Last day of School!

Dear Now Third Graders,
       You did it!  You finished your 178 days of second grade and I cannot be more proud of you!  You worked so hard and learned so much!  Your English grew beyond my wildest dreams as did understanding vocabulary like evidence and marine litter!  You explained how you found your answer in math!  You comprehended what you read!  You made an impact on the shoreline!  But more than anything, you grew to be problem solvers by talking out your problems.  You also had the best manners of any of my classes and became very respectful!  But through it all, I believe you taught me more than I taught you!  I learned and grew so much as a teacher this year and it was because of you!  No matter where in the world you go (Ivory Coast, Hong Kong, Zambia, London, South Africa, Angola), you will continue to give your all and change the world!  Thanks for changing mine!
I love you!
Miss Radcliff

Newbie End of the Year Trip to Hammamet!!

This past weekend some of the newbies went to Hammamet at our favorite all-inclusive resort!  It was such a fun time to look back at how far we have come since our first trip as new newbies in September.  We are quite proud to have made it this far and to have gained these great friendships through it all!

On our ride up there, my car load stopped at Nabeul (pottery capital) to eat lunch and buy some pottery!  That was a haggling adventure!  Luckily, Katie was amazing and we got it for what we were quoted!

Then we headed to Aldiana (the hotel) for relaxation and laughter!

How adorable are Pat and James as they nap?!

Katie, Pat, me

The water was clear and calm but in order to get to it, you had to wade through the seaweed!  Yuck!

Pat and Joni

Katie made me take this... Tunisian alcohol gives me headaches so I brought my Malta liquor with Laura's flask!  Everyone was laughing at me but I thought it was quite practical! ;)

Our newbie crew (Lou, Karen, John, Joni, me, Katie, James, Pat, Abbey, Cheryl)

After dinner shot (some headed to bed earlier)

Walk on the beach (just like we did the first night back in September)

Pat, Katie, and I headed to the pool bar for a drink before bed.  Little did we know what would ensue from there!

Pat mortified by the 10 year-old at the bar!

Then the play, "Little Mermaid", got out and all the characters started dancing!

Then I got a drink called the swimming pool and took a picture with my lurker behind me!  He stayed there most of the night... my crazy dancing didn't phase him one bit...

What a fun night I had with these two ladies!

My favorite view the next morning

After breakfast, we headed straight to the beach

Swimming in the Mediterranean Sea

John, Karen (my Amazing Race buddies) and James

Cheryl and Lou

me, Cheryl, Katie

Final view of the Mediterranean Sea

Packin' up!

I am headed to Hamammet (beach resort town) today for my last weekend before heading back to the state for the summer!  A bunch of us newbies are and I am so excited to get away and spend time with many of the people who I got through this year with!  Can't wait!!! 

Because of the impending beach trip, I had to start packing up my house because I move Wednesday, June 11 to my new townhome with a yard for Zoe! I was acutally quite productive and every room is as done as it can be more now... except, the kitchen.  Oh I am dreading that room!

Here is early Sunday with the box pile starting (see that backpack on the top to the right? It is FULL of toliet paper and Kleenex!  Quality is hard to find here so I hoard it when I find it!). 

My depressing (again) bare white walls!  Pictures make a house a home!  Now it is just a boring apartment!

Completed pile for now!  Happy to have so much done (still have lots to go... Kitchen!)!

I also did LOTS of laundry... this is only two loads but thought I could document it.  I also had towels and such hanging on my balcony and every chair in my house. 

That night to get rid of bananas in my freezer, I made banana chocolate chip blondies.  Yum!

Liam and Mila's First Birthday!

On Saturday, I got to go to Liam and Mila's birthday party.  They are siblings that are 3 years and 3 days apart!  I babysit Liam on Mondays while both of his parents have a meeting after school.  It was fun to celebrate their birthdays at a park in Sidi Bou (in Tunis).  It was a bike and ride party.  The kids got to ride their bikes and have a race!  It was a lot of fun and I loved helping!  

All lined up ready to race! These kids are too cute! The younger ones in the front are 3-4 years old.  I might have them in my class next year...

Liam with his watermelon cake!  It was a hit!

The family getting ready to blow out of the candles (Jess, Liam, Mila, and Karen)

Some of the kids going for a ride with Jess!

Huge Milestone!

