Well, it's now official - Ann Catherine has a new teacher at school. Mrs. Klein's last day is today as she prepares for her new daughter to arrive from China and for the birth of her own baby. We're sad to see her go because Ann Catherine loved having her as a teacher, but I'm so excited for her as she takes on not only mothering a newly adopted little girl but giving birth to her first child as well. I couldn't imagine having two kids so quickly together but I know she's thrilled so we're excited for her.
So, even though my daughter is sad to see Mrs. Klein leave, she is a bundle of energy and excitement over her new teacher. And it's a MAN too!! She has known Mr. K. since Kindergarten. He was a teacher's assistant there and was always in the cafeteria at the same time as her. He'd often stand near her class and help out the kids and I know he always teased her about her name (he never could get the two names right) as he helped her open up her bag of chips, etc. So, needless to say, I was a little worried about the "cafeteria guy" becoming her new teacher!!! But I was much relieved when he introduced himself last night and explained that he had just finished up his masters degree in elementary education and was now a licensed teacher - having just finished up his student teaching and then graduating in December. Don't get the idea that this guy is young, though. He's from New Jersey (and has a HEAVY NJ accent!!) and has just moved down to TN from NJ after taking early retirement from working 20+ years as an air traffic controller at Logan Airport. When he retired, he said that his family was sick of snow and ice and decided to move to TN. Not sure how they made that jump but sounds good to me!! Anyway, he decided that he was bored not working and started volunteering at his daughter's school (Chapman's Retreat, where AC went last year). That's how she met him there. While he was working there, he decided to start substitute teaching and discovered that he was now working in a profession he fell in love with and realized that he missed his calling all these years! How cool is that? So he went to the nearest University and told them he wanted his masters degree and his teaching license and went to work. I love that story and I love that he is SO excited to be working with these kids! And, more importantly, I've never seen my child so excited about going to school! She's always loved school but now she's jumping out of bed (well - slowly. She is Julie's twin, after all.) and she's READY to go to school. I love that!
So, anyway, be in prayer for Mr. K. as he adjusts and takes on this new role, and for the kids as they have to adapt to his own personal teaching style (not to mention the accent!!).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Now your child is going to have a mix of Southern and NJ accents? Oh my!
I hope she likes her new teacher. That's a tough time for such a big change: the end of the school year. When does school finish?
Oh - I hadn't thought of that! I can't even begin to imagine what the blend of accents will sound like! Hopefully she won't need an interpreter like we did when we first went to ISP!!
School doesn't end until the end of May so she'll have almost two months with him. But she's crazy about him so far so it should be OK.
So I mailed my pictures from Flat Stanley's visit to Philadelphia, and I think it had her old teacher's name on it...will her class still get it??? I put a ton of work into that! I'm so glad that Ann Catherine loves school, though. She's a smart cookie!
Oh yes - they'll get it. I'm sure you're not the only person who has mailed in their flat stanley pictures with her name on it. Not only that, but I think she was the only Mrs. Klein there so it shouldn't have any problems. I'll tell AC to keep an eye out for it! She'll be so excited!!
Post a Comment