![]() Hello, all! I was feeling in the mood to write today. It may be the shining sun or gorgeous warm weather, but today felt like the day to post a new blog entry. I have been wanting to share my thoughts on how I felt on my first last day of school. Now this title may sound confusing to those first reading this entry, but this year was the first time I spent an entire year with the same class from start to finish. In previous years, I have volunteered up until the end of the school year, but I began volunteering in the classroom sometime around the end of April. I do have a close connection to my previous students, but this year with my class, the feeling was a little different. I began my Practicum placement with my Grade 1/2 class in September. I was a constant presence in the classroom right up till the last day of school, which was a little less than a week ago. We began September as strangers but became a classroom family by the end of the year. I was unsure about volunteering on the last day of school. How would I feel? How would the children feel? Would I be overcome with emotion, or deny that my students I had been teaching since the beginning of the year were actually moving on? Deep in my heart, I knew I would regret not saying goodbye one last time to my students. The day began like any other day in my classroom. We read the attendance, continued our read aloud of "Junie B. Jones Loves Handsome Warren", and shared our favourite parts of the story. Second block came around followed by third block where we finished our story and played outside. Last block arrived and we shared our final goodbyes. I hugged each of them and wished them off to a great summer break. Happy to report there were no tears. Just lots of cheers and whistles as the school bus pulled away one last time. I still have not accepted that the end of the year happened. In the back of my mind, I still think I'll be returning to them in September to welcome the beginning of a new year. They were sad when I shared the news of me going to a new school in September to complete my second Practicum placement. I don't think it will hit me that I will be attending a new school until September rolls around and I'm taking a new bus route to school, walking up to an unfamiliar building, and introducing myself to my new Associate Teacher. And I can't be more excited about it! I cannot wait to work with my new Associate Teacher and collaborate on engaging and creative lesson plans. I am ready for the new challenge of working with a group of Junior level students (a Grade 4/5 class to be exact) and learn with a new crew of kids. I will still be thinking my little ones moving onto Grades 2 and 3, and think of how my old staff is doing. I will still think back to all the books we read together, the amazing activities we completed, the Christmas sing-along, celebrating birthdays, and all the great memories we created. I have a feeling I will be just as sentimental when I will be present on the last day of school for my new group of students. I am so fortunate to have had an amazing group of kiddos this year and made a new lasting friendship with my Associate Teacher. These are things I am going to cherish for the rest of my life. This is not going to be the first time I feel close to a particular group of students. Throughout my future teaching career, I will be a part of many students' lives. Each class will carve a special memory for me. There will be many "last days of school" in my future, and I will welcome each as they come. The end of the year only marks the beginning of a new one and the beginning of a new chapter in my teaching career. I hope you all have enjoyed my blog post. Please make sure everyone gets a Kleenex when I pass around the box, ha ha! Please comment below or Tweet me your last day of school memories. I love sharing stories, and where better to share them than on Twitter. Please be sure to follow me @cstar012 for more blog updates and tweets! I wish all who are reading this an amazing summer! May you read a lot of books, sit by the water, lounge all day till you are red as a beet, and relax!
Happy Summer Everyone, Miss. Starkey :)
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AuthorCaitlin Starkey is a Teacher Candidate from the University of Ottawa. She loves to read, watch movies, and drink lots of hot chocolate. These blog posts are a glance at her lesson plans, personal reflections, and ramblings about everyday observations. Archives
February 2017
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