First a back to school post, to be followed by Josephine's 7th birthday extravaganza weekend post.
Last week we got an email from the new principal with a special assignment for the students: make a postcard for the principal telling about a journey you took this summer.
This was Jo's postcard (she signed it after I took this photo):
Tuesday afternoon we rounded up two giant sacks of school supplies and dropped them off in the girls' new classrooms. Coryn met her K5 teacher and Jo met her 2nd grade teacher. Both girls were a little shy. They had their school picture taken, then we picked up a stack of back of to school forms to fill out and the bus schedule. This year they'll be picked up at 6:54am, six whole minutes later than last year.
Later that evening we were back at school for the Meet and Greet Family Dinner. We sat with a new school family with a daughter in Coryn's class. Matt met us at school when we were in line for food. At the exact moment he found us, Coryn's hot dog rolled off her plate onto the floor. Matt cut in line to get her another one.
The girls were SO excited to see their old friends. They gobbled down dinner and began wiggling in their seats, begging to get up and play. I plied them with seconds and thirds on cheetos and M&M cookies long enough for the principal to begin the informational portion of the night. Very quickly our girls joined in the clapping and cheering as each teacher and staff member was introduced. All of a sudden, Jo leans over to me and whispers in my ear:
I think I'm going to like my new principal.
This little statement warmed my heart like you wouldn't believe. Back in spring there were some sudden and unexpected announcements that made for a difficult end of the school year. First the principal resigned. Then a few weeks later the pastor left. Both of these men were much loved and admired by the students. And yet both left without a personal good-bye or a clear explanation.Turmoil is a good word for what we felt as school parents trying to decipher the facts from the gossip.
Over the summer the girls kept asking me if their principal and priest would be back when school started in the fall. I told them they wouldn't and that made them sad. Very sad. The girls often named the visitors that Father had brought to their classrooms, new students for next year. Coryn likes to shout Bon Appetit! after our mealtime prayer, just as the Principal always did at lunchtime in the cafeteria. Jo, especially, was glum about losing the Principal. She remembers how he would be standing by the stairs, ready to carry her up or down when she had crutches and a cast on her foot for her first six weeks of K5.
In July we got word about the school hiring a new principal. I told the girls about her. She graduated from Marquette University (just like Mom, Uncle Andrew, Uncle Marc, Uncle Adam and Auntie Leah). She was a mom with three sons, one in college, one in 3rd grade and one in 1st grade. But whenever I talked about Principal Vega, they inevitably asked why Mr. Patterson wasn't coming back. We like him the best, they said. Change is hard. Uncertainty makes it harder.
But after meeting Prinicpal Vega and hand-delivering their postcards to her on Tuesday, the girls were eager to listen and learn. Before going to bed they laid out their uniform and prayed for cooler weather. Their prayers were answered. Wednesday morning was overcast and cool, a perfect fall day to kick off the start of a new school year. They were outside waiting for the bus 10 minutes early.
And this was Coryn's, illustrated on the front, message on the back,(as dictated to Mom):
Tuesday afternoon we rounded up two giant sacks of school supplies and dropped them off in the girls' new classrooms. Coryn met her K5 teacher and Jo met her 2nd grade teacher. Both girls were a little shy. They had their school picture taken, then we picked up a stack of back of to school forms to fill out and the bus schedule. This year they'll be picked up at 6:54am, six whole minutes later than last year.
Later that evening we were back at school for the Meet and Greet Family Dinner. We sat with a new school family with a daughter in Coryn's class. Matt met us at school when we were in line for food. At the exact moment he found us, Coryn's hot dog rolled off her plate onto the floor. Matt cut in line to get her another one.
The girls were SO excited to see their old friends. They gobbled down dinner and began wiggling in their seats, begging to get up and play. I plied them with seconds and thirds on cheetos and M&M cookies long enough for the principal to begin the informational portion of the night. Very quickly our girls joined in the clapping and cheering as each teacher and staff member was introduced. All of a sudden, Jo leans over to me and whispers in my ear:
I think I'm going to like my new principal.
This little statement warmed my heart like you wouldn't believe. Back in spring there were some sudden and unexpected announcements that made for a difficult end of the school year. First the principal resigned. Then a few weeks later the pastor left. Both of these men were much loved and admired by the students. And yet both left without a personal good-bye or a clear explanation.Turmoil is a good word for what we felt as school parents trying to decipher the facts from the gossip.
Over the summer the girls kept asking me if their principal and priest would be back when school started in the fall. I told them they wouldn't and that made them sad. Very sad. The girls often named the visitors that Father had brought to their classrooms, new students for next year. Coryn likes to shout Bon Appetit! after our mealtime prayer, just as the Principal always did at lunchtime in the cafeteria. Jo, especially, was glum about losing the Principal. She remembers how he would be standing by the stairs, ready to carry her up or down when she had crutches and a cast on her foot for her first six weeks of K5.
In July we got word about the school hiring a new principal. I told the girls about her. She graduated from Marquette University (just like Mom, Uncle Andrew, Uncle Marc, Uncle Adam and Auntie Leah). She was a mom with three sons, one in college, one in 3rd grade and one in 1st grade. But whenever I talked about Principal Vega, they inevitably asked why Mr. Patterson wasn't coming back. We like him the best, they said. Change is hard. Uncertainty makes it harder.
But after meeting Prinicpal Vega and hand-delivering their postcards to her on Tuesday, the girls were eager to listen and learn. Before going to bed they laid out their uniform and prayed for cooler weather. Their prayers were answered. Wednesday morning was overcast and cool, a perfect fall day to kick off the start of a new school year. They were outside waiting for the bus 10 minutes early.
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