Special School Wedding Unites Letters Q & U
By Ed Pierce // May 11, 2012
A Marriage To Remember
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – It was qu-aint and it was qu-irky, but for students attending Friday’s wedding of the letters Q and U at Harbor City Elementary School in Melbourne, it was over far too qu-ickly.
The elaborate ceremony was conducted in the kindergarten-first grade classroom of Gina Rolkowski at Harbor City as an unforgettable and fun way for kids to learn about blended letter combinations.
“I tried to make this a real-world connection for the children,” Rolkowski said. “I wanted them to remember the qualities of blended letters as they move on to second grade and beyond.”
Students in Rolkowski’s class had been preparing for the mock wedding event for about a week and many activities leading up to Friday’s wedding ceremony were incorporated in lessons for the kids.
“Besides reading the children’s book “The Wedding of Q and U” by Maureen Keegan together, Rolkowski’s students decorated the classroom, made fancy wedding invitations, a special remembrance book for wedding guests and a quill pen to sign the book.
“The children have been excited for days about this,” Rolkowski said. “This has been all they’ve talked about all week and I’m happy they are so thrilled about having fun while learning at the same time.”
Students wearing blended letters and diagraphs of words using their letters (Such as BR and NT) and wedding guests sat in silence as the bride and groom walked down the aisle as the music of Mendelssohn’s traditional wedding march was played.
The wedding ceremony was officiated over by Doug Blount, Harbor City Elementary School’s assistant principal, who united Q the bride, played by kindergarten student Kylea Hedman, 6, with U the groom, played by kindergarten student Logan Towers, also 6.
After Blount’s pronounced the couple as “united forever,” bubbles flew through the air as students, family members and other wedding guests were treated to slices of a special wedding cake served by Harbor City Elementary School principal Christine Moore.
Wedding presents made by the students earlier in the week were opened and Rolkowski led the students in reading a follow-up book they all wrote together called “After the Wedding of Q and U.”
“This really exceeded our expectations and I think it was a wonderful way to do something the children will remember and help them develop a greater understanding of blended letters and foster their love for reading,” Rolkowski said.
