I made it through the last day of school better than expected. My voice has been gone all week, I think due to too many tears. I am touched and overwhelmed by the heartfelt letters, cards and gifts from students. It’s funny that some that you never really thought cared all that much are the ones you touch deeply. Tomorrow I will spend the day with final clean-up of my classroom and stage. Then Saturday morning we are off on a grand adventure to London to see Wicked in the West End, spend a few days as  tourists in London, speed over to Waterloo to meet the folks there, then back to the UK to Diss, and visit Mo’s grandparents.

California Dreaming is playing right now which just reminds me of my kids again. Twice we performed this in The Rock-n-Roll Show which I wrote. I will really miss them!

I know it’s only a little after 8:00 PM but it’s bedtime for Bonzo.

My students and favorite parents/colleagues had a going away soiree for me last Friday! What a surreal experience. It was so overwhelming I ALMOST changed my mind. There must have been 200 people there; at the little outdoor park on a 100 degree afternoon. The kids went nutty buddy with ice fights and playing park bench on a REAL park bench ( method actors!). I received many cards and gifts, but the heart breaker was a scrapbook made for me by my boy twins’ mom of all the shows I have directed for the past three years! Of course the boy twins were involved in every one. I really couldn’t look at it too much that day as I kept bawling. Twin mom took it home to put more photos of the GOING AWAY party which another of her sons was taking. I felt like a celebrity.

Tomorrow is my Drama Club Awards. I have been running around like a wild banshee getting cakes and trophies and tokens etc. I sure hope I don’t leave anyone out. But with a program as huge as mine I am sure I accidentally will.

I hear that the kids at St. John’s are getting anxious about their new teacher. Just like my kids! I leave for the UK on Saturday with a short sojourn to Brussels on the 30-31st (that is if I can get my tickets booked, I am having trouble right here in River City).

My students are performing well on their finals. The Advanced Drama contrasting monologues are going quite nicely, and the 7th grade monologue show also went relatively well considering they were my hardest class this year. They did improve a lot.

I am dead tired, so I must retire for the evening. TTFN

 I am just trying to figure out my new camera and this website. In the background is one of my oil paintings of the Grande Place in Brussels, Belgium. My parents purchased a set of these, one for each of my grandmothers, as well as other fabulous artworks by the same painters while we were there in the 70s. I inherited them. I love them. My friend Marianne (lives in Houston now) has a similar set by the same artist, what a grand time we had visiting last year in Cabo and at her home in Houston. It brought back so many memories of our Belgian days. It was/is my destiny to go back.

So I did break down in tears today in musical theatre as I watched my kids do their final performances. All I could think was how much they have grown; physically yes, but more so as performers. The cards and goodies are pouring in; it is teacher appreciation week, but the notes are all so touching on the fact that I am leaving. I had my child prodigy student tutor my son in math after school. I am one lucky woman.

 Here are a few thumbnail photos (double click on them for a bigger image) of my new gig space. WordPress is so much easier to upload photos than my other blog site, plus this one is FREE! And you know me; Ms. Frugal!  Anyway, you can visit the entire site of my new school at http://www.stjohns.be/  I have no idea why my comments on this entry are turned off, but I guess no big whoop.

 Cool, I am learning how to upload photos!!! This website rocks! Now all I need to do is learn how to use my new camera. Oh, I also don’t feel comfortable showing photos of my students in an on-line blog (too many weirdos out there) although I am so proud of their work, so that limits me too.

The final projects in musical theatre bring tears to my eyes! Sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice. There are a few kids I really would liked to have worked with for another couple of years. But I must say that my most favorite students of all time are in the now moving on 9th grade class. This makes my move much easier. I mean if I can’t have THEM, then I might as well go too. But I am sure I would have found new 9th graders to be just as awesome, and the seventh grade class has many potential great ones.  Last year my 9th graders almost drove me crazy!

I am slowly but surly jumping through the flaming hoops, or should I say cutting the red tape to get my visa. I made my doctor’s appointment today along with a Mobil notary to apostle the signature of my doctor. I also sent for ANOTHER F.B. I. background check. This is my fourth one since I began the teaching profession.

I got an email from the personnel director with all the hoops I need to jump through to get a visa/work permit. I didn’t get too far today, but I did commence. Scary, reeeeeeeally scary. I forgot to register for my summer grad. school classes though. I need to make a note of that for tomorrow.

Watching my students today in musical theatre and advanced drama was exhilarating. They really are phenomenal, and I am so proud of them. I had to fight back tears many times but I also “laughed myself into stitches”.

One of my favorite parents wants to throw me a going away party. I must say I really don’t like these (I do appreciate it though) as they are such tear jerkers for me. I so wear my heart on my sleave.  I am giving the students an Academy Award type party the second to the last day of school. I will give out my awards, the student voted  awards and other gifts. I gotta at least spend a little bit of the massive budget I have built for the program before I go.

I began (with the help of my ever loving fabulous students) to clean out my desk.

Two of my fantastic stagecraft/actors, I like to call them “bi-techual thespians” ran the drama club improv rehearsal today. These two ladies have the makings of fine drama teachers someday.

I watched Henry the 5th starring Kenneth Brannagh last night. This play/movie has been touted as brilliant. While I am a Shakespeare lover, and I enjoy Mr. Brannagh having been directed by him in the movie Dead Again,  I must say I wasn’t really impressed with the story line. It was just an over zealous, ambitious king who figures he needs to take what others have (with God’s blessing), and falls in love with the opposing team’s Princess in a moment’s time. There were a few redeeming scenes, such as the one in French with Emma Thompson learning the English words for hand, finger, nails, neck and chin. It also introduced a very young Christian Bail (American Psycho). Judy Dench is always a pleasure. What I was really waiting for, and was disappointed, was a monologue by Hotspur that a colleague did last summer and some of my students are doing as their final. It must have been cut as the speak the speech monologue was from Mel Gibson’s Hamlet. But at least one more Shakespeare play/movie viewing is under my belt!

Okay so far so good, this new blog has spell check; yee haw! I took Mo to see Spiderman Three today. Man, was it violent! It really is amazing how much violence we watch everyday as Americans. I am looking forward to less of it in Belgium. Well maybe no spell check but since I am going to a French speaking sector of Europe, I can translate this into French! I am just learning the this new blogsite so be patient.