Wednesday marked the last day of classes for students in the Temple Independent School District, and you could tell things were winding down at Cater Elementary School, where several students wondered the halls dressed as pirates.
“Arrrrgh,” said one student to Cater principal David Dixon. “Does thou want to walk the plank?”
The first-grade pirates were members of Laurie Sims’ class. Wednesday marked an end to Sims’ 31st year in teaching.
With the rigors of Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills testing over, students had reason to celebrate. Earlier in the week, students were treated to their annual field day, where they participated in various races and events, and the school set up a teacher dunk-tank, where students threw balls at a target to dunk their teachers in a water-filled tank.
“I know the students are excited about the summer, but I wouldn’t say it’s hard to keep them focused,” said Mrs. Sims, who decided to have a pirate-theme class after her students read books during the school year about those who traveled the high seas. “If you can give them something fun to do when they’re wrapping up the year, they’ll look forward to coming back to school in the fall.”
Wednesday was a half-day or partial day for students in the district.
“I just wanted to end things on a high note for them,” Mrs. Sims said. “I know for some of them, the last day of school can be an emotional time, because they’re going to miss their friends over the summer.”
Meanwhile, the older students in the school played video games like Guitar Hero, where they sharpened their music chops in class.
“I’ve been having a lot of fun this week,” said fifth-grader Adam Valenta, 11. “It hasn’t been as busy as it normally is.
“Someone brought Guitar Hero into class and we played it,” Adam said. “It was weird because there was a line to play it. It was like we were in school, but we weren’t.”
Fifth-grader Courtney Leaks echoed Valenta’s thoughts.
“The only thing we’ve really worked on were a couple of science assignments,” said Courtney, 11. “The school is a little bit louder than it normally is, and you see a lot of the younger kids getting hyper about leaving for the summer.”
Courtney and Adam both said they are excited about the summer and looking forward to starting middle school in the fall.
“Six years at one school is enough,” said Courtney, who joked that she didn’t really have any major plans for the summer other than “relaxing.”
For some teachers, the last day of school can be just as exciting as it is for their students, even though their actual last day is today, when they clean out their empty classrooms and lock things up for the summer.
“It’s a sad time for us because our students are leaving, but at the same time the summer offers us the opportunity to recharge and work on things for the upcoming school year,” said Amanda Rurup, a fifth-grade teacher at Cater. “There are several teachers here who are just starting families. For them, the summer is special because it offers them the opportunity to spend time with their families.
“We also miss not seeing people,” said Ms. Rurup, sounding like many of the students who said they were going to miss seeing their friends over the summer. “I’m going to miss eating lunch with the other teachers and things like that.”
And even though most teachers don’t work in the classroom over the summer, many attend seminars and conferences aimed at education, and many update their lesson plans for the upcoming year.
“We don’t just shut down,” said Ms. Rurup, who will have to change rooms over the summer because she will begin teaching third-grade in the fall. “We still have to do things to prepare for the next school year.”
