The Graduate

Miss Viv finished 5th grade this week. This is the promotion ceremony that she had a school yesterday. THe woman in the dress will be her guidance counselor next year at the middle school and she came to hand out their certificates.


Part of the weeklong celebration for the 5th graders was a luau on Tuesday. The company that set it up put together several Polynesian villages that the kids went to to learn about various customs and traditions. This guy was Samoan and he showed the kids how to crack a coconut and shave the meat out. He also talked about the importance of women in the Samoan society and how they are to always be treated with the utmost respect. Check out his tattoos, they go from his waist to his knees. THey were pretty intricate. The kids were curious if they covered everything in that region but no one asked him.. I was curious too . They also learned to hula. Vivian is not in this picture, but that is her principal in the back. After the villages, they had a luau lunch with terriyaki chicken and then a hula and firedancers show. It was a wonderful day for the kids, she is graduating with a good group who were all very kind and respectful to each other and the visitors.