8/21/2013

The first day of kindergarten at Turtleback Elementary School seems to have been just as hard on the parents as the kids. Every parent was struggling with the anxiety of letting their baby go and the chaos of trying to get their little one to line up for class.

It was tough for me to believe that my little guy was embarking on 17+ years of education. Gavin was excited; we were nervous if he would make it through the day. But, it was time to push him out of the nest to see if he could fly.

When we came back 4 hours later to pick him up he tried to put on a strong face but then lost it. He was beyond exhausted and was in his “wandering lost” mode. But, he made it though the day and was excited to go back. There is lots of routine for Gavin to get use too, when he is so use to doing his own thing, but each day will get easier.

6/11/2014

Gavin’s kindergarten class put on a performance for all the dads. It included a variety of songs, skits, and jokes performed by the students. Bravo!

He also got to take home a giant box filled with all his kindergarten projects and memories. So much cool stuff that I’m sure we will treasure as he grows up.

10/3/2014

Gavin was awarded a special Turtleback Elementary certificate for “Trustworthiness” and Aliciana was on hand to capture the moment. Gavin didn’t look too excited to be up in front of the whole school.

10/24/2014

Aliciana took some photos of Gavin and the kids in his first grade class wearing their pajamas to school.

10/31/2014

Gavin wanted to be his favorite food for Halloween… a slice of pizza. Connor was his favorite super hero, Iron Man.

Aliciana took the photos at school. I took the last 4 later in the evening before they went trick-or-treating with their cousins down at their grandparents’ house.

2/3/2015

Aliciana took some photos of Gavin and his classmates on the 100th day of school.

2/13/2015

Aliciana captured the kids celebrating Valentine’s Day in Gavin’s 1st Grade class.

2/25/2015

Gavin investigated if the color of a material affected the amount of heat captured from light.

3/26/2015

Aliciana took some photos while she was helping out at Gavin’s Apex Fun Run this year. I have a hard time believing any type of running could be fun but the kids seem to have had a good time.

6/10/2015

Aliciana took some photos of the first graders (and special guest Connor) enjoying the “beach” party they had at school to celebrate the end of 1st grade.

8/19/2015

Gavin started 2nd grade in Mrs. Hiel’s class. Connor gets to spend 3 days a week in Mrs Patwa’s preschool class. Both boys were very excited to start school at Turtleback Elementary.

10/7/2015

Aliciana took some pictures of the students in Mrs Patwa’s preschool class having fun while learning.

10/30/2015

Aliciana was on hand to take pictures of the Halloween parade at Turtleback, as well as Halloween crafting fun taking place in Gavin’s and Connor’s classes.

12/18/2015

Aliciana snapped some photos of the Multicultural Festival put together by the 2nd grade classes at Turtleback.

Every 2nd grader brought in a traditional food item from one of the countries of their ancestors. Gavin brought one of my favorite foods from Germany: bratwurst. Delicious!

2/5/2016

Gavin won a character award from Turtleback for “fairness”, which Aliciana was able to see him get awarded. Every month, the principal awards students who represent one of Turtleback’s character pillars.