Students, staff celebrate last day at J.C. Parks Elementary
Sunny day, smiles, hugs brighten end of school year
A beautiful sunny day complemented with bubbles, bright smiles, warm hugs and impromptu happy dances to “Hit the Road Jack” set the mood for the last day of school at J.C. Parks Elementary School in Indian Head on June 15 as dozens of staff waited outside the front doors, eager to say goodbye to students who were overcome by relief and excitement for summer vacation.
“I think we’ve had a lot of successes,” said Principal Gregory Miller.
“It’s good to have a break, but I’ll miss the kids. The worst part is the fifth graders leaving. The last couple of days have been a little difficult. But what’s nice is that a lot of them go right behind us to Matthew Henson [Middle School] so we still have that familiarity with our students. They know that we’re always there for them.”
Now that the 2017-18 school year has come and gone, students like fifth grader Cristian Moore are reminiscing on the good times but looking forward to new beginnings.
“I’m happy because I get to take a break from school. I like school but sometimes it makes me tired,” 11-year-old Moore said. “I learned about ratios in math and strategies for [taking] tests and reading.”
Moore said he enjoyed taking field trips, one of which included a marshmallow roast with friends during a visit to Nanjemoy Creek in southern Charles County. He also had an opportunity to go swimming.
Over the summer break, Moore, an aspiring veterinarian, plans to stay low key and participate in a summer camp that involves working with animals.
“It’s pretty exciting for them to have a break,” school librarian/media specialist Dawn Murphy said. “It’s still hard to see them move on to the next grade. A whole year has gone by and they’re already that much older.”
“I’m kind of sad because I’m going to miss everyone,” said Aniya Yates, 8, a second grader. “But I’m excited to see who’s gonna be in my class and who my teacher is gonna be.”
Murphy, a Hughesville resident who has taught first, fourth and sixth graders, said she loves reading stories out loud to students. The best part about the library is that students have an opportunity to participate in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) “makerspaces” which fosters modern learning experiences through creativity, innovation and skill building.
“They make electricity, create their own designs, go on the internet and play different games and things like that,” Murphy said. “At the end of the year, we did a very special maker event where kids came in and we made shrinky dinks. We brought back the ’80s.”
As far as technology, Murphy said she is raising money to get more computers and new tablets in the library.
“In the library, you’re reading for fun. You’re just trying to get kids excited and get them interested, whether it’s reading an e-book online, or checking books out,” Murphy said. “Elementary school students love to check out books from the library. It’s kind of like going shopping for them.”
“In the classroom, reading can be very stressful for students because so many of them struggle,” Murphy added. “The way that we analyze texts in the classroom can be overwhelming, challenging or even scary which can suck the fun out of it. So, that’s why I love being in the library because now we can read for fun.”
When it comes to key initiatives that encourage students to act responsibly in all areas of school life, Miller said the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) incentives program has served well at J.C. Parks Elementary. Students will move on to the next grade with an understanding of what characters traits they need to succeed and the importance of positive reinforcement.
“Kids are starting to buy into our PBIS program and the character traits that we’ve been talking about all the time — modeling responsible and ready-to-learn behavior,” said Miller, who has been at the school for two years. “We’ve got a lot of wonderful students here, wonderful parents here and a wonderful community. We’ll have another vice principal with us [next year] which will help since we have a large student population. Just really a lot of nice things that we’ve done this year and will continue to build on. I’m looking forward to that.”