sweet emotion

What a roller coaster of a day.  I said goodbye to my staff and to the first group of 8th graders to have been on our campus for all three years of middle school.  I also said goodbye, at least for now, to middle school.  Although I'll be on my current campus through next week before moving to my new elementary school, it won't be the same without the kids and teachers there on Monday.

Standing in the cafeteria on duty this morning, the 8th grade counselor and I were fighting back tears.  As I told the students before their 8th Grade Walk this afternoon, they came to us as kids, and they are leaving us as kind, funny, talented young adults.  We have loved watching them grow, and of course this will be the only year that our inaugural 6th grade class leaves for high school.  On top of that, this 8th grade class is just a really special group of students ... if you work in a school, you know what I mean by that.  Every once in a while, that really amazing group comes along and leaves a legacy.

At this afternoon's farewell staff meeting, we said goodbye to eighteen teachers who are leaving for a variety of reasons.  Many were there when we opened the building, and have become my biggest supporters - I couldn't ask for a higher compliment.  The staff presented me with a beautiful James Avery bracelet, a book of notes from the 8th grade students, and our annual staff spirit award.  When I accepted, they gave me a standing ovation.  I feel so undeserving of having worked with so many amazing teachers.  They are the hardest working and most caring people I know; they have helped shape me as an administrator, and have left a lasting mark on my career and in my heart.

I had another first - an unfortunate one - today.  A teacher's husband showed up midday and asked me to accompany him as he let her know that her dad had suddenly passed away and that they had to leave immediately.  It's been almost twenty years, but I've gotten that news out of left field, and my heart just broke for her.  A handful of other teachers could also identify, and it made an emotional day that much harder.  But it also reminded me how special the people I work with are - the 8th grade teachers had a plan to cover her classes, finish her grades, etc., within minutes.  They were there for each other when it really mattered, as they have been before, and it was so incredible to see.

We spend so much time with the people we work with, and in a field that requires as much emotional commitment as education, it's so vitally important that those people feel like family.  For the first time, I feel like I'm leaving a job that has felt like home.  I'm excited for my next adventure, but it's going to take a little while for the raw part of my heart to feel right again.