It’s always a pleasure to dish out some acknowledgement to deserving students. Bryant B., Layne C., and Chloe S. are our first students to complete the Fact Car Rally Race math facts program. In Fact Car Rally, students “race” around the classroom walls by demonstrating mastery of their multiplication and division facts. The program is designed to take all year, but these kids did it in less than half the time! Bryant and Layne tied for first and Chloe sailed in right behind them for third. Because “automaticity” with math facts is critical for success with higher-level concepts such as fractions and algebra, completing Fact Car Rally is a big deal. Congrats also to TaylorRose T. and Layne C. for being our Room 15 Students-of-the-Month for December. They have consistently demonstrated high academic standards and excellent citizenship. They were acknowledged at an assembly before Christmas. Our next SOTM awards will be given out on February 8th. Kudos also to the cast of The Necklace for their effort performing on Friday of last week. Despite their nerves and a few stumbles, they gave the audience an enjoyable experience. Check out the video of their play below. (Note that all YouTube videos appearing on The Daily Platypusare “unlisted,” which provides an extra layer of anonymity to our kids.)  Finally, congrats to all Room 15 students for their hard work cleaning up Hopkins Street. Scroll down to see a two-minute video recap of our experience.