To my First Class at Broad Street

Just one week ago I said good bye to first class at Broad Street Elementary School. The end of a school year is always a celebration of a years worth of memories, learning and community. It is also grieving that those same littles will no longer enter my classroom door again as my second graders, will no longer sit together in a circle for morning meeting, learn lessons on the carpet, gather around the guided reading table or share in laughs, challenges and moments together. It is both bitter and sweet.

Below is the letter I wrote and shared on my last day with my first class at Broad Street:

My dear Meassick Meadow,

You did it! 180 days of second grade spent learning and growing. Think back with me to our very first day of school. For all of us there was a lot of NEW. We all adapted to something new, whether it was a new school, or new friends, a new building or new routines, a new teacher or new classmates. It was even a brand new school and district for me. Starting something new can be very hard and it was challenging for us at first. The people in our classroom felt like strangers and some of you, like me, were walking completely new hallways. Sometimes it felt uncomfortable to be in a new place or to be with new people.

But we did it! Now, 180 days later when I look around our classroom instead of the unfamiliar I see memories. I see you all studying plants and the solar system. I see you learning to tell time and solve three digit subtraction problems. I see us reading delighting stories around our table, you excitedly sharing your connections and predictions. I see you popping out at me during lunch with the teacher. I see our classroom decorated for holiday parties. I see the environmental center, field day, and field trip to Landis Valley. But most importantly I see friends where strangers once sat and I see each one of your very special personalities light up our room. You are all incredibly precious to me as my first class here in Mechanicsburg. Thank you for helping me and allowing me to learn and grow right alongside all of you.

Your teacher,

Mrs. Meassick

(As a note, our school district underwent some changes in which many students were moved to new building. So while I was new to the building so were many of my students.)