Tuesday 17 June 2014

The Story of Pelly

It is no secret that our class loves using social media. We have a blog, a Twitter account and an Instagram account. These spaces give us a way of communicating and building relationships with people from all over the world.

One of the teachers we have come to know through Twitter is Ms. Fynes. Her class is located in Mississauga Ontario.

A while ago I posted some photos of pelicans and learned that Ms. Fynes loves pelicans but has never seen one in real life. Our class learned that we have lots of pelicans in Manitoba and we sent Ms. Fynes some videos.

Her class then sent us a beautiful package of beach glass that Ms. Fynes collected from a beach close to her house. They also sent us some instructions for how to use the beach glass.


Right away we sent a tweet thanking the kids in Ms. Fynes class for the gift but we felt like we should also send something to them in return. One of the students suggested we send our friend Pelly. Pelly is a stuffed pelican that I had bought for the class only a couple days before. All of the students agreed that this would be a nice way of thanking them for their gift but they were also a little bit sad to lose Pelly.

A PicCollage that was made the day we got Pelly.
We decided to throw a going away party. On Wednesday last week we planned the party. The students helped to compose a list of all of the things we would need. Then they helped to prepare everything.



Creating a slideshow.


The next day many of the students brought cards that they had written at home (this melted my heart, of course). We spent time in the morning decorating the classroom. It really looked like a party!

In the afternoon we read our cards to Pelly. We also read books we thought Pelly would like and even had some Goldfish snacks in Pelly's honour. We watched a *slideshow that one of the students created using an iPad. Some of the students were so touched that they had tears in their eyes. We also had some cupcakes, because it wouldn't be a real party without cake!

*Mr. Miller visited and helped us to compose an original song to go with the photos. We all learned how to use Garage Band.


I was so touched by all of the thoughtful gestures the students made and their giving spirit. Friday was a day I will never forget.

Pelly has now been sent to our friends. We can't wait until they get their surprise!



You never know what will happen when you choose to follow your student's lead.




4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a great video kids. Pelly was sure loved by a great bunch of kids - Danica's Mom

Ms Couch said...

Dear Room 8:
This is such a beautiful story of how you gave up something you loved (PellY), so that other people could be as happy as you. Pelly will be well taken care of in Ms. Fynes's class. I wonder what adventures Pelly will have next in Mississauga. My aunt, uncle and cousins live there. So, I will ask them to watch for Pelly!
Ms. Couch

Essy's Mom said...

Room 8, You guys are so amazing and so sweet to give Pelly as a gift to the teacher in Ontario. I am very proud of all of you on showing kindness. Great job Mrs.Lowe!

Laurel Fynes said...

Mrs. Lowe and friends,

I am so touched by your generosity! I cried when I saw that you were willing to share something so beloved in your class. I'm happy to say that your package arrived today, but it was too late to share with the class so I'll open it with them tomorrow.

I was delighted to read about your connection to Mississauga, Ms. Couch! Are you on twitter too? My students love sharing their wonders and seeing what happens in other classes and other cities. I'm sure we'll take good care of our precious gift and that it will show up in our last week of school tweets.

I have to agree with the comment above, it is a beautiful video, and I would love to share it with my classes (AM & PM) after we open the package.

Ms. Fynes
Thornwood PS
Mississauga, ON