Last Day Thoughts

Yesterday was the last day of school. Here are some thoughts on the day.

1) Sick Child: A, one of my angels, has been sick. She didn't make it to school on Thursday because she was running a fever. Yesterday, when I took attendance, she was not there. I was so sad to miss seeing her on the last day. Ten minutes later, she showed up at the door with her mom, crying. Her mom asked me for help with A. She said that A was still running a slight fever but that she was begging her to come to school since it was the last day. I told the mom that I would keep A for a bit and if we needed to, we would call her to pick A up. A gave me a big germy hug and took a seat. Another 30 minutes later, I saw tears welling up in A's eyes. I came over to check in on her and this is what she said :"Ms.V., I no feel good. My tummick (stomach) hurts." I told her that I was so happy to see her but that it was time for her to go home. I sent her off to the nurse's office with a hug and a few party goodies in a bag. She started to walk away but then turned around and ran back to give me a hug and a big kiss on the cheek. She said "I lub you Ms.V. I will miss you!" That girl just melts my heart!!!

2) JUNK food : Once again, the food vs. academic achievement test produced the same results. The higher the class is academically, the smaller the feast. When the class is overall lower in academic acheivement, we have a plethora of junk food. Yesterday's feast was disgustingly large. I think we had 10 bags of chips, 2 cakes, 3 bags of cookies, 3 bottles of juice, 4 boxes of juice boxes and more. I sent most of it home. Just looking at it made me gain a few pounds! I love those kids but I think we needed to work on nutrition a little more than we did.

3) Confession: One of my boys, A, has ADHD. There is talk of him possibly having Asperger's as well. He is a very bright young man but is challenged behaviorally. He takes no medicine and sees no specialist for his challenges. This makes life tough for him. I try my best to make accomodations for him because I know that the problems that arise as a result of his issues are totally out of his control. It makes my work exhausting but it is necessary for him to be successful. I am always redirecting him and trying to find something positive and motivating to say to him to keep him on track. Yesterday, on our way back from lunch, he was a mess in the lunch line. Jumping up and down, flying around in circles kicking the air... yikes! So, I did my usual routine of walking up to him and pretending to completely ignore the behavior and ask him if he could escort me to the classroom because I wasn't sure how to get there. (This is my little game that I play with him to redirect his behavior and to help him save face in front of his peers)
A snapped out of it and took my arm and began his tour guide routine to escort me to the room. He walked very nicely to class and was quite the gentleman. When we got to the class, he waited outside as everyone filed inside. Then, when we were alone outside, he said "Ms. V. I am sorry. I just can't calm myself down sometimes. I will try to do better." I gave him the biggest hug ever. I told him that it was no problem and that I would be happy to walk him to class next year if he needed help calming down. He melts my heart too!

4) English!!!: J, is a newcomer from Mexico. He has been here for 2 months. He has learned a substantial amount of English in the short time he has been here but would rather speak in Spanish. In academic situations, I pushed the English but for social situations, I let him use Spanish. These last two weeks though, I tried pushing the English with him for everything. Basically, he would ask me in Spanish and then I would translate in English and have him repeat it to me. The most common phrase was, of course, the bathroom request. Right before school let out yesterday, J came rushing up to me with an urgency in his eyes that told me what he needed to do before he even asked. He started to ask in Spanish and then with a sparkle in his eye and a heavy accent said "May I go to the bathroom please?" Love it! Never too late!!!