End of the Year Gifts

I received several lovely gifts on the last day of school yesterday. However, two of them amused me greatly. Not because the gifts themselves are amusing (something that is frequently true) but because of the stories that go with them.

I walked into my classroom today ready to tackle the chaos in the hopes of having it packed and well organized by the end of the week. I noticed a large bag in the coat closet area. I asked the intern I've worked with if he knew what it was. His response was that it appeared to be a gift someone had forgotten to give me. I had to agree that was how it appeared, but found the idea highly unlikely. Picking up the gift I was hoping there would be a tag with a name. Luckily there was and I should have guessed the name that would be there. It was from a young man who never ceased to make me smile and think, but who can't remained focused on the majority of tasks for longer than a moment or two. It is not hard to imagine him walking in yesterday morning, putting his backpack and the gift in the coat closet and getting involved in conversations with his friends about the upcoming promotion ceremony and other last day activities. It was a fitting final image of him.

Another child arrived on Monday telling me that he would be bringing me a gift on Tuesday from him and his parents. I told him that was so kind and unnecessary. He said, "I paid for most of it with my allowance." This was not said with joy. The next morning he arrived with some beautiful flowers. As I took them I thanked him and told him how beautiful they were. His response? "Good, they cost like $50." He clearly had better things to do with his allowance money (and really, who can blame him).

Bragging on my school

Family from Spain are visiting for a couple of weeks. Chatting with my uncle and cousin I found myself answering many questions about my school. They were curious about the diversity and how I felt about it. Having taught here for ten years, it is clear that I think it's wonderful or I would have moved on.

However, my uncle always wants to dig a little deeper. He asked if I would prefer that my daughters go to a school this diverse or a more typical elementary school. I told him that my oldest would be starting kindergarten at my school in a couple of months. They both seemed impressed by this. My uncle then asked what I would do if I won a million dollars. Would I still send her to my school? Without hesitation I said yes. They were floored.

Later I recounted this conversation to my husband, wondering if he would think I was crazy. He didn't bat an eye. He completely agreed with me.

I am frequently amazed at how lucky I am to teach here. As a colleague/friend said, "My job adds to my quality of life."

Best Day of the Year

We have a New Teacher Shower every year. It's a surprise placed on the calendar as a staff meeting - which makes it doubly nice for the new teachers. We bring in goodies to eat and everyone brings various small gifts that teachers can use. The principals talk with the new teachers while we get ready. They enter the library where the rest of the staff is lined up cheering for them. New teachers take turns choosing gifts. Teammates share briefly about the new teachers and they again are applauded. This is my tenth year at the school and this remains my favorite day of the year.

I will never forget walking into the library my first year. It took a bit before the reality registered. I felt so incredibly lucky to work with such a caring, giving staff. Now, on the other side, I still feel the same way.

Love That School

I've got three more weeks out of the classroom while an intern completes student teaching. There are five of us in this position and we're keeping ourselves busy. This is just another reminder to me of why I love my school.

Here's our to do list for these four weeks:

• reorganize and clean up the upstairs workroom (completed beautifully by a couple of teachers in the first two days)
• make a welcome video for new students and their families - narrated by students
• reorganize all of the math manipulatives in our math trailer (this may involve some reorganizing in another room in the building too so that we can move materials there)
• decorate and make our teachers' lounge more welcoming and warm
• help gather evidence and organize information for our state alternative assessment

Only one of those chores was assigned to us by the administration. We have principals that respect us as professionals and allow us to set our own agendas, knowing that what we do will benefit the staff.

In previous years we have reorganized our book room, pulled small groups for remediation, created book lists for teaching different strategies in reading and writing, and many other activities. Again, none required by our administration. I often forget that this is not the norm.