Last Day of School...Two Weeks Late

Well, as expected, I had every intention of writing as soon as the school year ended in order to remember what an incredible day we had on our last day in 3A but it didn't happen. I went into it worried that I would be too emotional to have fun, remembering over and over again that the year was really over and that when we started school again come August, those 21 little dudes would no longer be the kids I claimed to be my own, the ones that taught me more than I had ever learned in any classroom, the ones that when all else seemed to be going wrong were the only ones that could make me smile. Luckily though all these things were true, the day was jam-packed with so much fun that there wasn’t a second to waste on being sad.

Crazy Day! (theme chosen by the crazy people in 3A)

The day started out with the Elementary Talent Show. After a little convincing, the elementary teachers were able to pull off a surprise act for the students to the song “The Time” by the Black Eyed Peas. I had a vision of all us teachers lip-syncing to our classes expressing how we had had the time of our lives and it was really all because of them. We added a stint of choreography, put on some sweet shades, and danced the song away. The kids went nuts! It felt like we were rock stars at a concert with the sounds of their screams. With the added adrenaline of the whole day, I did a round-off back flip on stage and instantly became “the most popular teacher in school” (quoting a second grader). All day the kids thanked us for surprising us, asked “how you do that?!”, and laughed about certain dance moves that their teachers busted out. It was the perfect way to start the day and one that if I ever get a copy of, I will surely put on this blog.

intense s'more making

After playing at recess, we came back to class and started going through the rest of the surprises we had in store. First up? S’mores. That’s right, my students in Guatemala had never experienced the art of s’more making. Never had those gooey, crispy treats touched their lips and never had they enjoyed the feeling of panic as their marshmallow lit on fire and began to turn a textured shade of black.  I felt it was my duty as their educator to ensure that not only did they know how to find an equivalent fraction and include adjectives in their writing, but they knew how to create a desert with the careful patience and precision that goes into making s’mores.  So, armed with tea candles and wooden kabob sticks and with the help of Miss Nancy the Spanish teacher, we went to work making s’mores. The kids loved them, obviously, and were so excited that they ran around school bringing other teachers s’mores or roasted marshmallows on a stick. When the activity came to an end because we had expired all of our materials, the kids reported that it was the coolest thing we did all year. Little did they know, the day had only just begun :)

The next activity was one that wrapped up our year of community living by expressing how much we appreciated each other. I gave them the cards I wrote them with our class collage on the front and on the inside they went around the classroom and wrote one sentence explaining something positive about the other person. I went around the class and did it too so that I could have a card from them as well. My favorite sentences were the following:

“I can’t explained in words how I love you and how you change my life.”

“You brought happiness, knowledge, smiles and laughs to this classroom.”

“You are the best teacher I ever had and I wish you were my teacher more”

And…

“Have a good vacation” :)

Not only were they able to dazzle me with their English skills one more time but they also had an understanding for feelings that I had no idea were possible for people so young. Sometimes being in elementary its hard to really see if they kids are taking anything away from what they are learning but luckily I was able to see on that last day of school that, if nothing else, they learned how to feel grateful.

Just when I thought the day couldn’t have any more surprises involved, my kids turned the tables and threw me a “surprise” birthday party. I put quotation marks around the word surprise because it’s really hard for a group of chatty 8-year-olds to keep something like that a secret. A few of the kids asked to go to the restroom during lunch and almost instantly came dashing back to tell me that the secretary (my dear friend Claudia) needed me in the office. I made them work for it and pretended to not understand why the office would want me, why they wouldn’t come get me, or why they needed me during lunch. As soon as they started to get frustrated with me though, I headed down to the office and laughed with Claudia about how much time I needed to kill before heading back to class. When I returned, there were decorations, food, posters, and kids everywhere. A few parents came and they just kept reminding me over and over again that it was all the kids’ idea and they just brought the materials. They also made me a book that all the kids signed and a poster where they all wrote the three reasons they loved me. Throughout the whole day, this was the one thing that really made me choke up. In a time where birthdays were becoming the least important thing (when before they were my favorite thing) I was so touched that those kids went to such an effort to surprise me. And my favorite line from the whole day was when one sassy girl said, “See Miss Hannah, you aren’t the only one with surprises!”

Surprise!

We then went to our own private recess where the students asked me to do more gymnastics the entire time but I continued to pretend to have no idea what they were talking about. We headed back to the class for the last hour of the day to watch a 32 minutes slideshow (password: Inter3A) about the whole year. They pig-piled me with hugs when they were finished, I passed out the “summer challenge” packet I made for them (an 26 page packet of work that if completed is rewarded with a free lunch with Miss Hannah next year), and gave out the last student newsletter. Then, it was over. We stacked our chairs for the last time, cleaned out the rest of the things from our desks, packed up the backpacks, and… that was it. Unfortunately for me and my already shaky emotions, about 6 girls gripped onto me sobbing uncontrollably and refusing to go to their buses. They were all kind of egging each other on it seemed so I had to just laugh at them and remind them I would not only see them everyday next year in the halls but I would also see them in 30 minutes at the third grade party they were having at a students’ house. It was a pretty intense moment but one that they were able to shake off as soon as they got to the party and ate hot dogs and ran around for hours.


 And that was the year. My first year teaching, an experience I will never be able to replicate, was completely finished. Looking back on the year I can honestly say that I went into it feeling very uncertain about myself as an educator. By the end of the year, I think I finally found my confidence. My students made it easy with their constant eagerness to learn new things and the kindness they showed me and their classmates everyday. I’ll never forget this particular group of kids and though it hurts to think that for some I may never know what they do or do not amount to, I am so thankful that I was able to spend in year my of life in their world, learning more from them than I could ever teach.

A photo taken at our last parent conferences with my tutee's mom. I love this picture because I think it epitomizes the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." A Japanese special education teacher, a Guatemalan homeroom teacher, an American tutor, and a Colombian family. Truly one of the most beautiful aspects of international teaching.