Beach School

Dear Beach Parents and Community,

Can you believe there are only 7 more days of school before this school year will be over? This year will likely stand out in the memories of all of us, and it is a stage in our 5th graders’ education in particular, that they will surely remember forever. Our 5th grade teachers and other staff have been collaborating to plan special events for our 5th graders’ end of year and end of elementary school that we are excited to share with you.

Virtual Promotion Ceremony On Tuesday, June 9 at 5 pm, we will send out and post on our website, a video ceremony our staff is making for (and in collaboration with) our 5th grade students.  We hope our whole community (5th grade of course, but also everyone else!) can join us in viewing the video from home at 5 pm on Tuesday (in the spirit of being together).  We know some families will need to view it at a different time as schedules permit. On the last day of school (the next day) 5th grade teachers will then show the video in their classes so that students can watch together; any who weren’t able to view the night before, can see with their class. Following that, classes will have individual google classroom “parties” that all staff will be invited to drop into.  (All our classes will be holding special meetings this day.)

Final car parade and Clap-Out.  This coming week on June 3rd at 5pm (one week prior to the last day of school) we are hosting a parade to clap out and celebrate our 5th grade students! 5th grade parents are invited to bring their 5th grader to school beginning at 4:30; 5th grade students will be positioned 6 feet apart in an assigned (yet chosen) spot along either Humboldt or Denver, to be honored and celebrated as their last week of elementary school approaches. 

Here are the details. All are welcome to join in to celebrate our 5th graders and be together as a school community, according to the specified guidelines. 

5th graders and Beach staff will be the only people allowed outside of cars and will be positioned on the school side of the streets (all other people must stay in cars or be distanced across the street under family supervision). 

5th graders should be dropped off or arrive between 4:30-4:50pm. (Once dropped off students will stay on the x marked spot in their class’ section of the route until their adult picks them back up.)

Other people: 5th grade families and siblings, other students and families, friends, Beach staff and partners are invited to drive the route and cheer!  While it’s safest to be in cars, attendees on foot are responsible for their own social distancing and need to stand on Humboldt on the opposite side of the school. (Thin orange line)

Route starts at the corner of Concord and Humboldt going past the front of the school down Humboldt, turning left on Denver and heading around the block. (The pink arrows on the map)

Picking up your student - We ask that all 5th grade students who participate be permitted to stay standing in their spot until 5:30 (or when the parade is over). Parents can drive around a second time, picking up their student right at their individual location. 

Please keep in mind:  We have created these procedures that must be followed, and also ask you to come with awareness we are doing this for the first time and there could be challenges with timing, despite all our efforts to be precise and organized. We hope our route will prevent traffic jams and we simultaneously recognize there may be congestion and waiting. We want to ensure we celebrate every 5th grader and are putting together an alternate plan for those who can’t attend the parade.

Safety is priority.  5th grade students are expected to stay in their individual spots (marked with an X) until you pick them up.  We realize it will be challenging for students not to go up to each other; please help your student understand they must stay 6 feet apart from every adult and child other than their family.  Much as they will want to, they can’t hug anyone. It is hard to know who this will be hardest for… we’ll all be in it together though, and we’ll celebrate and have fun despite the challenge.

Parade route map 

A few other components of our 5th grade celebration to know about...

Farewell Heart Mosaic-Mandala ~ During 5th grade classroom meetings the idea of doing something together, completed by all 5th graders to serve as a tribute and farewell for the year emerged and is now in process. As a symbol of students belonging to Beach Elementary and to this community, Mr. Almazan drew a heart on the school blacktop composed of many pieces, with each piece representing one of our students. The goal is for each 5th grade student to come to school with their family to color a piece of the heart with chalk, then take a photo of their colored piece and a photo of the family that will be put together into a mandala and sent to 5th grade families. Teachers are coloring the piece for any student who can't get to school (those students are still sending a photo of their family. We have until tomorrow before the rain on Saturday! Here’s what the image looked like earlier this week.

Minecraft. 5th grade students have all been invited to participate in replicating Beach Elementary using the Minecraft Bedrock program! Minecraft is an open virtual space where participants must build their own world. In this world, participants have special powers and there are creatures very different from the real world that allow them to foster the creativity of the participants while developing another set of skills. However, the versatility of these virtual spaces allows them to replicate places and constructions from the real world, where avatars of people can visit the Louvre Museum, climb the Eiffel Tower or hold their graduation ceremony in an environment very similar to Beach Elementary!  Check out Mr. Almazan’s inspiration for creating this opportunity for our students via two videos, linked here for you.

Minecraft Virtual Graduation at UC Berkeley  https://youtu.be/-iYTZwJwiLo

Elementary students in Japan Hold Minecraft School Promotion https://youtu.be/k0_xRaFY628

Have a wonderful weekend, and hope to see you driving down Humboldt or Denver cheering for our 5th graders next Wednesday afternoon!

Warmly, Ms. Hawking, Ms. Piff, Mr. Almazan, and Ms. Macdonald