Numbers & too many pics.

21: The age I was when I started at Farragut High School as an intern in the Social Studies department.

6:00am-the time I arrived at FHS during my first few years as a teacher when I taught a 7am class

44: The number of cheerleaders I have the privilege of knowing/loving/supporting/learning from

5: The number of Homecoming dances I was in charge of (A Night in Paris, Friday Night Lights, Glow in the Night, On Cloud 9, The City that Never Sleeps) 

66: The number of classes I have taught

3: The number of preps I had each semester my first official year teaching (Government, Fundamental US History, Bible History)

2: The number of classrooms that I had at FHS (my perfect trailer and my loud room)

4: The number of interns I was able to work with (shout out to Jessica!)

1650: the number of students (estimated) that I taught

4: The number of student Europe trips I was lucky enough to chaperone

0: The number of years that I have spent in education NOT at FHS

1540: the number of texts Clare & I have shared in the last 3 months (I met Clare at FHS about 9 years ago!)

2: The number of presidents I became obsessed with as a teacher (Andrew Jackson & Teddy Roosevelt)
A LOT:  the number of tears I shed as I realized I was leaving all of this

In case you are very confused, I am no longer a teacher at FHS. I accepted an Assistant Principal job at Powell High School the day before teachers arrived back for the year. It was a very tough decision to leave everything I know about education/life, but I know this is going to be a great opportunity for me. 

I was a lucky, lucky girl to have spent the last decade as a teacher at FHS. I made awesome friends, realized that I am meant to be in education, loved days/hated days, ate a lot of Lean Cuisines in the yellow wing workroom, graded a TON of essays, learned what a "lib" is in cheerleading, realized the joy of helping a kid realize that he really does like History he just didn't realize it, completely immersed myself in everything that is being an Admiral. I met Clare, Chelsea, Elizabeth and all of these other great people who are just a part of my life now, so much so that I can't remember them not being there. I fought the yellow wing restroom every day in a battle to win just a little bit of toilet paper and I dressed in a tshirt decorated like a can of spaghetti o's for the can dance every October. There really is just too much to list, so I will stop. 

Just a few of the posts that I have done on FHS related activities....
DC trip, Homecoming dances, football games,  my classroom  memories, perks, more perks the cheerleaders,
Europe trip 2012,

I can't find my first badge, but here is an early one.

My last pic in my room!

The "crack" that Angela & I used to talk through to each other. a story about the crack...

My notebook. Always. I kept everything in there-attendance, grades, cheer info, work to do, notes for class. I remember my printer was not working last year so I just wrote my name on a piece of paper until I could print a title page. Never got around to that...

Entering for the last time. I was literally throwing stuff into boxes when I started packing. One can accumulate quite a bit over the span of a 9 years. Mostly it is random stuff that I used as props in teaching. I am a firm believer in props.

Quaker Man. I used him for random things during the Colonial American unit. He has been with me about 4 years, I think. Sort of like a colleague.

My awesome podium. Pops and Uncle Frank made it for me a few years ago and it is so great, I am taking it with me. You just never know when you are going to need a podium. Check out the note Pops wrote in it for me when he made it.

Random. I think this was from World Culture's Day and my room was Italy. Apparently I wore this?

One of my bulletin boards.

Another one. All kinds of random stuff. I keep everything that has a story.

This is from a few years back, but a teacher left and gave away all of his stuff. I did not want this giant, heavy copy of the Emancipation Proclamation but I sort of felt bad throwing it away. So, I gave it to a random kid who carried it around and brought it back! Hilarious. We started a game where the student who had it got to pick the next kid to give it to and they got to sign it. (There are a bunch of names on the back) The catch was that you had to carry it around all day and if I saw you without it, you lost it. They took it very seriously. I love kids.

Found this from my first year of teaching when I lost my PowerPoint remote. My class was trying to raise $ to buy me a new one. It was supposed to be a surprise, but I found the note. Do not hate on teenagers in front of me because I will disagree with you!

 I grouped my kids using President faces. They were each assigned an awesome president and had to get the laminated head from the Hitler tissue box when it was time to work in groups. I loved looking around and seeing floating heads of Truman, Lincoln and FDR.

 First Powell shirt! In some twisted version of irony, Powell played Farragut in the football jamboree, which was my third day at Powell. My brain was struggling with "We" vs. "Us"!

One of my cheerleaders brought me flowers to my new office. Which is, of course, one of the many reasons I am going to miss them.

Speaking of, this is my last pic with them. I cannot express enough how much I love these girls and what being the cheerleader sponsor has done for me. I had no idea to know that the day I said yes to taking on this responsibility was going to be one of the best days for my life. While the beginning was rough (ROUGH), the relationships, life lessons and rewarding days that I gained from this will never be able to be replicated. Anyone who knows me has heard numerous references to, "my girls", "the cheerleaders", and "I'm planning this project/ordering these things for the girls."    These girls and their families have honestly been a huge part of my Admiral family and telling them goodbye was very difficult. I started crying before I even opened the gym door, so it was definitely not one of my better moments.

FHS was truly an amazing part of my life. The memories and relationships I made there will always be with me. I love you all!