Greetings 5th grade moms, thank you so much for allowing
me the honor of sharing with you all my thoughts today. We are always talking about how special
and unique this past school year has been. But I know that this coming school year will be even more
so for you as rising 5th grade moms. Fifth grade is one of those ages and stages
when kids go through tremendous growth. And that word growth in this context,
also means change. It is a year of change. School now looks very different than
what they have been accustomed to, students are vested with many more
responsibilities and independence, in the course of one school year, 5th graders go through a metamorphosis, discovering aspects of their identity,
interests and talents they didn’t even know they had. It is a journey of
discovery and wonder, where the world is opening up to them. It is a new
journey we as teachers and parents have the honor of embarking alongside them
to witness and guide them through their experiences,
helping them decipher and make meaning out of the many things about the world
we live in of which they are becoming conscious for the first time. In many
ways, for us adults in their lives, 5th graders offer us an
opportunity to rediscover the world through new eyes.
I have a real soft spot for 5th grade moms. I was
very close to my own mom, and my 5th grade year was one of the most
incredible years of my life. I went to two different schools as a fifth grader
in two very different countries on two continents. I started 5th grade at St. John the Evangelist School in Silver Spring, Maryland in the Washington DC area, and finished fifth
grade at the Jesuit Ateneo de Manila Grade School in the capital of the Philippines, literally
on opposite sides of the world. On the way home to the Philippines that year,
our parents took our family through Europe where we visited our aunt in London, England and
toured Italy, stopping by the Vatican where we heard Mass and met Pope Paul VI.
(This is where I share my screen.)
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| This is me in the middle of 5th grade with my family traveling in Amalfi, Italy on our way home to the Philippines from Washington DC in 1974. I am the one that my mom is hugging. My brother is to my left... |
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| Our family had front pew seats at the Mass celebrated by Pope Paul VI in St. Peter's Basilica. I love this photo because the Pope and I are looking at each other straight in the eyes... |
So to me, I see 5th grade as quite an incredible journey of learning and discovery.
We as adults should be honored to be in our kids’ lives to help guide them through
their 5th grade school year.
"Life is not a journey, but a pilgrimage..."
- Kokoy Severino has been in a constant state of travel since he was four years old.
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| Photo by Dad. |
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