Sunny News

This time of year is tough. We are in the midst of the winter slump. Everyone is sick of winter, passing germs, praying for no more snow days to make up, and wishing the end of the school year would get here so much faster than it actually is. Every time we have a delay or early dismissal the kids are crazy, but then again, so are the teachers :)
This week, amongst of the snow, wind, craziness and delays, I received some sunny news which reminds me of why I teach in the first place. Something desperately needed at this time of the year.
At the beginning of the week, I went to check my school mailbox and found a letter hand-addressed to "Mrs. Rose's eighth grade classes" from The White House. I was so excited, I immediately told our school secretary and had her watch as I opened the letter. Enclosed was an official letter from the President along with a signed photograph, and a Bo trading card, complete with the dog's stats and aspirations (my favorite part!). I couldn't believe that we had gotten a response after sending letters to President Obama about his speech at the beginning of the school year. I immediately busted into our principal's office to share the news and couldn't wait to tell the kids. I knew they would be thrilled too.
To make this dreary week even better, I received another wonderful letter in my mailbox. This one was from The Scholastic Writing & Arts Contest, which my students had been required to enter. Our English Department Chair had found the money to pay for each middle school to have 20 entries per grade level. (Thank you for that!) Since I required my accelerated classes to write a paper for the contest, I had many to choose from, and when neither of the other 8th-grade English teachers at our school had any entrants, I was able to submit all 20 8th-grade entries for our school. I was again thrilled when the letter came as I knew I had some great pieces entered in the contest. I opened the letter to find that I had SIX Gold Key winners. Again, I couldn't wait to tell the kids. When I told our winners the next day, the surprise and smiles on their faces were enough to keep me smiling the rest of the day.
Luckily, weeks like this happen in the midst of the tedious yet crazy winter. I am so proud of my kids, my students.