Still, as I think about this year and reflect on the all of the things that happened I'm struck by how much beauty, inspiration, and change happened.
My year began in a wing with two more or less strangers as colleagues and as the year progressed they quickly became friends, confidants, and an epic support team...these ladies are fierce and whoever replaces me has a great team at their back.
My class was a split class so students who had more or less been in the same class together since kindergarten were separated and had to become accustomed to working with new classmates. There were growing pains, moments of hair raising shenanigans but when they were asked to pull together, not once but twice, for classmates in need they shined through. They made get well cards for their classmate who under went surgery, and they stood and cheered for their classmate who shaved her head. My favorite moment was when two students who had previously had to be physically separated by two teachers actually calmly sat and complimented each other on a drama presentation without any prompting from anyone...I nearly fainted out of joy!
I've become calmer and more assertive...with my students :)
There are so many wonderful memories now that I have the time and space to reflect...one of my favorite is the introduction of Harry Belafonte to the Tween set in Bella Bella. I like to listen to Jump In Line on my ipod in the mornings and at first the students wrinkled their noses at it. Then a few days later one of them said "Hey, play that shake shake Senora song!" Within a week they would all bob along with the song and tap their feet whenever it played...not bad for a song written in 1946. I was also able to introduce them to Cab Calloway and the original Little Rascals.
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