Today when we got our literary magazines, two third graders stood up and asked if the fifth graders could all sit along the stage so that "we won't miss getting any of them to sign." The area was jammed with students and a lot of the fifth graders said they felt like rock stars. While I got to sign a few books, I certainly wasn't mobbed like the fifth graders. It made me reflect upon their special place in our school. They take on a lot of responsibility when they reach fourth and especially fifth grade. They are expected to help the audience be respectful during all school gatherings, they are to set the tone on the bus, they are to help out the younger students at recess. We even expect them to incorporate younger students in their play, even if it's a competitive game of football. They uphold the mission of Prairie Creek and communicate it to their younger peers in a way that is much, much more powerful than then droning voices of us teachers. They are our rock stars.