The FINAL Bell rings. It's the LAST Day of SCHOOL, and SUMMER has FINALLY come!!!
Every ending symbolizes a new beginning – even when it’s the last day of school.
The walls of the classroom look emptier than they looked a month ago and a few remnants of the presence of students remain: a pencil here or a sticky note there containing a past thought. As the last student leaves the room in which you’ve built a community, many emotions can fill the empty space. The end of the school year invites an opportunity to pause and celebrate successes.
I remember feeling an assortment of emotions in the quiet, empty space of my classroom at the end of every school year. There were feelings of uncertainty, excitement, exhaustion, joy, anxiety, peace, and relief. I was glad to finally wrap up another year and begin a well-deserved summer break, and yet a lingering sadness filled my thoughts as I remembered each student, the community we had built, the successes, and the challenges.
As this school year comes to a close, it is important to acknowledge all the feelings that come with such a transition. They provide natural opportunities to pause and to acknowledge and celebrate successes.
