A Very Special Day in 2nd Grade

Thanks to my super second graders from Mrs. Crowe's class, I am much more prepared to teach next fall! (If any of you are reading this, you know who you are!)

Here's the story: Today was my last day at the school, and I was sad to say goodbye to all of my students.

The day started out pretty normally for a Friday. We had our usual spelling test, reading test, and awards cermony. Even though we had a special assembly, there was nothing especially out of the ordinary about the morning.

After lunch, we went out for our normal recess. Part of our class was playing kickball, and I was watching the game with Miss Samantha. I rang the bell, and we all headed back to the portable, just like any normal day. However, something wasn't normal! When I walked in, the lights were out. Suddenly, I heard 19 voices shout, "Surprise!" The lights went on, and there was a beautiful cake that said "We'll miss you Miss Pitcairn" sitting on the table by the door.

Mrs. Crowe told me to sit down in our class rocking chair, and everyone gathered around as Mrs. Crowe handed me a HUGE bag full of teacher goodies! The tote bag was filled with pencils, paper, markers, crayons, pencil holders, staplers, colored pencils, glue, pencil sharpeners, rulers, paper clips, and more, all gifts from my students to help me get ready to have my own class next year. It was such an unexpected gift, and it made me feel very loved to know that my students were helping me to get ready for my adventure this fall. The gift my 2nd graders gave to me is also a gift to the students I will be teaching next year. My students made this very normal Friday into a very special celebration that I will always remember.

Thank you, Mrs. Crowe's class!

Why I'm Blogging

Graduation is just around the corner. (It's less than 20 days away at this point!) It's hard for me to believe that 4 years have gone by so quickly, and I haven't really come to grips with the fact that I'm moving on from Tallahassee so soon. In many ways, it feels like the end of any other school year...a break for the summer, some fun vacations, beach days at home in South Florida, maybe time to read a book or two...Here's the part that's different though. At the end of the summer, I won't be making the 7 hour drive back to Tallahassee. I won't be listening to Spanish podcasts as I pass Orlando; I won't be trying to take pictures of the sunset and wildflowers as I drive along I-75; and I won't be sighing as I pass the stadium thinking, "I wonder how many games I'll go to this year?" If you had asked me a year ago where I would be after graduation, I would have told you, "I really don't know." If you had prodded me a little further to take a guess, I probably would have told you I'd like to be teaching English in Spain. Or, I might have said I would try to get a job at an elementary school somewhere in Florida. Those were really the only two things on my radar at the time. So now, when I tell you, "I'm going to be teaching middle school in Bolivia this fall," I still smile, laugh, and roll my eyes a little because it just feels unreal. But it is real! At the end of July, I will be moving to La Paz, Bolivia to teach middle school at Highlands International School (more details coming soon!). No, I have never been to Bolivia. Yes, I am excited. Yes, I am nervous! (But I am more nervous about teaching in general than I am about the fact that I'm going to be teaching in Bolivia...) And that is why I'm blogging. I hope to share this exciting adventure with anyone who is interested in following along and journeying a little closer to the sunshine (and the penguins!) with me via the wonderful World Wide Web.