End of School 2010-11

The end of the school year is always bittersweet for me.  This year was particularly tender.  Both of my girls have had the best teachers and we have had a wonderful school year.   Taylor will go to middle school next year which makes me cry just thinking about it!  Elementary school has been an excellent experience for her.  5th grade was so great.  She was in violin, the student body group and did great academically.  I got to go on the last field trip of the year.    What a great time!  I love to watch Taylor with her friends. 

Taylor and her friend Hannah cracked me up!  Even after explicit instruction they could not figure out how to turn their canoe.  I told them for being 2 of the smartest kids in the 5th grade they sure were not so good at this!  What a great day!

The fifth grade also had an awards assembly.  Tay received numerous awards and it was a fun day!

Jordan’s class had a program to end the year.  I, of course, cried!  They shared all of the poems they had learned and sang some of their songs.  First grade has been a true blessing in our lives this year.  Jordan has loved going, everyday!!

I recorded most of the program and some day I will get smart and learn how to post those on the blog.  Jordan had the best friends and best teacher.

A short while back a good friend of ours got a book for her birthday. It was called the Book of Awesome and it had snippets of every day occurences that we can consider AWESOME!  Things like the smell of rain, the first bite of our favorite food and calls from an old friend.  I read the book immediately and knew I wanted to give it to my girls teachers.  I wrote them each their own page of AWESOME.  So, I post this for the sole reason that in ten years from now my girls will remember the 2010-11 school year and the wonderful people they were able to spend all day every day with!

Mr. Maughan

The Last Day of School
We all remember it.  Leaving the school grounds on a sunny day with report card in hand and a feeling of freedom.  Looking forward to days spent at the pool, sleeping in and vacation.  But the last day of school is so AWESOME because of what happened during the school year.

The last day of 5th grade rocks because you know you had a teacher who was so full of knowledge and character that your were just plain lucky to spend a year with him.  A teacher who made science fun to a girl who at the beginning of the school year was more concerned about how her hair looked than anything else.  A teacher who helped a young girl develop an eagerness for learning that she has never had before. 

The last day of 5th grade is awesome because you had a teacher who made you feel confident to enter middle school.  A teacher who challenged you in the most supportive and safe way. A teacher who pushed you to take extra spelling words and math assignments.  A teacher who made you excited to come to school every day.

However, the “awesomest” thing about the last day of 5thgrade is this.  You had a teacher who had a nervous little girl enter his room only to transform her into a confident young lady.  A teacher who not only shared his zeal for learning but his incredible character   A teacher who taught with the spirit and taught life lessons that dwarfed any academic lesson he taught.  A teacher who made his students all feel smart and like leaders.

So, on this last day of 5th grade we all feel gratitude.  Gratitude for the privilege to spend an entire school year with an incredible human being.  As 5th grade ends we go with tender hearts that feel incredibly blessed.  Blessed to have spent each day with an academic powerhouse but an even better man.  We leave 5th grade with an immensely increased knowledge of math, science and reading.  But we leave 5th grade with even a better gift... the knowledge that our testimony was strengthened just as much as our intellect.  We leave knowing that it was our privilege to spend a year with Mr. Maughan and that year has come to an end.  But, we leave all the better because of that privilege   AWESOME !!

 

Mrs. White (she really does love the kids this much!!)

 

We all remember it.  Leaving the school grounds on a sunny day with report card in hand and a feeling of freedom.  Looking forward to days spent at the pool, sleeping in and vacation.  But the last day of school is so AWESOME because of what happened during the school year.

The last day of school rocks because you had a 1st grade teacher who had a love affair with her students.  A teacher who teared up every morning when her sweet first graders sang patriotic songs.  A teacher who taught character just as well as math, reading and spelling.  A teacher who made her little brown haired student look in the mirror in the morning and say “first grade is awesome.”  A teacher who helped a sweet girl struggling to read feel like she was a genius. 

The last day of first grade is awesome because your teacher taught you to love everyone in your class.  Because through events in the school year you learned how to feel the power or discernment.  You learned the Plan of Salvation and learned the importance of every interaction you had with your classmates.  The last day of first grade is awesome because your self esteem grew more than your intellect, and that is what makes happy adults.  You learned that you can do hard things and that being honest is better than winning. 

So, on this last day of school you will walk away from first grade feeling confident and proud   Feeling like your teacher loved you so much she is will miss you too pieces all summer.  On this last day of school you will leave first grade having been blessed to have been taught by a teacher with great intellect and ever better spirit.  You will leave having your knowledge and testimony strengthened.  You will leave knowing that Teri White loved you and gave you her best self for one full school year   You will leave so full of gratitude that your chest may explode.  You will leave with tears in your eyes and a tender heart knowing that the privilege of spending each day with a women full of love and knowledge has come to an end.  But you will leave all the better because of that privilege   AWESOME