Well, today was the last day of school. Dismissal was at 11:30 today, and my last student left just about 45 minutes ago. It definitely hasn't sunk in yet, but I'm sure it will at some point. I'm not sure if it'll happen gradually or all of a sudden. Graduation last night was a big success and I think helped me and the students to get some closure. It turned into a pretty big, over the top thing, and for a while I was really wondering if trying to do this was a stupid move on my part. Thankfully, Justin's church, Wilmington City Vineyard Church, volunteered to provide refreshments and help with setup and cleanup. They were a huge help, and it made everything way nicer than if I had just done it myself. I was just planning on throwing a pack of cookies and some juice on a table, but they had tablecloths and healthy snacks and got me folding chairs and all sorts of helpful stuff. I'd say there were about 60 people there, plus my 8 students and the volunteers from Justin's church. I was nervous that some parents might do crazy stuff like bring their kids in a limo or evening gown or something because I'd heard some horror stories from other schools, but the most we had were some big balloon bouquets.
When the kids got there, I had them stay with my in the office where I made sure their robes and hats were on and that they were ready to go. They were really nervous and excited! One girl kept saying, "This is really happening! This is really happening!" We prayed together before we processed in while Catherine did her thing and gave a wonderful welcome speech. Then we marched in to "Pomp and Circumstance," but one of the boys was struck with extreme shyness and refused to go in, so I basically had to pull him in with a big smile on my face. During the first song we sang, two children started to bawl. I think they were just overwhelmed. Neither of them really recovered, but at least both of them were able to be up on stage with the class for a little bit between crying spells.
We sang about 3 songs, and then I let the kids sit down and calm down a little, and we watched a slideshow I'd made. It was a big hit. We almost didn't have a slideshow, cause after I'd spent 4 or 5 hours making it, my laptop died and I lost the file. :( I'd backed up most of the pictures though, so I remade it the night before graduation on Bethany's old laptop. The new slideshow wasn't nearly as good as the original, but of course I'm the only one who'd seen the old one. So it all turned out OK. The kids sang along the whole time. I used songs by our two favorite musical artists: Raffi and Justin Bieber, who the kids all think is named Justin Beaver. When I was handing out the diplomas, I announced, "Congratulations! You have successfully completed kindergarten!" and a few of the girls shouted, "NO!" which was kind of funny but not exactly what I'd intended.
After graduation, I was exhausted, but I had more to do to get ready for today. Bethany graciously helped out, and I got to bed at a somewhat decent hour. This morning I read my class a few books, gave them some presents (books, of course), and we finished our compliment circle where everyone took turns giving each other compliments. After we went through all the students, one of the girls told the class to compliment me, so that was really nice. Mostly they said things like, "I like how you make funny faces at us to make us laugh," and "I like when you pretend to be the babysitter in home living." Then we went to the last chapel which was nice. After that the class wanted to help me pack up till they had to leave, so I gave them some "jobs" to do, but I think they just made more of a mess. Oh well.
Now I'm sitting at school with the air conditioning on (shh...that part's kind of a secret) using the internet to catch up on some emails since my laptop's still not functional. Hopefully my new one will come tomorrow. I don't really know what to do with myself now. I'm really pleased with how this last month went, but I still feel kind of letdown that it's all over. I think I'd feel that way no matter how well everything went. Plus, my students didn't totally understand that school was ending. Some of them said, "See you tomorrow!" as they were leaving. I don't think anything I could have done would have made them fully understand that they wouldn't be coming back for three months.
I still have a couple days of inservice and packing up my room, and then the adventure of summer vacation fully begins. Very cute graduation pictures to come, I promise.
When the kids got there, I had them stay with my in the office where I made sure their robes and hats were on and that they were ready to go. They were really nervous and excited! One girl kept saying, "This is really happening! This is really happening!" We prayed together before we processed in while Catherine did her thing and gave a wonderful welcome speech. Then we marched in to "Pomp and Circumstance," but one of the boys was struck with extreme shyness and refused to go in, so I basically had to pull him in with a big smile on my face. During the first song we sang, two children started to bawl. I think they were just overwhelmed. Neither of them really recovered, but at least both of them were able to be up on stage with the class for a little bit between crying spells.
We sang about 3 songs, and then I let the kids sit down and calm down a little, and we watched a slideshow I'd made. It was a big hit. We almost didn't have a slideshow, cause after I'd spent 4 or 5 hours making it, my laptop died and I lost the file. :( I'd backed up most of the pictures though, so I remade it the night before graduation on Bethany's old laptop. The new slideshow wasn't nearly as good as the original, but of course I'm the only one who'd seen the old one. So it all turned out OK. The kids sang along the whole time. I used songs by our two favorite musical artists: Raffi and Justin Bieber, who the kids all think is named Justin Beaver. When I was handing out the diplomas, I announced, "Congratulations! You have successfully completed kindergarten!" and a few of the girls shouted, "NO!" which was kind of funny but not exactly what I'd intended.
After graduation, I was exhausted, but I had more to do to get ready for today. Bethany graciously helped out, and I got to bed at a somewhat decent hour. This morning I read my class a few books, gave them some presents (books, of course), and we finished our compliment circle where everyone took turns giving each other compliments. After we went through all the students, one of the girls told the class to compliment me, so that was really nice. Mostly they said things like, "I like how you make funny faces at us to make us laugh," and "I like when you pretend to be the babysitter in home living." Then we went to the last chapel which was nice. After that the class wanted to help me pack up till they had to leave, so I gave them some "jobs" to do, but I think they just made more of a mess. Oh well.
Now I'm sitting at school with the air conditioning on (shh...that part's kind of a secret) using the internet to catch up on some emails since my laptop's still not functional. Hopefully my new one will come tomorrow. I don't really know what to do with myself now. I'm really pleased with how this last month went, but I still feel kind of letdown that it's all over. I think I'd feel that way no matter how well everything went. Plus, my students didn't totally understand that school was ending. Some of them said, "See you tomorrow!" as they were leaving. I don't think anything I could have done would have made them fully understand that they wouldn't be coming back for three months.
I still have a couple days of inservice and packing up my room, and then the adventure of summer vacation fully begins. Very cute graduation pictures to come, I promise.
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