It's Over!

*sing* School'sssssssss outttttt foorrrr the SUMMER!

Wahoo! I have survived my first "official" year of teaching! I can't believe it. The last week was a whirlwind and I've come home exhausted every day. Even today (Saturday) I had to go to work for a FULL day!!! Not to mention, Summer School starts Monday!

The last week, like I said, was a whirlwind. The kids had a ton of fun playing games, bringing in electronics, having fun in the sun, going to Strikz bowling for our End of the Year party, and a sweet, happy, and emotional celebration of learning ceremony on the last day. I was busy doing my best to spend time with them, going to meetings, trying to prep my classroom to close down for the summer, and having Summer School on my brain. Not to mention that our Strikz Party and Celebration of Learning required a lot of coordination and attention to detail. I was showered with hugs, cards, and gifts on the last day, and lots of "Thank you's" from parents and students. What a great first year!

I got sooo much done in my classroom this past week. I organized filing cabinets, shelves, closets, etc. Those last things that were just kind of thrown together in August when I wasn't sure what I was doing, wasn't sure what I would or would not use, or wasn't sure how to organize my files or math manipulatives. I can say now that I can walk into my classroom in August and only spend one day setting up the room. This means I can focus more on my lesson plans, and preparing for my new group of students.

Today we had to update our student cumulative folders. The folder has followed them from Kindergarten to now.  Report cards, TAKS/STAAR scores, and many other documents are housed in this file. I was filing the papers from this year, signing the promoted to 6th grade sticker, and realizing that it was the last time I was going to do paper work for this group of students again. For 9 months I've dealt with the same 21 names, seen them for taking attendance, grading papers, filing report cards, everything, and now it's done. I still can't get over it and feel like I'm going to see them on Monday!

Hoping these 3 weeks of Summer School fly by quickly! I know it will be worth it when I get that extra check this summer, but I really just want to lay by the pool right now!