Last day of schoooooool!

As the title would suggest, it's the last day of school and the students start writing final exams on Monday. I can't believe how fast this year has gone! It has been a great one though, full of funny moments and wonderful memories. My band program has grown so much this year, not necessarily in numbers but in successes. My Level 2 band got the elementary band scholarship from our local Music Festival for the first time in our school's history (yay!), my senior band tackled Ralph Vaughn Williams' "English Folk Song Suite" and actually performed it at our final concert, my Level 1 band rocked out the concert with 2 pieces that had been played by higher level bands earlier in the year, and my Level 3s played Percy Grainger's "Shepherd's Hey" beautifully (something I had always wanted to teach to a band). Students played solos and duets, in and out of school, students won Music Festival scholarships for their performances, we featured duets at our concert, senior band performed at Unifest in Saskatoon, senior choir performed for senior citizens at Pineview and Mont St. Joseph's.... I could go on! This year was musically one of the best.

This afternoon is our final assembly here at the school, and my senior band is playing a South African song called "Ipharadisi," on which we will be joined by younger students (mostly grades 7-8) playing African drums and singing. The senior choir is singing "Hands" by Jewel for the final prayer, and then will be entertaining the audience with "Don't Stop Believin'" from Glee. After the assembly we will clean out our classrooms and head off for the weekend! Unreal. Where did this year go?!

It's finally starting to sink in that this year is almost over and that I am actually heading to IMC next Saturday. Then to NZ the Monday after that. Too too crazy! I can't wait!

The countdown is SO on!

Today is June 16th. June 16th is exactly 2 weeks until the end of the month. After June comes July. On July 5th, I jump on a plane to New Zealand. So, if I can do the math correctly, in exactly 19 days, I will be on my way to kiwi land FOR REAL! After 2+ years of planning it and talking about it, it is finally almost here! This is actually crazy. I still have lots to do before I can say I'm "ready" to go (practice packing my backpack and make sure I have enough room for clothes, i.e. cutting out half of what I think I need to bring, fill prescriptions, hopefully find my favourite pair of glasses which I somehow misplaced in the last few weeks, etc.), but otherwise I'm very excited and ready to see everyone again after nearly 3 years!

In other exciting travel news, Jeff and I booked our Mexico vacation a couple weeks ago! We are spending 10 days in and around Cancun at Easter, and we booked a bunch of fantastic day trips and other excursions. We got a great deal on it too, and I ended up paying for the whole thing with money I made selling bags! It only took me a couple hundred hours of sewing too! Haha. What a deal!

It's now 7:15am and I am about to start getting ready for work. I can hardly believe we're almost at the end of the year! I teach today, then tomorrow I'm out on a field trip with our Grade 7s, then I teach Friday morning, then done! Friday afternoon is our final assembly/classroom clean up, then we have all next week to write finals. Next (next) Saturday (June 26th) I'm heading off to music camp with 3 of my students as well, so the time is flying by at warp speeds, as it tends to do in June. This year in general has gone really fast, in fact. I have been counting down to IMC/New Zealand for ages, and I almost can't believe how close they are!

LOVE!

PS - Nice new template, hey? Much better than that old green one! ;o)