commencing

 With enormous glee I crossed off the final full month from this calendar.  Am actually surprised that I survived until this day.

 This campus pairs every class section up with 'buddies'.  As I was handed the graduation ceremony and told that I had to have a choir on the last Friday evening of school, I decided to ask the Buddies of the 8th graders to sing.  I gave them 'free dress' (verrrrry big deal in a school with uniforms) and they stepped up with sartorial splendor that made me proud.  Please notice how many 10-year-old boys are wearing TIES on a warm spring evening.  By choice!

They surprised me with a dozen red roses.  Which are now in water.  In my blender~everything else is packed!  But the best gift was the email from a mother of a former Seattle student who just finished singing the lead in his high school musical.  This was a shy sophomore who is now headed to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer.  Absolute proud day to be a teacher.

Stayed tuned for tales from my first day in the studio and an intense apartment search.  Welcome June and the exciting shifts in my days.