It will be a bittersweet day in The Jungle tomorrow as 16 amazing kids leave my classroom to embark upon fun-filled summers and the 5th grade. I have been blessed in so many ways this year...to share a few of my personal greatest blessings of the 2009-2010 year:
1. I was blessed to have 16 AWESOME kids greet me each morning. This class will definitely be remembered as one of my all-time favorites. The many talents they possess are true gifts from God that I know will take them far in life. Each one of them brought so many attributes to our classroom and will leave me with many fond memories of our time together as a Jungle Crew.
2. LAUGHTER is the closest thing to the grace of God, and we had plenty of it this year! I have many funny funny students in my classroom this year! They make me laugh every day.
3. PRAYER. One of my favorite things in the world is praying with my students. Listening to their most sincere prayers for their loved ones and people in our community is remarkable. As a child, we remember laying in bed at night with our prayer "lists"..."Dear God, please let me make the basketball team, get that toy I've been wanting, help me get an A on my test." The typical "me" prayers are part of every child's prayer routine. What fascinates me is the sincere empathy for OTHERS that I witnessed as my students' prayer requests mainly consisted of their concern for others, not themselves. Listening to them talk about their personal "God Moments" on an average Tuesday always left me feeling proud and profoundly moved spiritually.
3. The EFFORT put forth by my students this year was admirable. The growth I witnessed in each one of them was awe-inspiring. We had many trials and errors, but their willingness to try and sometimes fail was what made them the awesome students that they are today. I encouraged risks and they embraced challenges to became better investigators and students through their undying efforts and creativity.
4. Watching my students become teachers themselves...WOW! Talk about a proud moment when I could sit back and watch 10 year olds instruct each other and work as a team. I have many natural born leaders in this group, and through a few "interventions", they learned to accept each others' differences and work as a unit. As one of my good friends told me, "We are more alike than we are different."
5. Being my first year at HFS, I am so thankful that the transition has been an easy one for me. I left a school that I loved, and was very apprehensive about making the change. I left a teaching partner that will be a life-long friend...kids and a community that I miss dearly. However, when God closes one door, He often opens another, and it is up to us to embrace the changes in our life and make them all they are capable of becoming. I know that the change of schools was a positive one for my family; I am happy to say that I now know it was a positive change for me professionally, as well. I am grateful for my co-workers and the supportive community that I teach in every day. I look forward to what lies ahead for our school! I am hopeful. I am blessed.
Mrs. H
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