Commencement and other endings

Graduation was last Friday. It was also our last day for teachers. It was a crazy day of spending four hours with seniors on the football field for graduation practice and then frantically trying to get all of our paperwork done to get "cleared" before 5pm to help with the actual commencement. I got irratated with senior sponsors who don't delegate and want to have complete control...I know I could help and do more if I only knew what I was doing. But hey, it's all over now.

Graduation was pretty nice. I had helped with the Baccalaureate service as well, and I love helping the seniors get ready, pinning on corsages and boutaneirs...I felt motherly. Some of these seniors I can't help but love, and I'll miss some of them. I realized that after graduation. I got to hand out these little "gifts," just a keychain that has '06 on it. But it gave me the chance to get in a few hugs... well here are a few of the things that I will miss from this year...
-hearing a sweet "hi" as soon as she came in the room at 7:55 am
-1st period's clown who answered all my questions right, and then acted like he knew nothing
-my physics class...Stacy always getting it with such ease, others taking longer, always pushing them a little further even though they knew they'd do whatever I told them to do
-cathoogie dance
-the 3rd period girls...so smart but with such an attitude
-5th period boys who were oh so bad but could be so good when he wanted
-a handful of 5th period girls who had steadfastness in a classroom of hooligans
- singing
-a 7th period girl whose incessant questioning often confused her and me more than helping
-a physics guy's smile
-a 5th period girl's complete change from one of my least to one of my favorite hard-working students
-the farmer boy's earnestness
-a girl in 1st period saying, "You're the only teacher that gives out progress reports...I like that." when I thought she was about to complain

I won't ever forget many of these students. Lord, I can't believe this first year is over. I've learned a lot what to do, but even more what NOT to do. Perhaps that will be the next blog...