I can't get mad at her though because she quit so that she could stay home with her baby. Miss Val had a cute baby girl during the summer and the baby-sitter got another job. It was too crazy trying to find random baby-sitters here and there, so Miss Val quit to stay home and be a mom. I'm trying to convince myself that I'm happy for her, but I'm just plain depressed...and a little terrified to face my dear students alone. Hopefully they hire another para soon!
In honor of Miss Val leaving, I had my students make her thank-you/good-bye notes. We made them on Monday and Tuesday during block days. I gave the students these guidelines:
-include her name
-write 4-6 sentences
-thank her for something
-close it with sincerely, thank-you, whatever
-make it colorful and fun
-make it meaningful
The 4-6 sentences was a bit of a stretch, but at least it let them know that they had to actually write something.
After those instructions, I let them do what they wanted. I was so surprised with the clever ideas the kids came up with!
In my first period, one boy cut out a Christmas tree, another boy made his into a little laptop card and even drew the "Apple/Mac" computer logo on the front. Another boy included his phone number and offered his baby-sitting services. He told me it was his first self-promotion. I didn't have the heart to tell him that the only time she would need a baby-sitter would be during the same time he was in school...
My second period is going to miss her the most. There are a couple of 8th grade boys in there who gave her a hard time sometimes, but Val is so witty and funny that she won them over. Miss Val told me that after I told the students that she was leaving, he was super nice to her. She said "I should leave more often!" In this period, that same boy wrote a heartfelt note and said that he was probably going to fail all of his classes without her. He also told her that she shouldn't leave because he was more important than her baby. In her slightly sarcastic way, Miss Val said "Actually...my baby is more important than you." That cracked me up.
My 7th period was a bit...interesting. One boy was "overjoyed" that she was leaving and asked if he had to write a note. I said yes and although he proclaimed that he was going to write all sorts of things (like "good-bye forever - I won't miss you" or "I loved it when you sat in the corner and glared at me") he actually made a really cute note and put a lot of effort into it. He made a little purse with a bear sticking out of it and then he wrote little messages on hearts and put them in the purse! I thought it was fantastic! Another boy made a "frog purse." It had a little handle, which made it a purse, but it was in the shape of a frog head and when you opened it, the note was on the tongue! How cute is that?!
Here are some pictures. See if you can spot the letters I talked about:
Good-bye Miss Val - I will miss you!
-Ms. Damron-
Oh! And before I forget, on the last day she was there, Ms. Val gave me a sweet present. She gave me some fake yellow roses because she knows those are my favorite. She also framed a "Certificate of Awesomeness." It was so cute.
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