It's 9:30pm, and believe it or not, I just got home! I was at school cleaning up after the high school awards ceremony. There will be a separate ceremony next week for middle school (which I will probably be a little more excited about since I know more of those kids), and Rachel gave out an award for the best social studies student. She was nervous (I am not sure why) and gave a good little speech....but mispronounced the winner's name. Oops!
So it was a long day at school, but I should get used to it. There are non-stop events and functions for the next two weeks. Final exams are June 1-3, and then there are half days on that Thursday and Friday...and then summer begins!
On a side note - the tree in my classroom is blooming. It was a nice surprise this morning. There are fragrant white flowers on it. I feel a strange sense of pride - I suppose this is my reward for taking good care of it!
Last time I posted, we were preparing to go on our trip with the middle school to Emei Shan. Well.....it was a success!!! The weather and the scenery was beautiful. It is nice to be out of the city again for a few days. Here's some highlights:
- We climbed a 14,000 ft mountain. Well, not the WHOLE 14,000 ft, because a bus drove us part way to the top. But according to the signs I saw, we did climb 7 or 8,000 ft of it. And all but a few kids made it to the top as well! It was great fun, though I was sore for a few days after. As in almost all circumstances on the trip, the kids were in great spirits and were willing to go along with all of our planned activities.
- My team won the trip-long competition! They played silly games, made a cheer, competed in various physical challenges, and showed good character throughout the time there. I appreciated how good-natured they were; while other groups complained at times, they always had a good attitude. As a reward, we all went out to McDonald's during lunch on Monday. It was fun to hang out with them - as a whole, it has been better than I anticipated adjusting to being a middle school vs. high school teacher. Now at the end of the year, I feel much more connected to the 6-8 grades than I do to the high schoolers.
- We set up some times for serious personal reflection, and also for them to encourage one another as classmates. I was happy to see them take this seriously, and I hope it made at least a small difference in their lives to be on this trip.
- I was surprised how much fun it was to prepare for the trip. In taking on a lot of the organizing duties, I was worried that I would get frustrated by it. But that was not the case. Also, tt was great to be working with Rachel. We have worked well together all year, and I appreciate how much she complements me. She is someone I can rely upon! It will be a little sad next year - we are likely to be on different trips as she will be working more with high school.
Sorry, but no pictures at the moment. With the problems of the site being blocked, I do not know how I can do that easily. So for now, you will just have to read. Let's all hope this issue gets fixed and I can update more often!
alan
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