Last Day of School
This blog is long overdue, but because I had so little time between the last day of school and leaving for Camp Courage early Saturday morning, I never had a chance to post my thoughts on the last day of school. I'll write a separate piece on my week-long camp experience as well, which should be coming soon.
I'll start by commenting on my birthday at school. I can't recall having more than one birthday where I was still in school when my birthday rolled around, so I was excited to be able to celebrate my birthday with all the people at school. It couldn't have been a better day. My teammates got some of the kids to sign a card for me and while I was sitting in the cafeteria talking to kids and taking pictures at lunch, the disciplinarian announced to the students that it was my birthday and led them in singing "Happy Birthday." After being serenaded by the students I went out to lunch at Qdoba (my favorite restaurant ever) with my teammates. When I got back to school, a few more kids and even a teacher made some individual cards for me. What amazed me was that some of the kids weren't even kids that I've had a lot of contact with this year. Since it was the second to last day of school, things were very laid back so kids were able to just hang out in our room, listen to music and play games. On Thursday night I had some friends over to celebrate my brithday. It wasn't anything big, but it was nice to have a few people over to share my day with.
Friday was our last day at the school. It was kind of an abrupt end to the school year. I would venture a guess that only about half of the kids were there. Like the rest of the week, things were very, very laid back. Teachers were either showing movies or letting the kids play games while music was played in the background. What's weirdest to me, is that last Friday may be the last time I see a lot of those kids. With the high rate of students moving, many of the kids may not be back at L'Ouverture next year. We do still have summer school which starts this coming Monday and I think a lot of my students (fortunately and unfortunately) have to attend summer school. With my role set to change at the beginning of August, I won't have the opportunity to see these kids everyday. I'm holding out hope that I'll be able to make appearances at school as often as possible, but I can't say for sure that I'll have time to see all the different kids who I have built a relationship these past 8 months. I plan on keeping in touch with my students as best I can and even hope to be able to do some things with them from time to time this summer and next year.
After the day was over, I couldn't believe how quicked the year had passed, and as I and my teammate Monique were leaving the room we both commented on how odd it was to be leaving our room for the last time (summer school is at a different building). It's amazing how in such a short time that we all became so attached to L'Ouverture, and just like that it was over. I that it will be a different group of AmeriCorps members there next year, but the four of us there this year definitely left our mark at L'Ouverture that will hopefully have a lasting impact for years to come.
I'll start by commenting on my birthday at school. I can't recall having more than one birthday where I was still in school when my birthday rolled around, so I was excited to be able to celebrate my birthday with all the people at school. It couldn't have been a better day. My teammates got some of the kids to sign a card for me and while I was sitting in the cafeteria talking to kids and taking pictures at lunch, the disciplinarian announced to the students that it was my birthday and led them in singing "Happy Birthday." After being serenaded by the students I went out to lunch at Qdoba (my favorite restaurant ever) with my teammates. When I got back to school, a few more kids and even a teacher made some individual cards for me. What amazed me was that some of the kids weren't even kids that I've had a lot of contact with this year. Since it was the second to last day of school, things were very laid back so kids were able to just hang out in our room, listen to music and play games. On Thursday night I had some friends over to celebrate my brithday. It wasn't anything big, but it was nice to have a few people over to share my day with.
Friday was our last day at the school. It was kind of an abrupt end to the school year. I would venture a guess that only about half of the kids were there. Like the rest of the week, things were very, very laid back. Teachers were either showing movies or letting the kids play games while music was played in the background. What's weirdest to me, is that last Friday may be the last time I see a lot of those kids. With the high rate of students moving, many of the kids may not be back at L'Ouverture next year. We do still have summer school which starts this coming Monday and I think a lot of my students (fortunately and unfortunately) have to attend summer school. With my role set to change at the beginning of August, I won't have the opportunity to see these kids everyday. I'm holding out hope that I'll be able to make appearances at school as often as possible, but I can't say for sure that I'll have time to see all the different kids who I have built a relationship these past 8 months. I plan on keeping in touch with my students as best I can and even hope to be able to do some things with them from time to time this summer and next year.
After the day was over, I couldn't believe how quicked the year had passed, and as I and my teammate Monique were leaving the room we both commented on how odd it was to be leaving our room for the last time (summer school is at a different building). It's amazing how in such a short time that we all became so attached to L'Ouverture, and just like that it was over. I that it will be a different group of AmeriCorps members there next year, but the four of us there this year definitely left our mark at L'Ouverture that will hopefully have a lasting impact for years to come.
posted by Tim Weiss at 9:28 PM
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