Last Day 2010 - One For the Books!

End of each school year has its challenges. One NEVER knows what will service. Generally, if it hasn’t happened all year, it will service during the last week of school. Several years ago one of our principals suggested rewarding the 8th graders last year in middle school. Appreciation Day was born.

The other motivation for this ‘reward’ was to get the 8th graders out of the building on their last day, have the promotion ceremony that same night. And this ‘last’ day for 8th graders would be about 2 days earlier than the 6th and 7th graders. This was an attempt to ‘control’ the last days of the school years. And we USE the threat of ‘losing’ this special day as leverage to maintain productive schooling right up until the end. The concept is solid and does generally works.

Majority of the kids were like us, their teachers. We came to our last day at school with a positive outlook and were going to have a great day. We had planned mini-classes of about 45 minutes, then BBQ for lunch and have yearbook signing, clean out lockers, and end the day with Team Awards. This should have been a ‘feel good day.’

As teachers, we had already spent considerable time and ENERGY over the last month trying to establish an environment that would allow for a successful end. While still trying to teach, we spent more our time putting out fires. We started with the cafeteria at lunchtime. Our lovelies apparently had reverted back to their animal instincts. Their disrespect was at an all time high and apparently contagious. They had been throwing food, making food ‘messes,’ arguing with and yelling at lunchroom staff. Administration asked for our help.

About a dozen of our boys were and had been ‘on the edge’ of disintegrating for over a month. They had absolutely NO wiggle room. Their behavior was spreading and threatened to ignite. Obviously, we still had curriculum we wanted to cover, but at this stage of the game….AND it was a game. The adults were the unwilling participants. When we finally, and reluctantly accepted the challenge from administration, we would win!!

We set up seating charts. All the “pleases. don’t do this, but can’t we….., we didn’t do anything wrong…..” fell on our deaf ears. Been there, done that! It was not a democracy but a dictatorship and had no room for negotiations. Those days were long gone and in my opinion had been part of the problem.

My partners and I would drop into the cafeteria affirming proper seating was being followed. Those students choosing to ignore the rules were given consequences. This was the procedure for the last 3 weeks of school. Teachers were highly visibility in the halls, frequent swing-throughs in restrooms (which had also been trashed several times…boy’s bathrooms, of course). Students not in the classroom had to have passes with ‘time-out’ and ‘time-returned’ documented. It was a close to prison as we could get.

There were several theories as to how student behavior had deteriorated to this chaotic mess, but at this point assigning blame would be a waste of time….we had fires to put out. We would reflect later and devise a fire protection plan for the 10-11 school year.

The 8th grade teachers had managed to curtail misbehavior by not allowing any ‘freedoms.’ Picture six 8th grade teachers with a combined 80 years of experience ‘doggin’ our students EVERYWHERE they went. It was exhausting, but working. However, I continued to be very annoyed that 14-year old children (on their way to high school and getting their drivers permit) could not be trusted anymore than a toddler. But ‘it was what it was.’

THEN there was Friday!

Ninety percent of the kids could be trusted. But the other 10 percent had us worried. Could we ‘safely’ take them outside the protected environment of the school walls without getting sued? We were still working on the plan for these ‘wonderful, borderline’ kids. But it was coming together.

We had made it to the last Friday, and we were intact! All the 8th graders were going to be allowed to attend their Appreciation Day next Monday and participate in their Promotion Ceremony that evening. We just had to get through this last day at school, Friday. This was to be a fun-filled day, a day with little time for students to get in trouble…or so we thought.

The last Friday (day before Appreciation Day) of my 29th year was one for the books. It was intense and I don’t remember any year that could match it. Well maybe 1992 (class of 1996—fondly referred to as Class from Hell II)…but I was much younger then.



FIRST ISSUE – As shared earlier our lovelies had been horrible during lunch. That’s the only way to describe it…HORRIBLE! But we had this under control. Kids knew the rules, the expectations, and knew the consequences if the rules weren’t followed. They, also, were VERY aware this was their last day in the cafeteria for this year, the last day in the middle school cafeteria ever. All they had to do was seat in their assigned seat, eat, and behave for 30 minutes. Again, teachers dropped by the cafeteria to check seat assignments.

On this LAST day (Thursday) in the cafeteria, one of our ‘dirty dozen’ decides to get up and move tables immediately after teachers exited from the daily ‘check.’ Lunch personnel wrote us a note….as requested and expected. This young man’s homebase teacher got the note first thing Friday morning.

This young man was one of our ‘NO-ROOM for misbehavior.’ He knew this, we visited with him constantly. Now, we teachers MUST follow through with a consequence. By all that is fair and deserved (and a very structured conduct card discipline system), the student was at the behavior hierarchy of OSS. This would mean he was gone for the rest of the year (2 days) and miss our 8th Grade Appreciation Day and participating in the Promotion Ceremony.

