St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital | Reflections on the Teche

Posts Tagged ‘St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’

Celebration Saturday: Walking for a Cause

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Gratitude, Teaching, Writing, tagged gifted education, poetry, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, student writing activity on November 23, 2013| 5 Comments »

Join in the fun of celebrating on Saturday, a blog round-up at Discover. Play. Build.

Beginning with Monday, this was a great week for poetry writing success. Using the field trip notes from last Friday, Monday’s quest was to complete and revise our poems and post them on the class kidblog. One of my newest students had success with this poem:

My dangling trumpet flower

is like a golden trumpet,

big yellow bell,

and a fluffy bridal gown.

My dangling trumpet flower

is a hummingbird’s favorite snack

with the most delicious flavor

of a big slice of cake.

And the student comment, “I like this poem very much. I like that you made it very specific and beautiful. I also like that you put similes and metaphors in your poem.” Both students are fourth graders who are just stretching out their writers’ wings.

On Wednesday, I used a new lesson I adapted from a conversation I had with Ava Haymon, Louisiana poet laureate. The structure of repetition worked well. I posted a few on my blog for Poetry Friday and got this email from their teacher, “I shared your blog with the sixth graders today. Jack and Ethan were beaming when they saw their poems. THANK YOU so much for giving them that feeling. The vice principal wants them to read the poems during the announcements next week.” Celebration, indeed!

Mayor Hilda Curry talks with our 6th grade students about their service project.

On Friday, three of my students and I led the school in a Walk for St. Jude. A teacher’s child lost her life to cancer last month, and the response to do something to honor Kamryn was amazing! Students could purchase a t-shirt, a button, and a color page of a star along with the donation for the walk. I’m not sure how much we raised in dollars yet, but we raised awareness and felt pride in giving back to St. Jude. Before the walk, the skies were dark and cloudy; however, just in time, our angel Kamryn swept the clouds away to show us the sun.

Kamryn’s best friend Amanda was interviewed by the newspaper.

The button and Kamryn’s picture on my t-shirt.

The official St. Jude Give Thanks Walk is today. You can still donate to support my walk on my page.

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Shining Stars for Kamryn

Posted in Slice of Life, Teaching, tagged fundraising, gifted education, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital on October 29, 2013| 11 Comments »

Join the Tuesday Slice of Life!

Kamryn

This is Kamryn. She was the ten-year-old daughter of a colleague of mine who lost her battle with cancer last week. In August of 2011, Kamryn was diagnosed with a inoperable brain stem tumor. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital gave her two years when she was only expected to live 6 months. St. Jude continues the commitment to cancer research and to providing excellent care for children at no cost. This is only possible through donations.

I did not have the opportunity to meet Kamryn. Her mother taught part time last year to be available to her daughter, and we spent lunch time together often. She was easy to talk to and seemed to be at peace with Kamryn’s condition. We connected because we both have 3 daughters. I came to love Kathleen and was so saddened to hear of her loss. No one should ever have to bury a child. I went by the funeral home after school. Kathleen greeted me warmly. The atmosphere was celebratory. Teachers had brought gifts for her other daughters, and many children were running around. It was as if Kamryn created an atmosphere of joy.

In November, St. Jude is holding a walkathon. I have joined Kamryn’s team. Please consider supporting this cause and donating through my page: St. Jude Give Thanks Walk.

I talked to my 5th and 6th grade students today about Kamryn. Nigel remembers her from his class in first grade. They were excited to plan a fundraiser at the school. We will hold a school walkathon. The kids had the idea to make a button to sell as well as a color page for donations. Nigel jumped over to the computer and started composing a letter. He wrote that we should honor Kamryn and support her parents in their loss. Even young students understand that we can turn grief and helplessness to action and helpfulness. I have a good feeling about this fundraiser. We’ve decided to be Shining Stars for Kamryn.

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