Congratulations Morgan, Daniel, & Ben Sprinkle on the adoption of their new son & brother, Boone! They are headed off to Thailand to pick him up and bring him home. He will be a student at MSCS next year, and we are all excited to meet him!

The Owls and Otters have been spending lots of time outdoors exploring the changing season. The children are very interested in the changes in plants, and the more plentiful flowers, butterflies, and song birds. The Owls have a birdwatching spot and "works" to learn about different types of birds. The Otters visited Pucker Up Berry Farm, run by Andrew, Eric, and Wendy Manner, and learned about composting and farming. May Day was very exciting while the students made flower baskets and had faces painted. The Kinders have spent time in the Acorn class to prepare for their transition next year. The students created a lovely Mother's Day Tea to celebrate their mothers. The students served the mothers tea and snacks, and then led the mothers on a nature walk where they saw several Pink Lady Slippers flowers.

The Acorns are over the moon after an energetic family camp out. The students and their families camped at REEB ranch and enjoyed hikes in Bracken Preserve and Dupont State Forest. In the classroom, the students finished the book, The Wheel on the School. They continue to enjoy Ms. Shannon as their reading assistant and reading volunteers, Ms. Linda and Ms. Abigail. They also have continued to meet with their reading buddies from TVS. The students are enjoying the springtime by learning about lichen and starting seeds for their garden. The Acorns are wrapping up lessons and finishing projects for the year.

Just before Spring Break, the Monarchs returned from their trip to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. They camped for 4 days and hiked through the old-growth forest. The students learned lessons on time management as they completed their science fair projects, due immediately after their campout and Spring Break. The Monarchs finished the 2015 Newberry Medal book, The Crossover, by Kwame Alexander. They were then able to hear the author speak at the Transylvania Library. The students are wrapping up their studies of air and weather patterns. They also visited the Green River Preserve and learned interesting things about mushrooms and all of the farm animals.

The Coyotes sold out their time slots for their Escape Room event. Customers were presented a backstory and then challenged to search the room for clues to make their escape. They pulled off a challenging and fun event. The class is wrapping up their studies of the Cold War Era and completing end of year projects. They have had several opportunities to work on their creative writing skills. They also read Kwame Alexander's book and heard him speak at the library. The students completed projects for the Democracy Project, an event featuring middle school students from around the county. The topic this year is "Speaking Out Responsibly."

Written by Jennifer Stewart