Processional
Download the Powerpoint Presentation which was shown to the tune of "Pomp & Circumstance".

Pledge of Allegiance

Life Lessons from Kindergarten Sudoku! (Sharon Carver, Director)

At graduation, the speaker's job is to help the graduates, their families, and their friends to think about the learning they have done and plan for more learning in the future. Today, I'm going to talk about four "life lessons" that I think you have learned at the Children's School and that I hope you will remember throughout your lives. *We're going to use Sudoku as an example of these lessons.

Sudoku * means ³single number² because this type of logic puzzle involves finding a way to * arrange the numbers so that each occurs only once in * each row, * each column, and * each region. I had the pleasure of teaching this eager group of kindergartners how to do Sudoku puzzles during the winter months, and I saw how quickly the children mastered these simple yet challenging 4x4 puzzles.

Today, as I share some of the ³life lessons² you've learned in kindergarten, we're going to solve a new Sudoku puzzle that you've never seen before. Are you ready?

* Lesson 1 (Concentrate) - First, you have to concentrate on what's important. In the graduation Sudoku, there is a set of four pictures that we need to remember - a pillow from your sewing project, one of the cars from the train your class built with Mr. Zanolli, a papier mache lion from the ³big cats² unit, and one of the chicks that hatched in your classroom. We need to remember that each row in the puzzle needs to have one pillow, one train, one lion, and one chick. When you're learning something new, concentrating can be very hard. Remember when you were doing the stitching on the pillows, and you had to pay attention, take your time, and do each stitch in just the right place on your drawing. Sometimes teachers and parents can help you concentrate by showing you how to do one step each day, like when you did the papier mache. Or sometimes they make special reminders like the marks on the eggs that helped you remember to turn them evenly each day. Sometimes, adults help by doing some parts of the job for you, to make it easier for you to concentrate on the things you know how to do - like when Mr. Zanolli cut all the train pieces for you so they would fit just right when you put them together, and then you got to paint them just the way you wanted.

Let's concentrate now on the puzzle. What four pictures will we need in each row, each column, and each region? Lion, chick, pillow, and train, right?

Ok, so here's the puzzle *. Wow, there's a lot to see. I notice that two of the regions are already full. Each one has a pillow, a train, a lion, and a chick. But we have six more spaces to fill. * This region has three empty spaces, so is there any way to know which picture goes where? Right, we have to look for a row or a column that has three pictures already.

* How about this column? What is missing? Right, we need a train. *
* Now how about this row? What do we need here? A pillow. *
* So now we can fill this last spot in three different ways. You can look at the region, the row, or the column. Either way, what's missing? * You got it.

* Lesson 2 (Persist) - When you face a challenge like this puzzle, it's best to just take one step at a time. If you're patient, then you'll gradually solve the puzzle. It's just like with turning the eggs. You and the teachers had to be persistent, turning the eggs three times a day, every day for 21 days, but then the healthy chicks hatched and could do more for themselves. You also had to be persistent with the papier mache, putting more and more layers to make it strong.

When you have to persist, it often helps to work with an adult or with a friend. Mrs. Perovich was a big help with your pillow project, encouraging you with your stitching and helping you with the machine parts. It would have been too hard to make a whole train by yourself; but when each of you made one car, you got a very long train all together.

So let's work together to finish the last three steps of this Sudoku puzzle.

* Let's start with this column. What is missing? Right, we need a train.* *Now how about this row? What do we need here? A chick. *
* Once again, we can fill this last spot in three different ways. You can look at the region, the row, or the column. Either way, what's missing? * You got it. All right! Let's check *one more time just to be sure we have a chick, a pillow, a train, and a lion in each row, column, and region (WAIT for affirmation).

* Lesson 3 (Practice) - Did you notice how much easier it was to do this Sudoku than it was to do the first one I showed you back in January? Practice really helps when you're learning new things. The more puzzles you do, the better you'll get because you learn new strategies. In kindergarten, you learned so many new things, with projects like sewing and papier mache. but also with reading and counting, and keeping your belongings organized. At the beginning of the year, you needed a lot more help from the teachers, but now you can do most of the kindergarten work by yourselves. At home and at your new school, you can use all the things you learned here to help you learn even more. Remember that it takes lots of practice to do new things well.

*Lesson 4 (Celebrate) - When you succeed, then remember to celebrate your accomplishments. I remember that when you finished the first Sudoku puzzle that I showed you, you right away wanted to try another, and then we went from numbers to letters to shapes, and then to bigger puzzles. It's satisfying to learn something new, and celebrating each step gives you confidence to try even more.

That's the focus of today's graduation. Congratulations! You have grown and learned so much, and we are glad you've been a part of the Children's School family. Best wishes for even more learning in the years to come. * We hope that you will remember * to CONCENTRATE on what's important, to PERSIST when you face challenges, to PRACTICE until you succeed, and to CELEBRATE each accomplishment along with the family, friends, and teachers who help you along the way.

I'll bet it won't be long until you're doing the same Sudoku puzzles as the adults, but I'm sure you'll solve even more challenging puzzles throughout your life. Remember what you learned at the Children's School, and be sure to keep in touch so that we'll get to hear about what you learn. We look forward to your continuing friendship. Thank you.

Download the Powerpoint Presentation that accompanies this speech.

Presentation of Diplomas

At this point, we'll present the diplomas. Each child will walk..., turn and smile for a photo, and return to his or her seat.

Let's give a round of applause for the graduates.

Teacher Appreciation

As you can see from the many learning experiences we've discussed this morning, the quality of our kindergarten program is primarily a result of the combined talents of our teaching team- Mis Hancock and Mrs. Perovich. This year, we added Ms. Broughton to the team, and Miss McMichael continued to lead the Kindergarten gym classes. Naturally, they are also supported in many ways by the entire staff. Let's all give them all a round of applause to show our appreciation.

Kindergarten Slide Show "Forever Young"

Our parting gift to you is a slide show of Special Memories set to the music of Forever Young. We are working on making it available to you electronically and will contact you via e-mail with directions.

Transition to Reception

Thanks to all of you for celebrating the kindergarten graduation with us. At this time, the children will exit first and head to the kindergarten classroom. We hope all of you will join us there in a few minutes for a special reception. The rest of the school families will join us for the whole school celebration and kitchen shower from 11-1. Enjoy the rest of the celebrations!