Wednesday, 5/29/13 The Last *sniff sniff* Day of School

I don't even know where to begin. What a year it's been. I have so many incredibly amazing memories of this class. We laughed, learned, (sometimes cried.....or was that just me????), discovered and were challenged together. This was the first year I ever wrote a blog, and I've cherished it. I love that I now have an entire year of my career (and some of my "real" life) chronicled. I've loved the idea that I'm connecting with my (students') parents in a way that I've never done before. I'm so incredibly grateful to all of you. I plan to continue to blog next year, so come check in on me every once in a while (and pardon any repeats you may read----know that you were always the original audience receiving my thoughts).  We experienced Sandy Hook and Oklahoma (I never wrote about it----I thought about it, but it was another time when teachers were brought to do what we all know we would do for our kids, and I almost couldn't handle the heartbreak of writing about it again). We went through our first-ever
RAIN day and rescheduled Celebration of Learning together. And the budget--well, I'm not even going there on this day of happiness, other than to say that the magic (I have no better way to describe what I witnessed) that I saw in this town was nothing short of amazing. I always knew that Itasca was extraordinarily special, it's truly where my heart lives, and you all demonstrated in real-life ways exactly why. I'm so very blessed to know such strong, passionate, dedicated people, who also happen to be parents of some incredibly important-to-me kids!

I am thankful to each and every one of you, and your children will forever be a major piece of my heart.

"Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened."  -Dr. Seuss

With love,
Ms. Mitchell
<3  =)