A Day in the Life of SMHQUES

By Cynthia Turillo

I am very proud of our QES family!!! We had a 100% participation rate the 4th grade and a 96% participation in the 5th grade and a few brave 3rd graders who gave the Science fair a try. I have said this a million times and it is so true and needs to be said often and loudly… we are blessed to be part of a school filled with amazing teachers that truly care about the success of each and every one of their students! I’m delighted to be their backup for the science fair. 

I have to say Science was my first love and children are my greatest love. So when the opportunity for me to run the science fair popped up 8 years ago, I jumped. I really enjoy helping children find the fun in science, I love seeing the look of astonishment when I tell them skateboards and make-up all start with science, and I love bringing in piles of recycling and asking, “what do you see here?” Many will say a pile of junk and other’s will say recycling. They completely don’t believe me when I say “Nope, it’s a bunch of lighthouses and other science fair projects.” Their eyes light up as soon as they see the lighthouses sprout up, bottle rockets fly, and volcanos (that could erupt, but we don’t do that in school). 

I have had the pleasure of spending many days enjoying the company of a plethora of 4th and 5th graders and a few 3rd graders too. Though they were extremely thankful to me for my help, as was the school, I would have to say the pleasure was truly all mine. The pleasure of smiling little faces with a new appreciation for the fun of science, seeing how proud they are of their accomplishments, and how hard they work and all the greatness that they create. For all of these reasons and so many more I keep coming back. One of my favorite things about helping out is the behind the scenes glance that just reassures me that our children are so completely blessed. 

The behind the scenes view of our school unfolded in our open classroom community as I cleaned the aftermath of science (science isn't really science without a mess). As I cleaned the tables I indulged in the quiet chaos surrounding me. I was awestruck by Mrs.McGauran's lessons to her library class. They basically read a story and organized an oral book report right there in a 30 minute class and still had time to check out books. I was amused by the pirate voice used by Mrs. Beland to teach her class math. I was impressed and couldn't help but giggle as Mr. Degnan read to his class in a little girl’s voice. Mrs. Warburton’s class was learning about civil rights and she really brought the message home by choosing a specific population in the class to discriminate against; I could actually hear the disappointment in their little voices, shortly followed by the realization that discrimination is wrong. All of this within ear shot but certainly not out of hand.

I’m certain that no matter where I stood within the school, this kind of greatness was ongoing. Having my own little army of children has given me the opportunity to interact with a majority of our SMHQES teachers and come to the realization that they are all amazing. What I do for a couple months, our teachers are doing every single day, within every single subject, all year long. Our children are growing leaps and bounds; any time I get to spend with them is precious. I encourage all of you to talk to your children tonight and ask them what they did at school today. Thank you SMHQES for continuing the tradition of the science fair and allowing me to be a part of it.