I went to school this morning with a few ideas of things I wanted to accomplish with my students, but also knowing that I would probably have to "wing it" because after all, it IS the second-to-last day of school and unexpected things were bound to come up. Little did I know how right I was.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, my 3rd and 4th graders go to P.E. at 2:00 with Mr. Bretscher while I teach 5th and 6th grade social studies. Since reports cards are going home tomorrow and I had already done my grades, I had no intentions of making them do any work; in fact, I hadn't planned anything to do with the kids so I decided that I'd ask Mr. B to take them to P.E. as well. 2:00 rolled around and as usual I took my class over to the main building to take our bathroom break before P.E. I saw two of my moms in the kitchen with a bowl of punch and a gift bag, but I didn't think twice about it. I went to the bathroom, then told Mr. Bretscher my plan for the combined P.E. As I started walking back to my classroom, I saw that the older kids had already gone out with Mr. Bretscher but my kids were still lined up in the hallway. They seemed very confused and nobody could give me a straight answer about why they were still there. Some were saying Mr. Bretscher had told them to wait, and he would come back for them. Others had no clue what was going on.
At this point, I need to explain that there is a straight line of vision from the front door of the school, through the fellowship hall, and all the way to the back door, which leads to the mods behind the building. So as I was standing there looking at the kids in line by the back door, I happened to see, through the front door, Daniel's mom pull into the parking lot, immediately followed by Craig's dad. I began to wonder why, now, FOUR of my students' parents were at school an hour before dismissal. I brushed it aside because now all the students were asking to go back to the classroom. I asked them why, thinking to myself something was definitely going on. But we got back to the classroom and it was empty. So we waited...and waited...and waited. Finally around 2:15 I sent a scout to find Mr. B and figure out just what was going on.
While Alina was gone, Daniel (who had been absent that day) burst into the classroom and literally froze in the doorway. He looked like he desperately wanted to say something but wasn't sure if he should say it. By now, some of the students were whispering, giggling, giving totally obvious signs that they had a secret. I asked the kids if they knew something I didn't, and they all jumped on the defense and started giving some sort of explanation...for the record, my students are horrible liars!! Alina returned just then to say that Mr. Bretscher and the others were in the field and we were supposed to join them. So I took the class back outside, where Daniel says, "We're ready for you in the kitchen."
AHA! So something DID smell fishy... I innocently asked, "Ready for what?" Here the kids just lost it and everyone started laughing and someone said, "We have a surprise for you!" So they made me close my eyes and proceeded to lead me back inside the main building. At this point my eyes are closed and I'm surrounded by eight children pulling and pushing me down the hallway, me freaking out about walking into a wall the entire time! As we neared the fellowship hall I heard voices and wondered how many people were watching this silliness and then I saw a camera flash!! I came to a halt, the students let me open my eyes, and before me was all of my students, several parents, and the tastiest spead I'd ever seen! Complete with cheese, sausages, chocolates, punch, and a cookie cake with hot pink frosting!
Here a bag was slung over my shoulder and I was informed that we had to work for our food. Carla, Daniel's mom, had hidden three letterboxes around the school and we had to go find them using clues she had written! I have never heard of this before but it was a lot of fun!
Here's a website that explains it better than I can. It involves using clues to locate a box, which contains a rubber stamp and a little notebook. My "survival pack" contained a notebook, inkpad, candy, compass, and the rest of my clues. Each time we found a box, I had to get the stamp out and make a stamp in my book, and had these been real letterboxes, I would have stamped my own personal stamp in the notebook inside the box as a sort of "Rachel was here" mark.
When I realized what this would involve, I grimaced. I was wearing a white skirt and heeled sandals...just the perfect outfit for hiking through the field and tramping through the tall grass! Throwing my dignity to the wind, I marched out back with the kids and we managed to find all three boxes in a short amount of time. By the time we finished we were all tired and sweaty (it was hot out today!!) and ready for our snacks. As we were eating, the kids read their page in the "Why I love Miss Bertschi" book that they had secretly put together. I thought for sure I would bawl my eyes out listening to them read but somehow I managed to keep it together!! I think because I knew it wasn't the last time I'd see them, I wasn't ready to cry. The kids even brought me some tissues before they started reading and were just as surprised as I was when I didn't cry! The tears will come soon enough, I'm sure.
Overall it was a fabulous day and I really had no idea they had planned all this for me! It has been such an incredible year with these kids, and I am going to miss them SO MUCH next year. I'm going to miss their families too; I've spent so much time with them and gotten to know them on a more personal level this year and I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to Greencastle for a second time. I've decided that I'm not going to say goodbye, but "see you later." Even though I will have only spent 9 months here, I know I will always have a home and family in Greencastle, and I'll definitely be back to visit in the future.
