#edublr

I had an absolutely awful headache all day today. But I rallied!

I spent most of my prep time in an IEP meeting and the rest of it doing reference checks for one of our new hires. I didn't have any students scheduled to come see me during flex time- on purpose, in case that aforementioned IEP meeting ran long- so I also had time to straighten up my room and get squared away for the day.

I did a lot of proofreading in all three sections of Global Studies because students are getting close to completing their multigenre projects. Their work is really cool, and I enjoyed looking it over even though the screen time definitely wasn't making my headache better.

I snapped once at my GOV class because some of the boys were playing those high-pitched whistle sounds on their chromebooks to annoy their classmates, and that actually did hurt my ears and my head- and I'm sure I wasn't the only one. They stopped after I pointed out that shouldn't even have to tell students their age not to do something that.

Sigh.

It's the last full week of school, and one of my ninth graders dropped the bomb on me that he's moving. Tomorrow. He had the paperwork and everything for me to close out his grades, etc, etc... The timing's awful, so I flagged school counseling to see if anything concerning is going on; I'm pretty sure every other teacher this student and his siblings have did the same thing.

Aside from that, it was a pretty unremarkable day. There was minor chaos because students got drafts of next year's schedules in advisory, and despite being told that these are drafts and there's a very easy process to make changes to them, they freak out. They calm down quickly, but still.

The class of 2026 graduated yesterday morning. The weather, which had been awful for several days, was beautiful- sunny, breezy, no humidity- and everyone was able to enjoy the ceremony. Afterwards, I was found by a bunch of my former students and athletes to hug/shake hands/high five and pose for pictures. A lot of them said really kind things about APGOV, or track, or both. That's the kind of thing I really cherish.

I had about three hours after the ceremony to eat lunch, caffeinate, and pack my backpack for Project Graduation. I hadn't gone in a couple years, but the seniors requested that I be invited as a chaperon this year, so how could I say no to that?

If you've never read one of my entries about a Project Grad night before, it works like this: a group of parents plan and fundraise to give students an all-night trip with multiple stops, food, prizes, and fun. The destinations are always a complete mystery, which makes it even better. Students freak out when they realize what we're doing, or when we give out in prizes (gift cards to local places, gas cards, an ipad...). It's so much fun to experience the adventure with them.

This year, we went to Boston and had dinner at the top of the Pru at sunset. Kids had time to explore the exhibits, take photos in all the best spots, and hang out for a bit. Then we went to this place that had a bunch of different quest rooms- plus pizza and snacks for fuel- and that was a ball. Kids and chaperons raced around in teams of 3-5, trying to solve as many quests as possible. My team only got one, but we had fun trying!

Our last stop was Boston Harbor. We boarded one of the boats for a little cruise, and there was a DJ on deck, a photobooth and other fun stuff inside, and a magician going around and doing tricks (he was excellent). Some kids curled up in chairs and slept, others danced all the way until sunrise, when we took a big group photo.

Unexpected awesome part: as we were waiting to disembark, a few of the boys who'd taken APGOV last year as juniors came up just to talk about my class, and what they remembered, and how much they'd enjoyed it. My teacher heart was full in that moment.

The seniors came in this morning in their caps and gowns to board the buses and do the "Senior Walk" through the elementary school they once attended. It's a great tradition, and I was happy to see a bunch of my students before they headed off.

I was actually able to teach Global Studies in my classroom before the humidity crept up to an unbearable level. I taught APGOV in the auditorium. It wasn't great- too many classes there today- but I at least managed to keep mine separate from the other students, up in the corner (that took doing; kids from other classes kept trying to sit with my class, and I kept telling them to go back to their own part of the room). Did they get a lot of work done, though? Not really. But I suspect they'll feel the time crunch and lock in next week.

There was a crazy thunderstorm overnight, and it caused a ton of flooding. It even washed out a chunk of one of the major state roads. So there were whole towns that were unable to get buses through, and a lot of kids were missing from school today. It was also ridiculously humid- to the point where it was actually trigging my asthma, and I seriously thought about calling for sub coverage so I could go home.

Then The Principal's secretary sent an email telling everyone we could move to any of the air-conditioned spaces that were available if we wanted (if you're wondering why the whole school isn't air conditioned, it's because we only get a handful of days each year that are hot enough to warrant it and even then the cost is prohibitive). I claimed a corner of the auditorium for all of my classes. At first, I was the only teacher there, but then Mr. O brought his class down and occupied the opposite corner. By Block 4, there were a half dozen classes in the space, but it was still plenty big enough.

I don't have anymore planning to do- final project time in both my courses- so I spent my morning catching up on emails, doing reference checks for potential hires, and a handful of other non-instructional duties.

Then, in Global Studies, I read some first drafts of multigenre pieces, gave research pointers, and otherwise helped as my students needed. It was a hot day today, but the fans in my classroom kept it from being unbearable, so students still got a lot of good work done.

By the end of the day, though, the heat was rising, and I saw on the attendance lists that a handful of my APGOV students were absent today, so I did what I always do when I've got a group that's small enough: I stole The Principal's conference room.

The air conditioning was delightful.

Students read The Hill's morning report, and we chatted about national politics for a bit- since it's been a minute since we last did that- and then I showed an interview WMUR had done with the NH Speaker of the House a couple nights ago, discussing the end of the legislative session. And then we came back to local stuff. I showed an old video about life and politics in the region in the 1940s, which the kids got a kick out of, and assigned the final project: creating a video, a skit, or some other form of presentation about life and politics here today. They'll start work on that tomorrow.

Today was our seniors' final day of classes, which mean a lot of them were coming around to say thank you, ask to have their yearbooks signed, and generally make me emotional.

In APGOV, we successfully surprised the lone senior in the course. All students had to present the work they'd done examining their local town warrants, and I had her present last. Then, when everyone applauded her presentation, I snuck up with a card the other students had signed during senior skip day and a balloon, and then we laid out some goodies (cake, cupcakes, chips, popcorn) for a little party for the last half hour or so of class. It was great.

Earlier, in Global Studies, kids were hard at work on their multigenre projects. I walked around, offered pointers, etc... They've got some really awesome ideas, and I can't wait to see their work come together fully.

It's a state law that all high school graduates have to pass the 128-question version of the US Citizenship test with a 70% or higher. Students can retake it multiple times, but eventually they have to pass. Our students start taking the test during sophomore American Studies, and we try to make sure they all pass before moving onto junior year, but there are always a handful who don't. There are also transfer students, etc... And that means I have to make sure they get it done before graduation.

Our seniors' last day of classes is tomorrow. And one of them just passed the test today. He was so, so happy to have done it, and I was happy for him!

That happened while my APGOV students were in the middle of wrapping up an assignment on local government and/or revising the papers they'd submitted on Friday (argument papers on the efficacy of a state legislator of their choosing). Before that? My Global Studies student started their multigenre projects. Longtime readers will know that I always start by asking them what's going on in the world that we should be concerned about. It can be things we've studies, things they've learned elsewhere, it's all fair game.

I filled one entire side of my whiteboard with their answers.

Then I had them choose a topic, went over the project instructions, and had them get to work. And it's already brilliant. I love ending the year with this because it's always so cool to see what students decide to do.

After school, I had a union board meeting- final one of the year!- and then had to dash back to the high school for spring sports awards. It was a successful season for a lot of teams, including mine, so it was nice to celebrate that. And, of course, it was nice to celebrate the team's seniors one more time.