My Last Day

I was dreading the last day of my Block since the first day of Block- I knew I am one of those people that gets very easily attached- and I became attached to each and every one of my students. I KNEW I would cry on my last day (because I am also a big baby haha)...and boy did I. A little girl hugged me for "too long"- I cried. 3 little girls sang a song that they made up about me...I cried even more. Before I presented my kids with their end of Block gifts, I had a speech to give them about how great they were and about how much they taught me this year- again, I cried (The kids by the way thought this was hilarious and kept bringing me Kleenex). When I saw Mary in the hallway and she asked if I had cried...I started to cry (I was on a roll that day)- later on when we had parent teacher interviews, most of the parents knew I was leaving because they had seen me crying in the hall (oy!) We had a party on my last day for me, which was amazing. A little boy who I never expected to do this ran up to me before the end of the day, and gave me a huge hug, telling me he'll miss me. It was so unexpected, but it was one of those great moments that makes you realize how you can truly touch students as a teacher....

The most rewarding part of this whole experience has been the relationship I formed with my associate teacher...he wrote me a note on my last day that showed me that I did make an impact...

To Kari,
Thanks for a great teaching block. You were fine. Just Kidding! You were great. Best of luck in your rich future. You're a great teacher already.
Ken Kells

And now I am going to cry some more (haha)...Cheers!