All of our 5th graders go on an overnight educational/fun trip in the late spring. It's to a camp that has some nature and science elements, but it's really more about the fun. This will be our 7th or 8th straight year and now it's like a school tradition. Kids are talking about it from 2nd and 3rd grade on.
We do a 6th grade picnic at a park with a swimming pool/rec center. We also do a Sixth Grade Memory Book, which is like a yearbook type set-up, but focuses completely on the 6th graders and what they've done throughout the year.The PTO pays for it and it is free to all Sixth graders. Then of course, we have our Sixth Grade Promotion ceremony at the Jr High they will be attending the next year.
We help do a shirt every year. The art classes have a contest for the design and we get every 6th grader to sign and then we get the shirts printed. We usually sell between 90-120 shirts and I see kids wearing their shirts for years afterward.
What does your school do as an end of the year celebration for, or acknowledgment of, the students who are going on to their next level of education (junior high or middle school) We are having a discussion regarding this topic. Thanks for your input.