Music Award

Title: Music Award for Singing
Date: May 27, 1983
Category: Award
Current Status: Trophy Case

How cute... a "ribbon" with a copyright infringed image of Disney's Winnie the Pooh that celebrates singing and daily affirmations of self worth. Yes, by singing, it somehow makes me like myself. I didn't know it was that easy. I could have saved a lot of money on therapists if I'd known that singing in the shower could boost my ego.

I'm not sure where this award came from. I think we were already gone from Broadway Baptist Church by this point so I don't think it was there. We were probably at University Christian by that point where I had a year of youth choir lead by the illustrious Pummill family, the Von Trapps of Fort Worth. But, I don't think it was there either, because May 27th of 1983 was a Friday and we didn't do church on Fridays. Wednesdays and Sundays were church days... and two days of church was plenty. No, that leaves school as the only other option. The last day of school typically came around that time of May and awards day was the last day of school. So, this must be some goofy award from Little Elementary school, maybe even from the legendary Ms. Starnes!

It should also be noted that May 27, 1983 was my 8th birthday. That would have been 2nd grade and I do seem to remember the last day of school being on my birthday. It was like an extra birthday present!

Mrs. Windham's 4th Grade Class

Title: Mrs. Windham's 4th Grade Class
School: J. B. Little Elementary
School Year: 1984-1985
Principal: Al Miller
Category: Class Picture
Current Status: Photo Box where no one will ever see this again

I remember Mrs. Windham's "Homeroom" class. At Little, we had a homeroom teacher that also double as our social studies/science/health/non-Reading, non-math, non-PE teacher. In 4th grade, it was Mrs. Windham. I guess our overall class had gotten too big (which was solved for 5th grade when the opened Corey elementary and many of us were sent there) because there was no room for us with the rest of the 4th graders. 4th grade was pretty much all in temporary buildings anyway, but there was no more temporary space. So, we started the school year completely segregated from the rest of our grade in a little nook next to the two rooms where the music teachers held court. Somewhere during the school year, we got our own temporary building out by the monkey bars.

I don't remember much about what we learned from Mrs. W. I remember something about Mt. St. Helens, learning about cardio exercises and spending 3 minutes working out to the Pointer Sisters' "Neutron Dance", and I remember reading my own parody of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" in front of the class. That's about it. I have some vague memories of other classes, Mrs. Taylor for English I believe (sentence diagramming NOOOOO!!!!) and Mrs. Moon for Math?

I can maybe name 50-75% of the people in this photo.... but I won't. Some of these people I am connected to on Facebook and they'll most likely be horrified that I've broadcasted this monstrosity across the internets. If you would like to point out that you are in this photo, feel free. If you can't tell, I'm in the front row, third from the right with the dark sweater, poofy hair, and idiotic smile.

For a bonus, here is what the photo looked like with the cover and what the cover looked like. Usually I fill in names, but not this time. Lucky you. You might not be so lucky next time.

Caldecott Reader Certificate 1983

Title: Caldecott Reader Award
Date: February 25, 1983
Category: Award
Current Status: Undetermined; Probably recycle but possibly framed and hung in my cubicle at work

I don't remember getting this at all. Granted, I was 8 at the time, but still, I usually have some vague memory of stuff like this.

I couldn't even remember what the Caldecott was in reference to... so I looked it up. It's one of those annual awards (named for Randolph Caldecott) given to illustrators deemed to have done the best work on a children's book. Some notable winners are The Polar Express (Chris Van Allsburg), The Snowy Day (Ezra Jack Keats), and Where the Wild Things Are (Maurice Sendak). Other such classic titles as A Tree Is Nice, Duffy and the Devil, and Sam, Bangs & Moonshine have also won. To learn more, go to the American Library Association's website where they have all sorts of exciting info about the Caldecott. Also congrats to this year's winner, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. I've never heard of it, but I'm sure it's grand.

Of course, this isn't the actual Caldecott Medal (as I've never had anything published, much less won an award for it), this is a Reader Certificate. My guess is that I read a certain number of Caldecott award winning books or something and got this to commemorate it. I really don't know. Perhaps I will ask Mrs. Mona Kerby, the Librarian at the time of J.B. Little elementary school what the heck this was for.

BTW, Ezra Jack Keat's book The Snowy Day rocked my world as a kid. If you've got kids, you should find a copy and read it to them.