8th grade, Montrose Junior High School, final bell had rung, my locker was empty and I was headed for the bus. Suddenly, the music of Alice Cooper came over the intercom singing, “School’s our for the summer….” One of my favorite junior high memories.

Things have changed a bit over the years. Our last day of school was today. We had movies, awards, cleaning, “Nerd” Olympics (why would anyone CHOOSE to eat 1/2 a raw onion?), volleyball, basketball, four square, kick ball, bump and jump, popsicles and a water slide. Of course, this was just the prelude to the water balloon fight. Our students are able to earn the right to throw a water balloon at their “favorite” teacher by purchasing a book at our book fair in April. I purchase books at the book fair, so yes, I too get to throw water balloons — of course mine are thrown at students. When the final bell rang, the music of Alice Cooper wasn’t blaring over the PA, but it was playing loudly in my head — it does every year.

The end of the school year is always a good time of reflection. As a sixth grade teacher, I have the privilege of seeing the enormous distances that students travel during their middle school journey. Sixth graders who come into middle school are often small in stature, lacking confidence, and even a bit afraid. Lockers are a challenge, they are suddenly thrust into a busy hall filled with 200 students with four minutes to change classes, and teachers have high expectations that require independence and responsibility — it can all be quite intimidating. By the end of that year, they are managing lockers, moving between classes with confidence, using planners, and most are doing homework like pros. The difference between the first of the year and the end are enormous.

When you consider 6th graders who enter middle school and how much they grow in 9 1/2 short months, multiply that by three and you have a small idea about the changes that occur between the beginning of 6th grade and the end of 8th grade. It is a pleasure to see growth and maturity in these young adults.

I remember talking to father of one former student at the conclusion of his daughter’s continuation ceremony one year. I had been close to his daughter and mentioned that I would miss her. He said something like, “But isn’t that the nature of your job, you invest in them and then you turn them loose?” He was right — that is the nature of my job; but I still reserve the right to miss them.

In the fifteen years that I’ve been teaching I’ve taught children who have done and are doing amazing things with their lives. These incredible young people are social workers, writers, actors, actresses, chefs, vets, sales managers, teachers, coaches, firemen, security professionals, miners, mothers, fathers, soldiers, medical professionals, musicians, photographers, and missionaries. Several are in graduate school. I am proud of each one of them. Their success is theirs. They have worked for it and they’ve earned it.

So, today as Alice Cooper is singing in my head, I’m thankful for another year of working with amazing young people. Yes, many of them have made me crazy this year, there are some who do every year — still, I feel blessed to have them in my life. I can’t wait to see what and who this year’s class of sixth graders will be in two years — or six years — or ten years when I once again hear Alice Cooper singing in my head.

“School’s  out for the summer” and even though I am relieved that it is, I’ll miss “my kids.”