On Friday night, I got brave!  I gave Zoe a much needed bath (that wasn't the brave part... those are essential since moving to Tunisia)!  After watching her walk with super long nails (they were curving under her), I thought I would do something I have never done before... cut her nails!  I have always let the experts do that because if you cut dogs' nails too close, they bleed.  And I also have a bi-polar dog, which makes things more fun! But I felt bad for her so I used the new clippers mom brought me when she came to visit.  The first two nails were too easy.  Then she started to look towards me in a not so friendly way.  But at this point, I was determined to finish her.  So I muzzled her up and off I went! I did all but the last nail.  She wasn't having it!  So here she is when we were all done.  Doesn't she look excited? Ha!

This Wednesday, she is getting her first haircut here in Tunis!  We will see how that goes...

The Plastic Fork

The last day of school is June 13, that is 9 school days away and I am not going to lie... I am not sure I am going to make it!  If I was in year-round school (like my past 7 years), I would have been out of school (and had 3 track-outs before then)!  I was thinking the other day how well I have adapted to teaching at a traditional-calendar school after teaching at a year-round school for so long.  I was doing well until 2 weeks ago!  I had had it and I was past due for a track out!  I lost my drive and I lost my mind!  Today was yet another rough day!  The past two weeks, the kids have been amazing... working hard, talking to each other to work out their problems, and encouraging each other along the way.  It has made this teacher's heart smile.  All the hard work I have done all year long has really paid off and I am so excited and so proud of my 17 students!  They have worked so hard to behave and they are truly a sweet group! But my patience is still running thin and I cannot figure out what it is or why!  I have 9 days left and I really want to finish strong!  I want to remember this year for all the good times and growing times!  But really want to remember and cherish the good! 

As I was packing for my move, I found this pink plastic fork that has been with me since my second year of teaching!  It has surived two moves (one all the way to Africa) and I will keep it for always! It reminds me why I am a teacher and why I want to touch the lives of others.  There is a very special story behind this fork that sits on my counter where I look at it many times throughout the day. 

My second year of teaching there was this sweet boy in my class Razik who had some behavior issues plainly because he came from a rough home life.  But I loved this boy so!  He had the biggest heart even though he came from little.  During Christmastime, our class was collecting items for a lower-income family at the school so they would have Christmas presents and their needs met.  One day Razik brought in this pink plastic fork and something else I cannot remember.  My first thought when I looked at this was, "Seriously, we can't give this family a fork" but immediately that left my mind and I thought "oh my goodness, this sweet boy who comes from nothing, gave all he had to this family".  I immediately took that fork home and have kept it ever since.  That is truly giving from the heart!

A couple of months later, I found out that Razik was moving to a better home.  I ignored that "rumor" from the staff until the day of what was his supposed last day.  I still did not believe it so I went up to the office to be sure this was really happening.  My principal finally told me that "yes, Razik is moving".  I went to go tell him and as I pulled him aside to let him know he was moving, he grabbed me and sobbed uncontrollably!  I held him tight and sobbed too! He had made such an impact on all of these people, we spent an hour telling everyone goodbye: the principal, assistant principal, kindergarten teacher, and the list goes on.  I sobbed that entire afternoon because I didn't know what his future held and it was now out of my control.  And my students were losing an amazing classmate!  As he walked out my door and down the ramp for the final time, I told him I loved him and he turned around, told me he loved me too, and was off!  I will remember that day like yesterday! 

As I become low on patience, I want to remember the impact Razik had on me and to never give up on my students!  So tonight, I am remembering Razik and his pink plastic fork.

Care Package!

On Tuesday, my first care package arrived!  I told myself all day to wait until I got home to open it!  But come 1:00 while my kids were in World Language, I couldn't resist it anymore!  When I opened it, I was almost in tears because everything in there was a taste of home that I have missed so much!

I was most excited about the Aim toothpaste and Hershey syrup!  Yes, toothpaste and liquid chocolate! But I loved, loved, loved all of it!  The adorable sponge/soap stick is something I have been missing so much!  And chevron towels- sweet! I was also so excited about the Rold Gold twisty pretzels (my fav), Jif Peanut butter (love the smoothness), bright colorful post-it notes, treats for Zoe, pink and green toothbrushes, and deodorant (yes, another highlight of the package because deodorant here does not do well with odor control). This package made my week because I got a taste of home and felt so loved!

Thank you mom for all these wonderful things!  I feel so loved of all the thought you put into it! I love you so much!

While most of these things I can find something similar to it here (have yet to find Chevron towels and sponge soap brush ;), it is not the same as the comforts of home I adore and grew up with!