Some might think moving seats in the cafeteria would keep a kid from Promotion is a little severe. What needs to be understood our ‘Conduct Card’ system is FOR minor misbehaviors. However, it is, also, our philosophy any student continuing to have minor misbehaviors accumulates to MAJOR disruptions. Kind of like being ‘pecked to death by baby ducks,” which completely undermines the school’s ability to function. Productivity plummets.

This young man had already accumulated 45 marks. He had already had consequences of after-school detentions, ESD (extended school day—really long after-school detentions, ISS (in-school suspensions), numerous ‘conferences’ with the student and parent. He KNEW this….NO surprises. Our kids can ‘recite’ the Conduct Card part of their handbook.

I actually believe the kid was scared. He should have been. His homebase teacher was devastated and broke down in front of this 8th grader. “What were you thinking! How could you purposely do exactly what you KNEW would get you the LAST mark on your LAST card? This makes me physically SICK!!” (Obviously, he WASN’T thinking….as usual!)

We wanted him with us at Appreciation Day and even more at Promotion. So, what could we do and still be ‘consistent.’ Because the teachers and administration are ‘weak,’ and too LOVING, we figured a way around the ‘conduct card’ consequence. The young man was given the option of a ‘card’ mark OR an Office Referral. He chose the Office Referral, which is administered separately depending on the number of office referrals a student has accumulated. The young man was immediately placed in ISS for Friday. He would miss the BBQ, yearbook signing, and the Team Awards.

NEXT – As Friday would be our last day actually at school, the 8th grade teachers would be picking up the kids’ Conduct Card. We needed to finalize our behavior ‘records’ and all students still on their first card (white) would be given a ‘dog tag.’ It truly is a ‘status’ thing to get the dog tags. Most of our students have these ‘tags’ for each semester of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade years. And they wear them! Still being on the white card meant these students had gone an entire semester with less than 5 marks (under 5 marks for minor disruptions and/or missing assignments). HUGE accomplishment!

Part of the ‘operational’ procedures for the cards includes getting parent signature for each card mark and each student MUST be able to produce the card whenever asked to do so. If they can’t, they automatically go to the next card level (with a consequence for the ‘lost’ card). This was procedure for the entire year AND had been the procedure for their 6th and 7th grade years as well! Nothing new here, no surprises!

First thing during homebase kids turned in the cards to us. I had two students who couldn’t produce theirs, left them at home!? We gave them until noon to get them to school or go to the next card with a consequence…losing ‘something.’ (We’d figure out ‘what’ when we had to.) Both parents brought the card in and were not happy with their offspring. I knew the feeling.

One of our other children turned in his card. He knew he had two missing ‘parent’ signatures. Now to be honest, the teachers were ignoring ‘no signatures;’ after all, this WAS the last day. But this young man didn’t know that, and he decided to ‘forge’ his parents’ initials. Why the teacher noticed something was ‘off’ is not known, even she doesn’t know; but ‘something’ was off. Why she had time or decided to shoot off an email to folks to check out the signatures is not known, even she doesn’t know; but she did. His folks showed up at school to tell us…in front of their child….YES, he had forged their initials, and they WERE NOT happy with him.

Our NEXT ONE to enter ISS for the day. All of this happening before convening ‘regular’ classes. This young man would, also, be missing the BBQ, yearbook signing, and Team Awards.

CONTINUING……Now for the ‘official’ school day of mini-classes. This year’s Algebra class was one of my best if not the best. They worked VERY hard, matured immensely in their math skills and study habits. However, they were the masters at WHINING. Today was no different. They didn’t understand why classes had to be 45 minutes rather than 30 minutes. Of course, my immediate reaction was one of I’m the teacher, this is the last day. I, with my teaching partners have made the schedule. Where in the world do students decide school schedules? The students and my conversation went something like:

ME: “WHAT?! It’s how we, the TEACHERS, scheduled your day.”
Student: “Why?”
ME: “What do you mean why? Because!!”
Student: “But…”
ME: “STOP!!! This day WILL BE a day without WHINING…GOT IT!”

Each of the classes had their own issues, but ALL ended the same! “No, WHINING….NO NEGOTIATING!”

In my class on Friday, students were to write letters to themselves. These letters would then be put in an envelope and sealed. These letters would then be placed in the 2014 ‘time capsule’ to be opened during their senior year of high school. The students did seem to care about this, for the most part and took it seriously. This surprised me, but I was grateful! The remaining time they played games; cards, checkers, chess, Monopoly, Boogle (I hate Boogle….NOISY!), UNO, Double Solitaire….

