Bittersweet Ending

The end of a school year is always a bittersweet moment, but this year in particular we all shed a few more tears than usual.

With the new adventures we will be taking next year in regards to the girls' schooling, we had to say "See ya later" to one of THE best elementary schools around.

It is hard to believe that we won't be returning to this spot when August rolls around.  I am very excited for our new adventure in schooling, but a part of my heart will always be with this school, it's faculty, parents, and kids.  Amazing, amazing people and I hope that they will allow us to come and visit occasionally.  

The end of the school year is always filled with fun and craziness, and this year was no exception.

The first event was the annual 6th grade bike day.  The 6th graders always take a day at the end of the year and ride their bikes to a nearby park to have a bbq and hang out all day.  Since my wrist was still recovering from surgery, I volunteered to take the food over in the old Swagger Wagon.  (Which I think technically I shouldn't have been driving because of my brace, but oh well.)

 The kids had a blast and I just have to give a shout out to our awesome police department for giving us an escort to and from the park.  

Next on the list was Ellie's 1st grade program.   

 From the look on her face in the first picture, you would think this was torture for her, but by the time the program started, she was all smiles- embarrassed smiles- but smiles nonetheless.

Another annual tradition is the 6th grade vs. Teacher Softball game.  This is serious business for sure.  

After a tough battle, the students came out on top.  It was a super hot, but super fun day.

Then it was time to celebrate with the 6th graders as they closed the elementary school chapter in their lives.  Emma is so fortunate to have wonderful friends and it was an honor to celebrate with them.

Emma's "What I Will Miss About 6th Grade" essays was one of the ones that was chosen to be read during the program.  I have an amazing daughter- 3 of them to be exact.

Here is the video of her essay.

That brings us to the last day of school, which brought an ending in some form to each of my kiddos.

For Josh, it was the end of middle school.  Technically he was a Freshman in High School, but in our school district, the 9th graders still attend the middle school.

 Do you think he loves his Piano Guys shirt or what?  I was laughing when I put this collage together.  

(Meeting Steven Sharp Nelson is on his bucket list)

He has changed so much over the past year.  He has grown at least 6 inches in height, but he has also matured in so many ways.  I was not constantly pulling my hair out trying to get him to turn assignments in on time.  He was responsible and finished the year with a 3.9 GPA.  He has become quite a social butterfly which is very fun to see.  He has a really great group of friends and I am always thankful for that.  He earned quite a stack of awards including "Most Outstanding German Student", an excellence in music award and several grade-based awards.

Such accomplishments call for a Slurpee....with a mustache straw.

Genius 7-11...genius.  Way to capitalize on the whole mustache craze.

Emma said goodbye to the elementary school era in her life, and to a pretty amazing teacher.

I don't have enough words to say thank you to this great lady.  She loves her kids as if they were her own, and you can sense that as soon as you walk into her classroom.  There was not a dry eye in that classroom when the bell rang one final time, parents included.

Emma also came home with a handful of awards including the person "Most Likely to win a Nobel Peace Prize" and recognition for being on the student council.

 Emma has also grown so much over the last year- unfortunately for her, that did not include any growth in the height department.  But she has grown in so many other ways.  She has made the transformation from little girl to young lady rather gracefully and I look forward to seeing what else she will be able to accomplish in the years to come.

Abbie has very mixed feelings about saying goodbye to this school that she loves, but she is ultimately very excited for the opportunities she will have through the k12 curriculum.

She was extremely sad to say goodbye to this lovely lady, Mrs. Wilkins.  We have had the pleasure of having her for Josh and now Abbie and we feel so lucky!  She loves music as much as we do and it was the perfect fit for Abbie this year as she started the violin.  We had to check her out of class often to attend her lessons and Mrs. Wilkins was so good to let Abbie make up the work that she missed and encourage her to make time for music in her life.

 Abbie is now almost as tall as Emma and will probably pass her up in the next year or two.  She has come a long way in dealing with the anxiety issues that she has and I know that this new plan for school will help her even more.

Little Miss Ellie was definitely sad to say goodbye to the school that she has only known for the past two years.  I know this sounds all too familiar, but she had an amazing teacher as well.  Liberty is full of those amazing teachers I tell ya.  We have also had the privilege of having Mrs. Vuyk for Abbie and Ellie and now that we don't have any more 1st graders, I guess there is no point in staying at the school! ;)  I think that Ellie says it best though.  This is from a paper that she wrote about her teacher.

My favorite thing about my teacher is:  "Her lagh (laugh).  He lagh is funny and fun."

And it's true.  Mrs. Vuyk has a great laugh, just like little Miss Ellie Bellie.

It will be interesting to see how this change in schooling will effect Ellie.  She doesn't have as much "traditional" school background as the other kids do.  But I have no doubt that she will be successful and that she will have fun.

Yes, it was a very bittersweet day and many tears were shed, but as with any bittersweet ending, there is an equally bittersweet beginning and we say, Bring it on. :)