Winding Down 2007

I can't believe another year is close to its conclusion already. As I sit at my desk here at John Marshall High School, the Virginia sun is warming up our day to a high of 78 degrees. This is a record breaker for December, kinda creepy, but also really nice. I think I'm actually going to put on flip flops after school today. We've had a lot going on lately- one major upsetting experience for me- one of my favorite students was shot and killed about a week and a half ago after a house party, and my school is still recovering from the tragedy. It truly broke my heart. He was my student for two years and I had nicknamed him my "even day sunshine" because of his brilliant smile and charm. It has been difficult to help my students come to terms with the empty desk in our classroom, and how he was just with us and now he's not. He was only seventeen and killed by another seventeen year old. Such a senseless shame. We've been discussing how to end the cycle of violence in our communities, but I think having a conversation about it is a lot different than living in the reality of it.
On a brighter note, we've been going on some fun weekend excursions hiking and biking around the area. We are looking forward to the 2 week break we have coming up, and we will drive north to Massachusetts for the festivities. Well, the bell is going to ring and a surge of students will soon be flooding my room for another exciting period of English 10. I hope everyone is well and has beautiful holidays. Keep in touch!