Happy Trails...

Oh yeah! I'm finished! It's over! It's my birthday! I'm so happy! Woooooooooo! Ahhhhh.....that was a lot of sound effects for your reading pleasure. I'm just so happy that this school year is over. I've never worked with such an unusual combination of brilliant, profoundly low, hyper, comatose, negotiating, enabled, loving, useless, satisfying kids in one year. One year which was "led" by SuperLeaderInCharge-who-supports-no-teacher. Wow! I did it!
Some tidbits from the day's wrap up:

1. At our Super!Fun end of quarter reward day, we had about 10 kids not make it due to either running out of money in their behavior checkbooks or not completing their quarterly goals or projects (Which were due 2 weeks ago and they also did not use said 2 weeks. I'm not inflexible.) SuperLeader comes down to our hall for about the third time this year and looks at me in horror when she sees that some of the kids not participating have parents to whom she bows.
SL: Oh, no! I'm really surprised to see that you put some of these kids in here!
Me: They have no money. That's the rule.
SL: Yeah, but Susie, Bobby, and Leo? Their parents are going to be mad.
Me: Their parents have seen their checkbooks every day of this school year. It's not a big surprise.
SL: Well. [pursed gopher lips] I'd better not hear from any of these parents. [glare]
Me: I doubt you will, but if you do, at least I'll know they care.
**Note - Of course, we heard from exactly none of these parents.

2. Happy story: As I was cleaning up today, one of my favorite kids came up to me and appeared to be struggling with his words.
FavKid: Ah....Mrs. Pigs?
Me: Yeah?
FV: I was just wanting to tell you.....um. Well...
Me: [looking expectantly]
FV: I don't say this to all teachers. Really I don't. [looks at me earnestly]
Me: [I can hear him using that on girls later in life]
FV: You really are the best teacher I've ever had. [looks all kinds of embarrassed]
Me: Awwwwww! [big scoopy embarrassing hug]
FV: [untangles self from my grasp] Oh? Mrs. Pigs? I've made you a summer reading list of books I think you'll like.

3. Satisfying Ending: I received in my email today an exit survey from the district for my pontificating pleasure. There is a section about my administrator. I must run. It seems I have some paperwork that I am a little too excited about.

-The now retired Pigs.