The End of Elementary School

Quinn has now finished 5th grade. In our area that means he will be entering middle school in September. It’s going to be a big change, and I think it’s safe to say that there is a bit of nerves and excitement all around. We got a dose of the increased workload the last few weeks of school. Quinn’s teacher had assigned what she termed a ‘year-long project’…although later on I heard it referred to as a ‘graduation project’. I think the reason for the name change is because not one student had been working on it all year long. They chose ideas back in October or November, but after that point we didn’t hear one word about it. I think this was a test of these 5th graders ability to prioritize work on their own. In that respect, I’d say the majority failed. I think at this age, there should have been a bit of reminding the parents to help with time management. If we knew they weren’t stressing it at school (or even if they were), we could have stressed it at home. In any event, around Memorial Day Quinn got really stressed because he hadn’t worked on it at all and it was due in early June. The deadline got extended so they had a bit more time, but it was a big effort to cram into 2 weeks. Quite honestly, he could have saved himself a lot of stress if he had just worked on it a bit at a time. So what was his project? He created a graphic novel of one chapter of his NaNoRiMo (National Novel Writing Month) novel, Sky 7. He drew all of the scenes himself, then used computer magic to color and make the frames. He asked for an extra day so that it could be bound. It ended up quite nice.

In the midst of this project, there was the 5th Grade Science Fair. So he had to juggle working on both – see, middle school time management lessons at their finest! His science project was called ‘The Great Basil Race’. He chose three varieties of basil to see which grew best in the same conditions. He used a grow light, and kept the basil under the light or outside to natural light the entire time. James helped him with his charts and graphs, and the project came together pretty easily. Unfortunately, he donated the basil to his teacher – and threw his poster board in the garbage promptly upon arriving home from school that day so I have no evidence of his hard work. Boys!

Needless to say, we were all happy when the end of school rolled around. The end of elementary school is marked with a ‘Moving Up’ ceremony. I like that they don’t call it graduation…that should be reserved for larger commencements. This was a nice, simple ceremony in the school gym with parents and the rest of the students in attendance, followed by a small reception in the library. Quinn downplayed it, saying we didn’t have to attend but I am glad I decided to…mostly because he received two awards. The first one was the Outstanding Band Student Award from his band teacher, Mr. Sorenson. This was a big honor, having been chosen from the entire band as the student who worked hardest all year to improve. He really has taken a liking to the saxophone and it shows. He practices on his own with no nagging, and he is always working to teach himself new songs and notes. Evidence is the talent show – and his Pink Panther performance. Second, he received the President’s Award for Educational Achievement. This is a national award with standards set for academics, community involvement, and/or extracurricular activities. He received a pin and certificate, and a trophy for the Band award.

We are very proud of his achievements this year, and of the young man he is becoming. I’m sure he will do well in middle school and beyond, and we will be there to help him along the way. As I’ve said, I’m beyond disbelief that my baby is entering middle school – but I have to face that fact, and try to enjoy every moment as we enter this new phase in his life. New adventures await, and I’m grateful to have him as my son and eager to see him progress in this next chapter!