Yesterday was a busy, busy day at the school - our annual Día de los niños celebration. Starting with an assembly that included some teachers doing a few zumba songs was a change from previous years of more traditional entertainment such as regional dances from Mexico or mariachi music. It was one of those moments as a teacher when I was stepping out of my comfort zone, knowing that in two weeks my students would be doing their own dance performance for an even bigger audience with varying levels of comfort. It is always good to put myself in a situation where I can empathize even more with my students. When I would glimpse the 8th grade boys in the corner with their serious faces showing that they were oh so impressed with us, I had to hold myself back from laughing.
From the assembly we had a flurry of centers with a lunch break inbetween. And to the boys' defense, most of them talked to us about the zumba songs with smiles afterwards. A group of 8th grade girls were spreading their joy as they donned the black frames of 3-D glasses that they had popped the lens out of with coordinating "kids" hairstyles.
At the end of the day, as I was walking one of my 8th grade boys to his truck in the pick up line it hit me - Monday the 8th graders will start their last Spanish week with me, followed by an English week, and then we will be off to a four day trip to tour three colleges on the other side of our state and the coast.
One side of me is thrilled for my students, excited about their next steps, while another side is getting more and more nostalgic for the students that I have had since they were sixth graders, and the only class that I will probably ever teach as a self contained class. Such a blend of emotions.
I have an outline of the last two weeks and what they will entail, and all along, I need to keep telling myself to slow down, to make time for closure and to make sure my students know just how proud I am of them, as well as my excitement for their futures.
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