Peace, Joy, Love

Peace, Joy, Love

Wow! It’s hard to believe that this year is quickly coming to an end.  The excitement (and chaos) can be felt throughout my classroom and school campus as we finish out the last few school days of 2018. This is the season when most people stop and reflect on the ups and downs of the past year while making resolutions for the next. As teachers, we know that our school year is nowhere close to being over, but this is a nice time to stop and evaluate the year so far.

Thinking back to the goals that I set for myself and my students at the beginning of the school year, I know that there is still so much more that I need to teach before state testing in April. Sometimes it feels like we have come so far as a class and other times it feels like we are so far from where we should be. It is easy to become fixated on what seems like a never-ending race to the finish line. Over the last few days, I have made many notes in my lesson plan book as to what needs to be accomplished before school lets out for Winter Break as well as what I will need to review with students when we return.

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant." - Anne Bradstreet

Reflecting on my personal journey over the past year, one word echoes loudly in my head. . . JOY! That might not be the first word you would think of if I was to share all that has happened to me in such a short amount of time. The last 15 months have been challenging to say the least. To give you some perspective, on the night of Oct. 1, 2017, my world came to a crashing halt. Under the night sky and the light of Las Vegas, the sound of gunshots coming toward me filled my reality. Living in the aftermath of the deadliest mass shooting in American history has come with unimaginable sorrow and pain. And yet, there has been so much joy along the way. I truly believe that love wins! Above all else, I resolve to choose joy in all that I have done and continue to do both in my professional and personal life. It is with joy in my heart that I am so proud to say that I get to teach at one of the best schools around.

As I have started to count down the last few hours of school with my students, I have tried to focus less on all that needs to be taught and instead take in the wonderful joy that comes from spending time with them. Many of my students have shared that they would rather be at school for the next two weeks than have the time off and be “lonely at home.” It is a reminder to me of the impact we have on students' lives!

May the joy of this season fill your hearts, and may we all come back in January joyful to teach another day.

Learning and teaching with grace,

Alina