The more notable experiences that I had during that year included both on-campus and off-campus activities. My "homeroom" and science/social studies teacher was Mr. James, who is now retired from teaching. As one of his side-jobs at Episcopal, he was a gardener and in charge of the recycling projects here. Every Friday or Monday all of the classes at each of their own periods that day would spend most of the class touring the Middle School and Lower School classrooms and would empty their recycling bins in a large container. It was not appealing at first for me, but incrementally I learned to love it. Mr. James used it to teach us how to be polite and serve others humbly. It also eventually became a lesson in teamwork, as we worked in teams of two or three. Another more physically intense activity, this time off-campus, was our class's trip to a bayou for (my first time) canoeing. Each canoe held two or three of your selected buddies. We canoed along the bayou to Lake Pontchartrain and back. As a painful yet determined challenge, perseverance and teamwork became the core lessons in this activity. There were a plethora of meaningful experiences that each of us in my 5th Grade class had gone through. Sadly, however, as we graduated from Lower School, the fun in our classes began to deteriorate. Although 5th Grade is long past, my classmates and I will remember our time that year for as long as we are here at Episcopal.
Robert, I used the exact same words as you! What a coincidence! Also, fifth grade seemed really fun.
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