When classes were over, we were on to the yearbook signing. Each and EVERY class was given the ‘appropriate signing’ speech RIGHT BEFORE the event. Yep, didn’t work….about a dozen kids proceeded to write in others’ yearbooks sexually inappropriate messages. These kids got the ‘sit-down in the corner’ consequence and were the last to go through the BBQ food line. These are the consequences little kids in preschool get. Yes, it was a preschool type of day.

NEXT we were ready for locker clean-out. The teachers positioned themselves in the hall beside their rooms (our best attempt to watch the classroom and the hall). Things seemed to be going pretty well when I hear the loudest, most horrible sound of something BIG breaking. I snap my eyes to my room. I can see half of the class, kids frozen and staring at the corner of the room I can’t see, with their mouths dropped wide open.

I CALMLY (I didn’t have the energy for anything else.) walked into the room and saw one of my ‘dirty dozen’ trying to reassemble a huge flowerpot (painted with the ‘stars and stripes’ given to me by a ‘former’ parent). There was DEAD SILENCE in the room.

ME: “Young man, I want you to give me an explanation.”
Student: “Uh….I really don’t want to.”
ME: “I will need an explanation.”
Student: Nothing
ME: “I am going back into the hall to watch the rest of locker clean out. I’ll be back for the explanation.”

About 5 minutes later I return. Class is still silent. My young man looks at me and says,

Student: “I’m ready to tell you an explanation.”
ME: “I’m ready to hear it.”
Student: “Well, I was standing on the counter and looking at the stuff (various pottery works done in Art class that students had given me or left in my room over the years placed ON TOP of the wall cabinets) and my elbow hit the pot.”

I told him I appreciated the explanation. Now I needed the entire class to leave the room while I ‘readied’ the room for the ‘awards’ ceremony. The kids silently left the room, close the door, and proceeded to sit down on the floor right outside my classroom….kind of looked like a little covey.

Apparently, one of the kids went and got one of my teaching partners. She came in the room and said, “WHAT HAPPENED?” I told her the story while I continue to straighten the room. She whirls around and says, “Well, that’s ISS for him for the rest of the day.”

He became our third ISS student for the day. He missed the awards.


AWARDS CEREMONY began. The awards are something we have done for 19 years.

Some students are recognized with ‘serious’ awards; Most Outstanding, Most Improved, and Best Effort in each subject area. Then we conclude with the ‘funny’ awards, one for each student. The teachers never talk about the awards in front of the kids until the last day, but they have already heard about them from previous years and LOVE anticipating what their individual awards might be.

I didn’t have much hope in salvaging the day. But we couldn’t stop now….’full steam ahead’! First the ‘serious’ awards were given out. Students looked genuinely pleased to be recognized, and their classmates genuinely happy for them….appropriate applauses and congratulations. Thank goodness for that; still I was not expecting much.

We started the ‘funny’ awards. Individual students were recognized for:
Future Gossip Columnist
Future Albert Schweitzer
Future Tree Hugger
Future American Idol
“Are you sure the rules apply to me?”
Ladies Man
Future Supreme Court Justice
“Huh? What are we suppose to be doing?”
Future Sunglasses Model
Mr. Style
Future Make-up Artist
#1 Teachers’ Pet
Future Novelist
Mr. Cool
My Goal is Organization
World Record for Most Trips to Her Locker
Ms. Sunshine
All American
World Olympian Wrestler
First Women on Mars
Future Astronaut….

The kids loved them! Each time one of my team partners or I began to describe the ‘award’ or the individual getting the award…the kids guessed the recipient. It was like we REALLY were family….the feeling I had been ‘looking for’ all year.

At the end, we told the kids it was time to go back to homebase, gather their stuff and go home.

Students: “No, wait, we have awards for you teachers.”
My teaching partner: “Oh, I don’t think so.”
Students: “No, really, they’re good.”

One of our ‘dirty dozen’ stands, apparently elected to be the presenter.
“Ms. Groat gets the Best Teacher Award.” Kids applaud.
“Mrs. Walker gets the ‘Loves Donuts and Shares Award” Kids applaud.
“Mrs. Shirley gets the ‘Teaches Interesting Things Award” Kids applaud.

With 3 minutes left of the day, I went and gathered up my three ‘ISSers,’ brought them back to the classroom. As they entered, I asked the class, “And their awards were….?”

All the kids, as a chorus, told the boys their ‘funny’ awards.

Kids are gone. What a ‘trip’ of a day! We have Monday’s Appreciation Day and evening Promotion to finish off the year. I am amazed once again by 8th graders.

After 29 years, I began to think I can’t be surprised any more….at least not surprised very much. But this year’s group has been the most trying, challenging, debilitating, exhausting I can remember having in the last 19 years of 8th graders. And then Friday, completely be surprise, I find myself getting emotional because the ‘end’ is in sight We’ve come to the end of a very important year for this kids! They made it! I made it! I see them in my mind smiling, enjoying school life! Huh?? Who knew??

Course, we still have Monday to get through!!