As I scored the last Advanced English III exams and judged the quality of exams about The Ox-Bow Incident and Dead Poets Society about 3:45 p.m. yesterday, it was quiet in the building. I finished up the exams, printed out my grade verification reports, put a few more things away and then quietly went home. The evening got a little longer with a rain out in Clinton, so instead of umpiring my first Iowa high school softball game, it was home to clean the pool.
And no, there were no balloons dropping from the ceiling, no streamers blasting across the sky, no fireworks booming to announce the official last day of school. Amber and I did celebrate...if going to the Pizza Ranch in Muscatine counts as celebration, but the interesting thing about the end of a school year anymore is the realization that the end only means a new beginning.
My book bag was packed with crap I needed to take back home with me, including my summer umpiring schedule, some CD's, and my copy of The Greatest Showman that I watched during 5th period today. Also int the bag, though, was a copy of a public speaking course from Blackhawk College that I will be analyzing to create my own curriculum for next school year. You see, teaching doesn't really end. There are breaks and downtimes, but it doesn't end.
I suppose maybe when I retire, which won't be anytime soon, there will be some type of real end, but for now, yesterday was just the last day before the first day of a new beginning.
June will be full of umpiring softball and officiating basketball. July will feature a trip to South Dakota with Cole for his high school graduation gift and a trip to Mississippi with Amber to see Greg's place near the gulf. And the 4th of July usually means a swimming party and cookout at our house and maybe some local fireworks viewing.
Amber claims that after July 4th, it feels like the summer break is winding down, and I suppose that the holiday at least feels like the half-way point. As quickly as this school year went, it will be time to get to know a new group of students. In fact, I'm already working on it - checking into their PSAT 10 scores. I even sent out a little email encouraging them to read over the summer.
But now it's Saturday morning. True, I have a busy weekend starting with a Class 4A Regional Championship game. Then there is graduation tomorrow and an attempt to get to some graduation parties. Monday just might be a complete day off, maybe. And then it's back to school on Tuesday for an "institute day". Then the 17-18 school year is officially over.
And did I mention no yearbook! I'm figuratively dancing a jig for that component of this summer break!
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