The end of the school year is always fast paced - there is so much to do as you wind down an academic year. I am learning that, if you add in retirement to the mix, things become ever more hectic.
But those add-ins are often poignant and touching, like the surprise party a bunch of my former students threw for me on Thursday. I was bringing my class back from a chess meet with another class...
... and was stunned to discover that the classroom was already full.
I knew these people!
They were former students from my twelve years as a Hershey teacher!
Kathleen handed me a container of her mother's famous "Loftus Fudge"...
... and then gave me a big hug.
I was so stunned, I did not know what to do or say.
There were former students everywhere, mingling with my current class!
There were so many people, I did not know who to talk to first.
So I just jumped in!
So many people who have been dear to me over the years.
After mingling for a while and for old time's sake, my former students wanted to go out to the playground (even though some of them are college students!)
This is one of my favorite photos from the day.
While we were outside, we took photos by the year the students were with me.
Front row: Katy, Albert, Sophie, and Jessica. Back row: Lilli and Angelina. They are finishing their sophomore year at Harrison.
Nikki, Lauren , and 6'3" Zach (when did he get so tall?!) are freshmen in high school.
Ben and Meredith, who were in the 2/3 and 4/5 class with me and so were with me three years, just finished their freshman year at Purdue.
Harrison seniors Emily, Kathleen, twins Grace and Ellen, and Jon.
Chris, Daniel, Jay, and Erin are juniors in high school. (Jay just flew out to Los Angeles and met with a producer and recorded some demo records after his YouTube channel was discovered by an agent. He was also invited to appear on The Voice but declined. His YouTube channel can be found
here; he has over 53,000 subscribers! Note to self: get his autograph while I can!)
Caroline and Madeline will be juniors at Purdue this August and were part of the original 2/3 and 4/5 class and thus with me for three years.
The party wound down after two and a half hours.
Such a lovely gesture from these folks, and so meaningful to me to see them all again. I am incredibly blessed to have been their teacher.
