School Year Wrap-Up and Summer begins!

The end of the school year is always crazy no matter how much pre-planning and no matter the life circumstances, but if I speak for myself, I would say that this past school year wrap-up was insane for our family.

The thing is that the end of the school year is also SO MUCH FUN! The calendar is absolutely packed and each day of school seems to fly right by. Academics have mostly gone out the window, along with the attention spans of all the students AND teachers. Instead, the days at school take on more of a summer camp vibe, with maximum hours outside and activities that feel more FUN than learning, but learning is always a bonus. Teachers are exhausted. Students are exhausted. Parents are crawling toward the finish line, and homework is basically never turned in. It’s a whole thing. And I will admit that I love it.

My class raised butterflies this year and we were so thrilled to be able to release them! We named them and almost all of my students got a chance to hold a butterfly before they flew away, and then they had a blast chasing them around the field.

Due to COVID (and let’s be real, time) restrictions, the graduating class of 2021 did a cap and gown walk down the hallways of the school, so that all of the students could “graduate” them out. Our student intern this year was a senior, so my class was THRILLED to cheer on Ms. Zoey and all the other graduates. As we were waiting for the parade, we began discussing what year our little ones would be graduating: class of 2032!

The next big event was something that our school calls The Royal Presentation. Each class (especially elective classes) is invited to present a performance or a table displaying what they have worked on all year. Unfortunately, this is NOT my forte and my class didn’t do anything, but I feel a little more confident to plan something for next year. The other performances and table displays were PHENOMENAL and I am so proud of our school and the talents that each student has!

We then jumped into the last week of school which was full from beginning to end!!! We had the last two days of academics, as well as Field Day and the Final presentation, where each student receives a character quality certificate.

Field day was an absolute blast and the CPO and Student Ambassadors did such a great job planning it and doing each event. It was so nice to just be there as a teacher and not have to do any of the planning or work!

It was a hot day and by the end of the morning, my students were just wilting. Thankfully, the CPO planned not just a giant water fight, but also the Kona Ice Truck!! I felt like my fellow teachers and student intern were looking far too dry during a massive water fight, so I took it upon myself to make sure they became soaked! 😉

The following day was the very last day of school. The last day of school is always a little bit tricky as a classroom teacher. We have all the students, who are simultaneously exhausted and hyped up. There is a lot of emotions and since we have packed all of our bags and worked on cleaning our classroom, there isn’t much to do. Still, the day seems to pass by quickly and I plenty of ideas on my list that we didn’t even get to!

I took a photo with each student, printed out the picture with my Sprocket and then they made a frame with the picture to take home.

The day ended with a final assembly where each student received a character quality award. I also got to help with the Kindergarten graduation. Each Kindergartner receives their certificate from their teacher, then walks across the bridge where I officially welcome them to 1st grade!

Since my little 1st graders didn’t get to have Kindergarten graduation last year, we requested that they still have the chance to walk across the bridge as they received their certificate.

And then there was a flurry of final goodbyes and don’t forget your lunch box and have a great summer and Mrs. Hines was ready to crawl into bed for 3 months. Oh, wait. I’m still a Mom. Ha. Just kidding.

But, really. I am thrilled for a little bit of a summer break, and even though it hasn’t been relaxing yet, we are having plenty of fun as a family!

As a family, we had a fun little “Welcome to Summer Ceremony”

We dyed our hair

We had a bonfire where we burned our school papers

We enjoyed some s’mores

And we said goodbye to our screens for the summer! Theo and I deleted all apps from our phones (besides texting and calling), and we unplugged the TV and put it away in the garage. I’m sure I’ll write more about this later, but it has been the BEST thing for our family.