Congratulations Dr. Clifford!

I found out last week that our very own Dr. Clifford was named Superintendent of the year (2013) for the state of Ohio.  

Checkout this link... 

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/local-education/clifford-named-ohio-superintendent-of-year/nTHsX/

Dr. Clifford is a very talented man that supports every aspect of our district, most of all our students.  From my experience he is a very modest man, and even when recognized as superintendent of the year he didn't want any attention.  When I found out about his award I wanted to talk with the students about it and consider writing a congratulations card as a class.  The kids, though, had other plans.  The children were extremely excited for him, and very proud.  When I asked "Do you think we should make in a card?" the students weren't happy with my suggestion.  They started yelling things like, "He needs to get a trophy!" or "He should get an BIG award."  There are so many things I love about teaching with the project based approach because I was able to put all my plans on hold for the week and then focus on awards and trophies.  I was surprised and excited that they were so thrilled for him.  We began researching different types of awards.  We came up with a list of; certificates, trophies, ribbons, metals, coins, and plaques.  We began to brainstorm how to make some of these items and I can't tell you how excited the students were.

First we made a trophy.  We made it out of cardboard.  

We then decorated the trophy with pasta, beans, and rice. 

 I then took the trophy home and spray painted it gold.  The beans, pasta, and rice gave the trophy a beautiful texture.  Stephanie wrote #1 Superintendent on the plaque.  

Then the students added beads and colored stones to the trophy. 

The students also made Dr. Clifford a certificate.  

Again, we used cardboard.  We used glue to stick aluminum foil to the cardboard. 

Autumn wrote "Congratulations Dr. Clifford".

The back says 

"Love Mrs. Atkin and Mrs. Garrabratnt's Friends"

Our friends also wanted to make Dr. Clifford a coin coin.

 

In addition to the trophy and coin, the students made an award.  As we did for all the words, we talked about what the ribbon should say.  We all decided on "You Are the Best Dr. Clifford."

The last thing we made for Dr. Clifford was a card.  The front says "Congratulations on all your hard work!"  The inside says "Love, Your friends in Room 115".  Each student signed their name. 

Makayli drew Dr. Clifford with a trophy in one hand and a ribbon in the other!

Finally it was time to share our work.  On Thursday I had a curriculum meeting with Dr. Clifford.  I told him that my students had some work they wanted to share with him.  He asked me to send him a text message when the students were ready.  This way, we knew exactly when we was arriving to our classroom.  When he walked into our room he was SOOO surprised.  Take a look!

The students all got up and spoke about what they were presenting to Dr. Clifford.  

 

Dr. Clifford was completely surprised.  He was very appreciative of his awards and had one last thing to tell the students.  He wanted the students to make sure that if it weren't for his amazing students in West Carrollton, he wouldn't be able to be named for being superintendent of the year. 

Finally, before he left with all his awards, we decided to get a group picture. 

Happy December and I hope everyone enjoyed the 60 degree weather!  Have an amazing week!

Mrs. Julie Atkin