Mrs. Peacock in the woods with duck eggs

~No it's not a game of clue.....and it's actually Mr. Peacock!

~I went for a long long long hike in the woods today with my dogs. I was amazed to come across a wild peacock. I could not get him to fan his feathers. He made the most incredible scream. It sounded like someone was being killed.

~When I came upon a small pond, I couldn't believe my eyes.... full nest of eggs! I saw some ducks on the pond and assumed they belonged to them. I counted 15.

Only the males have the big feathers. The females are brown and do not have the long feathers.

WOW

~Tomorrow is back to Jacksonville. I am so relaxed right now! I am ready to come back to school. We have so many great things planned for the last 9 weeks! Some of them are:

*The Grade Five Dance!

*The Grade Five Cookout!

*Wild Adventures!

*More baseball!

*American Grandstand!

*The 19th Annual Gibbo Peck Awards!

*End of Year Luncheon!

*Finish The Boy in the Striped Pajamas!

*Hearing Mrs. Peck read the part of "Gilly"

*Maime Trotter!

*Pajama Day!

*The Grade Five Awards

*Our Yearbook CD

*And a few other surprises for the Apes!

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~Remember when Mr. Gibbons read you the poem "The Raven" by Edgar Alan Poe? Scroll down to Playlist to hear a scarier version read by actor Christopher Walken.

Cotton Plantation & Ritz Crackers

On Sunday Flossy and Buddy returned to Lake Gibbo. I hadn't seen them since last October. It was good to see them back. I threw them some Ritz crackers. I don't know why I had Ritz in the pantry. (I hate Ritz Crackers)

Buddy and Flossy

I arrived at a friend of mine's land In GA on Monday afternoon. The land used to be a cotton plantation a long long long time ago. It is so peaceful!

The woods bordering the old cotton fileds (this is where I am) It looks like there used to be a house here many years ago, I will investigate tomorrow, it's getting dark and there are wild boar here that come out at night. Yikes!

the woods

Sunset

the old cotton fields

I gathered up some rocks and made a fire pit (I guess I learned something in Boy Scouts)

Franky and Thelma after chasing an armadillo into the woods for almost an hour.....armadillos are not too bright

The Story of Joseph Sher (a survival story)

Joseph Sher in America

So, you think just because it is vacation you cannot learn? You never stop learning! I came across this story and was amazed at this man's story of survival. It was a nice reminder of how wonderful it is to live in America. To read all of Joseph Sher's story of survival click here

Joseph Sher's 92 year old grandmother who was shot by a 23 year old Nazi

What is Mr. G. doing for break?

Well, today I slept until 11:00.... yes I was exhausted!
~Today, I mowed, edged, and weed whacked my grass, and trimmed my hibiscus and crepe myrtle bushes and trees. Yes, I do put a lot of time into my yard. This hibiscus was over 10 feet tall! This winter wiped it out...but it is already sprouting.

Franky watches the new ducks that just arrived on Lake Gibbo

Hibiscus branches (this will be burned tonight)

New Jasmine blooms (what an awesome smell when it blooms)

~Sunday afternoon I am going camping...haven't decided on South Carolina or Georgia....or maybe even Florida for 4 or 5 days?? Just get me out of the city and into the woods. I love the trees and wildlife, and cooking outdoors, and so do my dogs!
~Did you see Mrs. Peck's video of her grandson?
~Did you see the video of Dixie on the Hero blog? (my dogs, Franky and Thelma, are much cuter...haha....but true)

~One week until the start of baseball season! Go Sox and Rays!

Welcome to the World Justin!

Mrs. Ryan gave birth to a healthy baby boy! We love you Mrs. Ryan!One day old!

(check out Mrs. Peck's blog for more pictures!)

Does Mrs. Peck have some news for us?????

Savanna at Student Appreciation Luncheon

Mrs. W. gets ready to slice bread

TWIN DAY
Mrs. Ledford and Mrs. Vaillette

Do you have news for us Mrs. Peck?

Mrs. Watson's twin turtles!

This was taken as Teeny peed on Mrs. Watson

Chessa and Leanna

Nat and Woody

Did you know they were born on the same day in the same hospital almost at the same time? Also, their fathers are brothers and their mothers have the same first name! WOW!

Mr. Gibbons twin from Kindergarten!

Our gifted teacher Ms. London

Mrs. Yadon, a Wild Adventure, and Student Appreciation Day

~Happy Birthday to Mrs. Yadon, another awesome fifth grade teacher!Spirit Week

~100% of the students eligible in Room 71 have paid for their Wild Adventures trip! 100% seems to be popular this week. We had almost 100% dress for Sports Day (yes we won!) We also had 100% dress for Backwards Day, and for Stuffed Animal Day but we decided as a class, in the spirit of SPORTSMANSHIP, not to submit our class to give other classes a chance to feel like winners too. The Apes rock! Oh, by the way, 100% of the Apes in both classes reached their third nine week reading goals. It looks like most will reach their goal of 50 by the end of the year!

Ape Appreciation Day

~Even though we said there would be no End of Month Luncheon for March due to FCAT and Spring Break, we decided instead to celebrate Ape Appreciation Day! We mad our own foot long subs with ham, bologna, and turkey. We bought way too much meat! Your kids probably did not eat supper on Thursday....sorry! Thanks for all the meat Mrs. peck, and the drinks Mrs. Whitelaw! We love the Apes!

Striped Pajamas

~We are really moving along fast in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Bruno is really getting bored and in need of something to occupy his mind and time. He loves to explore. Where do you think he will go. We also learned that Pavel is a Jew. Will Mother decide to leave once she figures out what is really going on at Out-With?

~We will be posting our Responses to Literature as soon as we come back from break...look for them on the board!

~I will post pictures around 10:00 on Friday! I left my USB cable at school! Oops.

Student Appreciation Day and Teddy Bear

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STUDENT APPRECIATION DAY

~As a Thank You to the students of Room 71, Mr. Gibbonsand Mrs. peck are providing lunch for the students in Room 71 & 73 tomorrow! Why? We thank G_d every day that we get to teach the Apes of Room 71. As a way to Thank them for all their hard work, all the books they have read, their sportsmanship at Play Day, thier awesome writing, we are providing lunch on Thursday!

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Teddy Bears

The helmet does not fit on "Gabby" the bear......please stop trying to cram it on her!

Mrs. Peck and "Pickles"

Mr. G and Rolando

Rashod and Meme

Ms. Karon and Bill, and Ashely and Bobo

Matilda and Graple

Jamie and Darkel

Jennifer and Lou

Leanna and Carmencita

Dylan and Tina the Frog

Natalee and Ramone

Nick and "Gibby"

Evan and "Gabby"

Savanna and "Happy"

Lauren and "Skunky"

Karson and "Agnes"

Roctavia and "Dimples"

Robbie and "Dawg"

Madison and "Boss Hog"

Flying High

~Thanks to Mrs. Hartless and Mrs. Peck for some awesome pictures of J.J. Despite how it looks, J.J. was not scared. He comforted Mrs. Kornblum as she was a little nervous. Way to go J.J.