I correctly guessed the award Mark might win--Most Improved Student! He's really come a long way since November. I always tease him that I want a "My student made the honor roll" bumper sticker--now it actually might happen!
And of course, when it came time to accept his award, Mark did so with his usual display of humility and grace.
Just kidding, he really threw his hands in the air like he just didn't care, and strutted across the floor. I laughed, as did everyone around me, because it was just so Mark.
In between awards, we listened to some kids play musical instruments (my favorite was Tristan, who acted as their music stand) and a girl who recited a long poem she learned last January. (Which was impressive, because I barely remember January, let alone anything that happened that month.)
They also showed the winning video for the 5th grade movie project. Room 23's winner was--Mark and his friends! They made a movie about idioms, which are words that don't mean what they say. Their idiom was "ate the dust." (I'd explained the correct phrase was "bit the dust," but Mark dismissively waved me off, saying I don't know anything about slang.)
The video featured Mark and his friends as baseball players. In the first scene, a literal take on the words, Mark fell halfway between first and second base. He scooped up a handful of "dirt" (chocolate milk powder) and started nibbling. Another kid yelled, "He ate the dust!" and all the other players groaned.
In the second scene, Mark refrained from eating anything--instead, he "ate the dust" figuratively, which, the narrator explained, meant "he fell down."
The video even featured a blooper reel and a dance number at the end. I laughed my head off the whole time. It was pretty creative.
The ceremony ended with a song, performed by Mark's friend Jack. Jack looked like a mini-politician in his blue suit, but he worked the stage like a rock star. He danced and lip-synced a song as the crowd went wild, first shouting, "YEAH, JACK!" and then "Encore! ENCORE!" after Jack ended.
The teachers thanked the parents for coming. And with that, Mark's elementary school career was over. His school is K-8, so even though he'll technically be a middle-schooler next year, he'll be at the same campus. There was no pomp or circumstance, just cookies and punch in the classroom afterwards.
I smiled as I watched them all file out of the auditorium. They'd come in as elementary school kids, but they left a rowdy, happy bunch of middle schoolers. I watched them push, shove and nudge each other out the doors.
But hey, at least no one ate the dust.
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