Art & Writing Celebration

I don't write very often about school, but last night was a really nice night that I wanted to share about. My school had it's Annual Art & Writing Celebration, which was amazing! My school in Joplin didn't do this event, so it was something new to me three years ago. In the three years my school has been open, I believe this year was the BEST celebration we've hosted!

Students in all grades had a writing sample of some sort (of course, each grade level did something that matched the ability of those students.) The writing samples were in each classroom, and our halls were BEAUTIFULLY decorated with art made by students throughout the year. The building looked AMAZING! Our Art Teacher did an AMAZING job of decorating the building and coordinating the event with the committee. It was really special.

From my point of view, it was fun to watch. I was a greeter at one end of the building passing out programs to everyone as they came in. I really enjoyed it. I was able to see kids with their parents and families, and met a few new parents because of the students who pick on me because I'm a KU fan. *grin*

Of course, the highlight for me was at the end of the night. I was about to turn around at one point to head in a different direction, and a parent was waiting for me to turn and face them, and I was in a hug before I knew it! I just grinned, as I used to see the parents of this student all the time because I tutored their son before he entered my program, and since their son has been in my program they haven't seen me at all. I was so excited to see them! *grin* We spent about ten minutes getting caught up and the student was REALLY ready to go. I have to admit, it was a highlight of my night! *grin*

Shortly after that another boy and his Dad stopped by. We had a blast talking and just looking at the artwork. I adore that student and his family, as they work SO HARD with their son to help him triumph over his learning difficulties. It's always inspiring for me as a teacher to be reminded that there are parents working with their kids outside of school to help them overcome the challenges they face. It made me *grin* all day today. When the youngster was in my room today, I just smiled. He's working SO, SO, SO, hard! I thought this afternoon that the phrase "I'm so proud of him" doesn't even begin to describe how my feelings of joy about his progress this year. *grin*

By the end of the night, my feet hurt and I was exhausted, but it was a great evening for the families at my school. Now I'm glad it's the weekend. I'm exhausted and ready for a couple days off. Only 5 more Mondays left, with the fifth one being our last day of school! Woohoo! *grin*

LIFE.
IS.
GREAT!!!