It's Over . . . . .

Today was my last day at Newburyport High School.

What can I say? It was sad.

I cleaned and packed the majority of my classroom last week -the only items I had to take home with me today were my plants. All I had to do was to finish entering my grades into the system and have administrators sign me out verifying that I completed all my work, cleaned my classroom, and turned in my keys.

I said my good-byes to my students all last week. It was this emotional rollarcoaster ride that I really can't explain. Students from the past three years stopped by my room to give me flowers, cards, letters, hugs, etc. Of course, I cried. They cried. These kids have so much instability in their lives and here is another adult in their life that won't be there for them. It's so screwed up!

The English/History Departments did a party today for myself and two other colleagues that are leaving. Again, very emotional for me. Peter, my dept chair, gave me a book (It's a tradition in the department that anyone leaves receives a book about history). The book is called Death in the Haymarket by James Green - it's about Chicago and the first labor movement.

I did send out the following email at school to the faculty and staff:

"I just wanted to thank everyone for their support during this very difficult time. A special thanks goes out to the English/History Depts - especially Susie and Peter. This group has been my strength for the past two months and I will forever be grateful for your kindness and support. Hugs, cards, emails, or just asking how I was doing meant so much to me - thank you. You are an amazing group of people and I will miss you. I wish you all much luck next school year - Keep in touch - Hugs- Lori"

I received a ton of responses from the faculty - mostly well-wishes and wanting to keep in touch stuff. I've also received a ton of positive comments about how well I handled this situation and how professional I was until the end. Let me tell ya folks, it was hard! It took every ounce of my being to not tell my Principal to go to hell! I'm the first one to admit that I wasn't the best teacher that I could be the past few months with my students. This is something that I will always have to live with for the rest of my life -that for the first time in my career, I didn't give my all in my job.

Oh, I'm sure you are all wondering if my Principal said anything to me today. The answer is NO! Not that I would expect him to talk to me all of a sudden. The man of no emotion wouldn't even look at me let alone talk to me.

So, life moves on . . . .

What will the next chapter hold for M-Dawg?