The Last Day of School

I can’t believe it’s been one week since I last saw my onesies! I also can’t believe it’s taken me this long to blog about it. Actually I can because even though the kids were done on Thursday, teachers still had to go in on Friday for meetings about next year, and then I moved that same night. Yep. All weekend. In the what felt like 40 degree heat with high humidity and no air conditioning (yet), we gathered our friends and families and moved into our beautiful, new house! So that’s why I haven’t blogged about the last day of school yet. I’ve been busy moving, unpacking, and well…our Internet doesn’t get hooked up until tomorrow.

So how did the last day go? In our board, the kids came to school on Thursday morning and left at 11:20; just shortly after morning recess. A lot of them spoiled me with presents, so we spent part of the morning opening gifts and reading cards. Everything was so kind and thoughtful. I got lots of duck stuff (watering cans, pictures, and even yellow nail polish so that I can have nails the colour of a duck…haha!). And even though I loved each thoughtful gift, this one truly tugged on my heartstrings.

 And what did I do for them? In the past I always did the pencils and erasers thing. This year was different. This was my first class! They deserved something extra special. I bought them each a USB stick (don’t worry, I bought the cheapest ones. I’m not made of money, ya know!) and on it I put a 10 minute long slideshow that I had been working on for the past few weeks. You know all the pictures you see on the blog? I have about a kazillion more that I’ve snapped over the year. After a long time going through the pictures, organizing them by theme or event, I finally came up with a final product that effectively captured our year together in Grade One. Obviously I can’t show you the slideshow here because it has all their pictures, so just trust me that it was adorable. Yes, I’m sure they would have gone gaga over stickers, pencils, and erasers, but my hope is that they will watch this mini-movie over the years and remember all the great times they had in Grade One. It’s a nice gift for parents as well, which mine deserved because I had a great group of parents this year. They will also be missed! We watched the slideshow together right before they went outside for recess and they loved it.

After recess, I only had about an hour left with them, so we went back outside to the playground. There’s something so adorable about watching 6 and 7 year olds playing on the playground. The innocence is beautiful.

We came in right before it was time for them to go home, and to be honest, I had done a great job at keeping it together until then. But then it was time to say goodbye. I was trying to tell them that I was going to miss them, and that I wanted them to have a fun and safe summer…but…I barely got through the first part before I burst into tears, and then they all came running at me and we had a wonderful group hug. And I just kept crying. And they started crying. We all just hugged and cried. It’s hard to say goodbye to people you see 5 days a week!

And then it was over. The bell rang, and even though some hung back for 10 extra hugs and some parents popped in to say their goodbyes, the hallways were empty. My first year as a teacher was over, and I was left with nothing but amazing memories.

Thankfully, I’m right down the hall next year in a 3/4 class. I bet I’ll have a few little Grade Two visitors in the fall!

Now…off to a place with free Wifi so I can post this. T-Minus one day until we have Internet!

Enjoy the summer holidays!

Endings and Beginnings

    So much has happened in the past week and I feel it’s my duty to update you. I got a Grade One LTO! Full year! At the school where I was a student teacher for three months! And where I volunteered full time for a year! (Can you tell I’m really excited?) Anyways, I had a good feeling about it after my interview, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up too high. Then, just a few days later, as I was in the car with my boyfriend, I checked my email and began squealing and jumping when I saw the job offer. It probably wasn’t the best timing since he was half way through an intersection, but you’d do the same, right?

    Since then, I’ve become obsessed with getting my classroom ready for next year. I took advantage of the 20% off sale at Scholar’s Choice and made a few purchases. Melissa and Stacia were also wonderful by pawning off some of their Grade One resources. They won’t need them anymore because they’re both moving up to Grade 2/3. I’ve spent my spare time creating assessment pages, making lists, and going through old computer files that have some great Grade One content that I can reuse next year.

    

    I wanted to keep the news on the down low at first because nothing was in writing, but as I walked down the hall the next day, 99% of the staff seemed to know. I’m so lucky to have been able to volunteer alongside such a supportive group of colleagues. It was easy to get frustrated and discouraged this past year and they were always there to offer their words of support and encouragement. They’re all so happy for me and I’m blessed to work alongside them this coming year.

    Before I can start in September, I had to say goodbye to the kids for the summer. It was a pretty emotional day, but I know I’ll see their lovely faces next year. After the kids went home, we dove into the professional development. Maybe it’s because I’m still new and keen, but I love PA days. I think we learn so much when we get together and reflect on our teaching and help each other improve and move forward. Stacia also organized the day and made it Survivor/The Amazing Race themed so it was a lot of fun. Afterwards, I got my timetable, signed my papers, and began to move all my stuff into my new classroom. As of right now, I can’t set it up because it has to be cleaned and the floors have to be waxed over the summer. It’s kind of a huge mess right now, but that will all change when I return in August to set up. 

The Goodbye/Congratulations cards my kids made me. Some of them included words of advice. One student wrote: “Congratulations Ms. Lawrence. Don’t forget to pack a lunch!” What would I do without them?

Melissa asked the kids to write down their most memorable moment this past year. This boy wrote his answer down and left it out for us to see. “When you and Mrs. Lorins [Lawrence] teaching math”. That’s when you know you’ve made a lasting impact on a child’s learning.

    Sometimes I look back to where I was at this time last year and I can’t believe how much things have changed. I don’t think I had been able to get into the mindset to believe that I would be here in June of 2013. I was a new grad, entering a world where there were literally no job postings in my school board. I was discouraged in so many ways, but I’m so happy I made the choices I did. Not everyone is able to spend a year volunteering on a full time basis. The support of my family and the school staff made it possible for me to do this and I don’t think I’d be where I am today without them.

    Last year, I had no idea I’d be back at the school. I was hoping I’d get onto the supply list and work like everyone else. I remember the kids all made me the cutest cards and I just sobbed because I didn’t think I’d see them again. The circumstances this past year in 2012/2013 were certainly bitter sweet. I didn’t get in with the board right way, but I got to see the kids all year once again. I wasn’t getting paid for my time at the school, but I volunteered and learned so much from the experience. Everything happens for a reason, and I feel so blessed to be where I am now and to be sharing it with those special people in my life. 

    I leave you with some pictures I took today before I left for the summer. Keep in mind, these are the “beginning” photos. You’ll have to wait a few months for the “after” shots to come.

The "Before" shot. Stay tuned for the "After" shot.

An overly happy Ms. Lawrence