Last Week of School -Happy Summer!

Hi Families,
     Congratulations to your moving-on 5th grader! We had a lot of fun in our final days at Barrows. Here’s a look at what we were up to:

• Moving On Ceremony: Students did fantastic at our Moving On Ceremony. Special honors went to Erin and Tommy, as student council members, Anna and Ben, as poem readers, Catherine, Bia, and Madi, as song readers, and Cam, Quinn, Nevaeh, and Owen, as flower distributors. Thank you to all of the parents who put together the slideshow, created the program, and decorated for the ceremony.

 

• Flowers to Staff: Thank you families for purchasing beautiful bouquets of flowers for students to deliver to the 70+ staff members of Barrows. Everyone appreciated the gorgeous gift to brighten their classroom, office, or workspace.

 

• Yearbooks: Students loved reading and signing yearbooks. So many fun memories captured for students and families to remember fondly, especially many years from now. Thank you to all of the amazing parents on the yearbook committee who put it all together!

 

• 5th Grade Fun Day: What a beautiful day we ended up with. Warm and sunny with a cool breeze. Students had so much fun racing each other on the bouncy course, decorating their own trucker hats, playing yard games, and hanging out and having fun together. Thank you to all of the parents who donated their time to set up, supervise, and clean up all of the activities. 

 

• Paper Tower Contest: As a fun engineering challenge utilizing the number one resource at the end of the school year –paper in the recycling bin– we built paper towers. Students worked in trios, partnerships, or solo to build the tallest paper tower that could hold a can of beans for at least 1 minute using just old paper, 10 folders, a roll of Scotch tape, and a yard of masking tape. Students learned how to roll or fold paper to strengthen it, how to construct trusses, and how to structure a tower similar to the Eiffel Tower or Seattle Space Needle. Our winners held the beans 35 inches off the ground for well over a minute –Annabelle, Catherine, and Madi. Check out everyone’s clever designs in the pictures below.

 

• Word Spectrums: To squeeze in a little academics in the last days of school, students created word spectrums to explore new vocabulary words and practice looking up and comparing word definitions. Students sorted words along a spectrum of two extremes, such as frigid-scalding, miniscule-massive, and listless-energized. 

 

• Talent Show: What a spectacle! Barrows’ students have so much talent. We enjoyed amazing performances including dance, gymnastics, sports, jokes, music, and more. Congrats to Bia or a stellar dance performance. Bravo to Erin and Quinn for emceeing. Thanks to Kaden for leading the sound and lights. Thanks to all of the backstage helpers, including Luke, Owen, Anna, Tommy, and Katherine.

 

• 5th Grade Clap Out: 5th graders enjoyed the special honor of strolling the school to applause from all of the younger-grade students and teachers. I hope they all enjoyed the admiration and encouragement!

Pictures
  Below are a bunch of pictures from our last week of school, including our paper towers and 5th grade fun day. 

A Final Note
   Thank you so much for all of your support and generosity throughout the year! It’s been such a joy to watch each student grow, mature, and gain confidence as a learner. I truly treasure the relationships we’ve built, and I’ll deeply miss each child’s unique personality and spirit. Our days were filled with laughter, creativity, teamwork, curiosity, and enriching discussions. Whether we were diving into challenging academics or building our collaborative community during morning meetings, there was always something special happening in our classroom. This stage of growing up can definitely come with its challenges—especially with the onset of puberty and all the distractions from video games, social media, and the ever-enticing world of YouTube—but your children rose to the occasion. They showed up each day ready to learn, and their focus and effort were inspiring. Thank you for everything you’ve done to support your child’s learning this year. Education is truly a team effort between school and home, and I’m so grateful for your partnership. It has been an absolute honor to be your child’s 5th grade teacher.

   And now, it is with sadness that I share the news that I have resigned from my position at Barrows. While it is not what I had hoped or planned for, I am looking forward to spending more time with my family, especially my two young boys, who I know will grow up too quickly. Although I’ll miss the joy and energy of running a classroom, I’m excited to take a step back and focus on rebalancing my life and reconnecting with some of the passions that were put on hold during my teaching journey. I hope to stay connected to the Barrows community by substituting and getting involved with the PTO—it’s a special place, and I’d love to continue being a part of it in new ways. Teaching at Barrows over the past three years has been an incredible experience, and I’m deeply grateful for the support, kindness, and sense of community I’ve felt here. Thank you for being such a meaningful part of this chapter in my life.

For any future communication, you can reach me at [email protected].

Have a wonderful summer and send my best to your wonderful future middle-schooler! Thank you so much!

Meri Kimball