School's Out for the Summer!

Finals and late research papers have been graded.  Final exams have been taken (on the floor - more on that soon), graded, entered, and final grades posted.  I've had a committee meeting to wrap up our work from the school year - I am done!   (Minus a four hour training tomorrow, but I'm just not thinking about that today)

As I mentioned in a previous post, Ashland passed a referendum last spring to do many renovations to the schools and build a field house (the field house has become somewhat political but it seems like it will be a great community space - and with the rainy spring we had, it will be nice for kids to have more space to practice).  At the start of May, they began work on the field house - digging up the ground, putting in the footprint, etc.

The field house construction zone

The high school is getting the most renovations.  It was built in the 1970s when they had the ridiculous idea to have open classrooms.  Who in the world thought that would be a good idea?!?  They realized it was dumb, so they put up walls - but the walls are thin metal walls that flex and hardly keep sound from the neighboring classroom out.  There are also hardly any windows in the school.  If I want to know what it is like outside, I have to walk out of my classroom and peer down the hallway to the door to the outside.

A few views of my classroom.  I had already started packing - normally
the back bookshelf is full of books.

Since they are totally remodeling my end of the building, my entire classroom had to get packed up in boxes to be stored in the gym for the summer.  My parents came Memorial Day weekend and we all went into my classroom to pack up (after my students had helped some and after I had done quite a bit).  We made pretty quick work of the last bits, Lilly did some worksheets at a desk and Nick and Greta explored the hallways.

School ended on Friday, but my students were signed up to help move me out of my room on Wednesday during second hour.  During my assigned moving time, my students carried desks and boxes down to the gym, the tech guys came and took my Smartboard down and my projector, the custodians came and used the desk mover to take my desk down to the gym - including my computer and my phone.  So that meant the rest of the week I had nothing in my classroom except a few personal items I was bringing home for the summer (my lamps and my desk chair) and my Cbromebooks.  We had fewer instructional days than usual and we added a unit that took up some time, so my students still had to take their final exam - which they did on the floor (it was typing some reflections, they didn't seem to mind too much).

Grading diligently  As my brother said, this gives new
meaning to desk chair. And the light coming in
is not sunlight but lights from the empty computer lab

When I came to work Thursday, they had taken my clock, my recycling bin, and my garbage can!  Why all the rush?  Why we all had to be out of the building at 1:40 on Friday, the same time as the students, for  they were beginning demolition that afternoon.   It was a crazy, disorganized last week of school, but it will be completely worth it.  The plans they have look amazing.  I will have real walls, natural light.  The library is getting completely overhauled and will be such an amazing space for kids to read and study.   I saw our business manager on Monday and she said they've already knocked down all the walls in the English hallway.

This is how I left my classroom on Friday:

This doesn't quite capture the insanity of lots of teacher classroom
materials, furniture stored in the gym

I am very excited (and nervous) for next year.  We'll have essentially a new building, new tables/chairs, I am teaching a new class, women writers (which I need to design this summer), a new principal and assistant principal, and a new teacher in the English department.  (My best friend at work took a job in Washington - but I'm not ready to write about that yet).  My job is awesome.  I am totally burnt out this year (too many responsibilities) but I am excited to keep working with my supportive and energetic colleagues and to see what the school will look like.

The English Department

We take photos when people wear matching clothes - Twinning is Winning!

Stay tuned for more blog posts this week - or even yet today - my goal is to get caught up this week.  Now I need to leave to pick Lilly up from Kindergarten Bootcamp (summer school) and bring her to daycare.