Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Florida-Ronald visited our school!

When I was a kid THE place to have your birthday party was at McDonald's.  It was exciting to see Ronald, the Hamburglar and of course Grimace!  WELL guess who made an appearance?  Ronald McDonald himself.  Yes, that is me with Ronald!  YIPPEEE :):)

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Florida made a visit to talk to the kids about reading and to stand up to bullies!  I have to say it was a FABULOUS show!  We laughed and even learned about optical illusions.  Ronald did a trick using a bullseye and his head grew bigger right before our eyes and then shrunk smaller.  The kids thought is was the coolest thing ever!  Ronald came with a very important message- stand up to bullies and make sure to watch out for those around you.  We need to teach children what to do and say when they encounter a bully so we can arm them with strategies to cope in our world.

Ronald suggested taking a picture of the kids' shoes.  came out cute!  Wonder which ones belong to Ronald?

We wrote thank you notes and I had to take pictures because they are the cutest thing ever!  Make sure to check them out.  The smallest thing to an adult means the most to one of my fisties!  Check out those drawings!

Thank you Ronald McDonald your lesson hit home with these kids!

2013- Last post for the year…heading into 2014…can't wait!

It is hard to believe that 2013 has come to an end and tomorrow will be 2014. Our school opened 6 years ago and it has been a tradition since then to have a school wide PJ day the last day before our winter vacation.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE pj day! Yes I do shower and then do my hair and makeup before going to school. Here are my firsties for a serious picture, OK not sure what Shaner is doing but the rest of us are serious right?!?

Then of course, we have to have a goofy face picture.  LOVE Emily and Reese, Rick & Shaner crossing those eyes!

 Speaking of Reese…Reese's family decides to order these cute snowballs and then gift  them to all the boys and girls.  She tells her mom it would be so much fun to have a snowball fight.  Reese's mom (a former teacher herself) tells her I am not sure Mrs. Wright would be ok with that.  Reese immediately informs her, "Don't worry mom.  Mrs. Wright is so fun and she won't mind."

 How can I disappoint?!? A SNOWBALL FIGHT…OF COURSE!!

 Their smiles and laughter sum up my year! I am so blessed to be surrounded by these firstie friends and I can't wait for 2014 and all that we will learn and share.  Thank you to all the families for being extra special people and sharing your most prized possession with me.  I promise to take the very BEST care of them!  I hope you are reading a book and playing outside a bunch.  Happy New Year Wright's Rippers!  See you in 2014!

Merry Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas!  We are out for vacation and I promise I am going to catch up on my blogging.  I could not let today pass without saying Merry Christmas.  I am so blessed with my hubby, my kids, family, friends, and a career I adore.  A few years back I started taking head shots while on our Marine Science Center field trip.  I print them in black & white and modge podge them on canvas frames.  They are amazing!  Since you can't see them take a look at these cutie pies.  What a great looking group of chickens.  Hope your Christmas was as relaxing as mine and see you soon.

Thanksgiving 2013

Happy turkey day! There are so many things to be thankful for it would take me hours to type.  I am so thankful for a career where I see the good in the world on a daily basis.  I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams with a fabulous husband, amazing kids, loving family and friends.  Thank you one and all.  Every year November's family project is to disguise the turkey so the hunter won't make him Thanksgiving dinner.  The creativity of the families is my favorite part.  This year tops last year so sit back and let these fabulous firsties explain how their families disguised the family turkey. Happy Thanksgiving!

Veteran's Day

When I was little and people called me an "Air Force brat", I thought what I am not a brat! Little did I know that I would take for granted what people in the military have done for us for so many years.  This morning my husband and I stopped at the Veterans Nursing Home after Crossfit to drop off some pictures from the students.  There were people getting ready for the annual cook out, lining the grass with flags, and getting ready for friends and family to visit.  I made the comment to my husband Tim, "It really is a shame we only celebrate Veterans like 2 days out of the year."

My dad served in the Air Force for 22 years and I LOVED growing up on Homestead Air Force Base. There were so many happy memories and it makes me tear up now thinking how precious life is every day and how thankful I am to live in America!  Well after a lifetime, my parents are moving up here to live in Port Orange.  I know it will be difficult because they built a lovely life in Homestead and left behind many loved ones from work, the neighborhood, and church.  However, they are moving here to see their grandchildren and me :) Seriously my brother lives like 4 miles from me and my parents are moving like half way from each of us. I am so excited!  I was able to take my favorite Veteran out to lunch at the Olive Garden today.  YIPPEE!! and it was so yummy.  Thank you Olive Garden and my dear sweet dad made sure to stop at the hostess station and thank them for a lovely lunch. What a thoughtful gesture and genuine role model for my son.

A big BONUS is that my firsties and I made some super cute American hats and waited out front to take a picture with my favorite Veteran.  Can't wait to say thank you more as the year goes on…Happy Veteran's Day to all the vets out there and thank you from the bottom of my heart for being our real heroes around here!
God Bless America!

Thank you daddy for everything!  I am who I am thanks to you and mom and the values you taught me! I love you more than I could ever tell you!

Pumpkin Patch 2013

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the fall weather… we are in Florida so we wait for this time of year and then there is the annual trip to the pumpkin patch.  It is so much fun and I just love lunch with the firsties and  picking pumpkins.  I can hardly wait to get all the pictures together.  Watch as our firsties and moms have fun at the pumpkin patch!

Family pumpkins 2013

Each year the students take home a pumpkin worksheet and using supplies laying around the house, they decorate it as a family pumpkin.  The project is to encourage family time and it is so much fun to hear what goes on during the creation of the family pumpkin.  I wanted you to get in on the action so I video taped the kids while they shared.  Aren't they the cutest firsties ever?!?  A BIG thank you to Ms. Aubrey for making pumpkin crispy treats so we could enjoy a snack while sharing.  It took me a while to put it all together but oh so worth it.  Sit back and watch as they share their family pumpkins.



Our county holds an annual food drive through our School Way Cafe-cafeteria :).  So our caring community came through with 69.5 pounds of canned foods.  WOW!! We won our grade level challenge but really everyone won because our 1500 pounds from Cypress Creek Elementary went to fill pantry shelves throughout Volusia County.  YIPPEE!  Thanks for being the school that cares!