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Priorities of the
Upper Elementary Division
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Appreciation of Individual Excellence
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Philosophy of Gentle Guidance
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Creation of “Communities of Excellence”
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Strengthening of foundation built during primary years
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Fostering exploration of individual talents
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Every Decision with the Child in Mind
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Contact Information
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Dr. Lynda Csaszar
Head of Upper Elementary School Division
Parish Episcopal School
4101 Sigma Road
Dallas, Texas 75244
(972) 852-8778
email
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“On both plane trips and on our bus trip, our fourth grade students were complimented for their superior manners and behavior. One of our bus drivers even said they were the most well-mannered group of fourth graders he had ever had on his bus. Kudos to our Parish fourth graders!“
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Upper Elementary News April 2008
The only way to live is to accept each minute as an unrepeatable miracle, which is exactly what it is: a miracle and unrepeatable.
Storm Jameson
Dear Parents of Students in Grades Three and Four,
As I sit at home having my coffee on one of my spring break mornings, I can’t help but reflect upon the wonderful times I shared with the third and fourth graders during our trips to Studio Movie Grill and to Austin. Our trips were not only opportunities to enjoy one another and to share, but delightful and unrepeatable moments in time.
Although all of you have heard detailed descriptions already, I wanted to share some of the highlights from my point of view and for the benefit of all parents interested in hearing about both of our recent trips.
Studio Movie Grill – “All Roads Lead to Rome”
Bright eyes and enthusiastic faces greeted us as our third graders arrived at the entrance of Studio Movie Grill. They knew they were in for a treat having the opportunity to see their individual performances in “All Roads Lead to Rome” on a full-size movie screen!
Students were treated to a pizza buffet lunch at the start, followed by popcorn and cake during the “movie.” It was a time to visit and to share an unrepeatable memory about the third grade.
When the movie began, I think we were all a bit awestruck at its magnificence. It was like “Hollywood,” except that we knew every single performer personally. All I could think was, “How many third graders get to see themselves on such a grand movie screen like that?” We even had a couple of groups perform right along with the on-screen numbers. Just watching them was a delight for me!
Making the whole experience extra special, our high school participants attended, and we enjoyed seeing their interaction with the third graders. Prior to the show, they stood up on the stage to express how much they enjoyed participating in the Rome production with the third graders, and they expressed their appreciation about being asked to do so. It touched our hearts to hear their words of thanks, and we all want them to know that we appreciate them, too! They shared with us one last spontaneous performance of their “number” in the production, and we were amazed at how well they could remember the entire routine! Prior to leaving, we were particularly impressed with how they all helped to clean up the movie room. What a great example they were to their younger peers!
To all of our third graders and high school participants, thank you for the great memories, and I would like to extend an extra special thanks to Mrs. Stevenson for making all of this happen!
Austin
Happy fourth grade faces and hugs greeted us at the airport at 6:00 a.m. as we gathered in the center of the lobby at Love Field. The excitement on the students’ faces was what first convinced me that this day would truly become a special and unrepeatable moment in time.
The traveling portion of the morning went like clockwork, and the students seemed to enjoy the whole experience of air travel as well as the bus trip to the Inner Space Caverns, the Capitol building, and to The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum.
Numerous students reported that the caverns were the most amazing and fun part of the trip. Students mined for precious stones and minerals and explored the underground caverns discovered by the Texas Highway Department. We spent the entire morning rotating our groups through the mining, underground tours, and shopping. While mining, I overheard several students saying, “Look what I found,” when they discovered a beautiful stone, or “This is fun!” Every minute seemed to count as they washed the dirt away to discover their precious new collections.
In the caverns, we all enjoyed the wonder of the stalactite and stalagmite formations and the story behind how they evolved. It was truly an amazing sight to see, and during our tour, some students were lucky enough to see a couple of tiny bats that were all tucked away in an overhead crevice.
Students enjoyed shopping, and many purchased preserved rock slices or other formations for gifts or as souvenirs for themselves. At the conclusion of our morning, we enjoyed a nice lunch on the grounds at the Inner Space center.
After lunch, we enjoyed a self tour of the Capitol building. We saw former Texas governors and past presidents of the Texas Republic displayed on the walls of the Rotunda, and we saw the actual Senate and House of Representative chambers where our Texas representatives hold their meetings. We also had the opportunity to enjoy several stunningly crafted statues including the Goddess of Liberty at the top of the Capitol building.
Our final stop was The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. The museum was a unique representation of the miracles in our Texas history. Students had the opportunity to see monuments, artifacts, short movies about the early days in Texas history, and learn more about significant people from our state such as Quanah Parker, Stephen F. Austin, and Sam Houston. We progressed through the story of Texas, floor-by-floor, as there was a natural progression based on significant time periods divided into “Encounters on the Land,” “Building the Lone Star Identity,” and “Creating Opportunity.”
During our visit, we watched a movie titled, “Star of Destiny.” This gave us an overview of the spirit of our Texas history, and we enjoyed the many special effects that I won’t describe so that we can save the surprises for our current third grade students and families for next year.
You may be especially interested to hear that on both plane trips and on our bus trip, our fourth grade students were complimented for their superior manners and behavior. One of our bus drivers even said they were the most well-mannered group of fourth graders he had ever had on his bus. Kudos to our Parish fourth graders!
On our trip home, our tired students told us what fun they had, and they were great little troopers during the travel experience, even after such a long day. On the plane home, many of them worked to continue answering the questions we gave them in their booklets about the trip. They also talked much about their day, and they treated their souvenirs as special “treasures.” The best part of all was hearing several times, “It was fun!” It was a moment in time to be cherished, and we look forward to doing it again next year with our current third graders!
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