Remembering Sandy Hook

As educators, we remember and honor our fallen colleagues and their students from Sandy Hook School.  We honor them each day in our classrooms in which we continue their dream of teaching our children.  We honor their memory with our service.  Join with teachers everywhere in committing random acts of kindness to show our love for Sandy Hook.

Five for Friday - March 29

Normally, I'm so excited link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday.  I'm not as excited today, because it means my amazing spring break is almost over.  Boo!

This has seriously been my most enjoyable spring break ever.  I have sooooo many pictures, but I'll try to limit them to the most important things we did.  I guess I'll have to save the other pictures for another post.

Our first stop was Waimea Falls.  It's such a gorgeous place!  There are so many really cool plants.  They have Hawaiian huts that you can explore and see how people used to live many years ago.  You can swim to the waterfall at the end (or if you're lucky a very fit lifeguard will give you a ride on his surfboard). 

We've been meaning to visit the USS Arizona Memorial since we arrived on island.  I'm so glad we took the time to visit the memorial.  If you visit Hawaii, I highly recommend going here.  You do need to get there very early though or make reservations through their website.  They only give so many tickets each day.  We were fortunate that a Park Ranger had 6 extra tickets and gave them to us for a tour right after we arrived.  Otherwise, we would have waited about 3 hours before we were able to go on the tour.

Before you take a ferry to see the memorial, you watch a 9-minute movie that does a great job explaining the events leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the damage that was done so quickly.  Can you imagine a whole battleship sinking in less than 10 minutes?

The USS Arizona is still leaking oil, despite it being over 70 years since it sunk.  Not only can you see the oil floating on the water, the smell was incredibly strong.

I was also surprised to learn that many of survivors of the USS Alabama have chosen to have their cremated remains placed back inside the USS Alabama with their fallen comrades.  What a tragic day on December 7, 1941, and those that gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country should be remembered.

We also did some hiking at one of the kids' favorite spots.  They love hiking up to the pillboxes in Lanikai.

We explored some new beaches at Bellows Air Force Base, which is right near where we live.  It's gorgeous there!  We're already planning a trip back for this weekend.

And finally, it's time for some spring cleaning!  Not only does my house need to be cleaned (you won't believe how much sand accumulates in here), my TpT wishlist needs to be cleaned out!  I'm having a sale on my entire store for Saturday and Sunday.  You can get 20% off the entire store.

I'll definitely be cleaning out my wish list, because there are some other great bloggers joining in on this sale!

Returning to school..

I know many of you are returning to school today and may face a lot of questions and concerns.  I also know that everyone will be going back to school and loving our students even more.  So many amazing teachers have created resources to help honor the victims and reassure their students.  Here are some of the ones I've seen.  Maybe someone can use them.

I Feel Safe booklet by Fun in First

Sandy Hook Memorial Project by The Primary Techie

A letter template to write to Sandy Hook.

There have been some great blog posts written by fellow teachers.

What do You Say at a Time Like This? by The Cornerstone for Teachers

There is No Lesson Plan for Teachers - You Know What to Do by Angela Maiers

Discussion on Back to School Preschool Concerns by Teach Preschool

How to Talk to Your Kids about School Shootings by Home Stories A to Z

Helping Students Through Tragedy  by Barbara Gruener, B.S., M.S. on Teaching Blog Addict

My heart still aches for the families at Sandy Hook.  I am also thinking about all of the teachers who will be heading back to school today.  I know there may be difficult questions and concerns coming from your little ones.  I hope that you are all able to comfort and reassure your students that school is a safe place for them.  

Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary

Tragic

My heart aches for those in Connecticut today.  I cannot begin to imagine the pain the families, friends, coworkers, loved ones, and students are feeling today.  My thoughts are with them all.