year I have chosen to do Memory Boxes with one of my 6th grades.

Memory Boxes by 6th Grade,
Hill School  students.
Αναμνηστικά κουτιά από τους μαθητές
της 6ης Δημοτικού της Σχολής Χιλλ. 

Memory Boxes by 6th Grade,
Hill School  students.
Αναμνηστικά κουτιά από τους μαθητές
της 6ης Δημοτικού της Σχολής Χιλλ. 

I asked each child to bring a cheap, decorated shoe box in class with their name on it. In the box they have a simple notebook and a pen, so the children can write a few things in their classmates' notebooks. We also started adding photographs, letters, poems, and small keepsakes.

What kind of things can you add in a Memory Box? 
a. Photos
I asked the children to bring photos of when they first met.

b. Drawings
I asked them to draw a picture of how they think each of their classmates is going to look like in ten years time. 

 

c. Songs/Lyrics
Each child dedicates a song to each of their classmates. They write a few of the song lyrics in the notebook in the box. 

d. I will never forget the day that... The students complete the sentence. 

e. Acrostic Poems for their classmates' names.

f. Acrostic Poems for our School's name.

Αcrostic poem about Hill School by 6th grade student Kostis G.
Ποίημα με θέμα τη Σχολή Χιλλ από τον μαθητή της έκτης δημοτικού Κωστή Γ. 

g. Goodbye Cards with their names on, signed by their classmates.

h. Lucky charms or small items that remind them of each other.  
... and so much more! 

                                             

Coming up:

6th Grade Year Books 

Click here: 
End Of Year PowerPoints