This is a picture of the third grade team from this year, or last year I guess. The 2008-2009 year. Whatever. It makes me so sad that this is the only picture I have of us. It was taken at the beginning of the year...before a lot of the memories were made, and friendships were formed. There are a lot of things that I am going to miss about being at Woodview next year, but these people are one of the main things I will miss. If you know any of us, or all of us for that matter. You can testify that each of us is SO incredibly different. It worked though. It worked very well. My team mates are some of the most hard working people that I know. It was a blessing to work with people that would do whatever it takes, literally, for the best interest of our kids, and I believed that it showed, not only in our test scores but in the kids themselves. I will miss our meetings which consisted of a lot of laughter, a lot of sarcasm, a lot of discussions about politics, religion and other things that probably shouldn't be discussed at work. Let me introduce you to them (from left to right)...
Rob...oh Rob. He's one of a kind. Rob was a lawyer in his former life. He has a giant heart and is the type of guy that would do anything for you...well anything that the principal OK's first. My favorite memory concerning Rob is laughing so hard that I cried when he shared with us in a team meeting that one of his more unique students managed to overflow the toilet that is inside the bathroom INSIDE of his classroom. Upon doing so she just stood there. The only way they knew it happened is because mid lesson he saw water seeping out of the bathroom into his classroom. They had to go in and pull her out. Hilarious. The mention of this story always brightened a more challenging day at school for us.
Maria. Maria has the most gentle spirit. She is also one of the most intelligent people I have called a friend. We lucked out big time when we landed her as a long time sub my first year at Woodview and she agreed to stay on full time. Whenever the Bible references being meek as a godly characteristic I always feel like overwhelming...well I am out of luck on that one, cause that is so far from the person I am. Maria is what I think of when I think of the word meek. Not weak, meek. And very strong. Her students love her and so do I. She was so patient to deal with all of our babble and ridiculous conversations. She balanced out those of us that can't keep our mouth shut when we should. I hope we keep in touch and I also hope I can visit her family where she was born, the Canary Islands!
Ashley. I was THRILLED when I met Ashley at school. The year before had been such a struggle as far as female teammates. I really wanted a girl to have fun with on my team. God went above and beyond bringing her. She made everything this year so much fun having someone to do it with. I wasn't the only one wanting to do "cute" stuff. :) We had so much fun talking about boys, fashion, the kids of course, and everything in between. I will miss our almost daily trips to HEB for lunch, but know that we will still be friends. Besides being a great friend, Ashley has a remarkable gift for teaching and she is just getting started!
Last but not least, Ruben. Where to start. My crazy Honduran friend. I think our first meeting about sums up our friendship. I showed up to Woodview SO nervous for my interview in the summer and the first person I met was Ruben. He so gently said, so YOU are the one interviewing? you better be good, they made me go all the way home, I had to iron this shirt and put on a tie just for you! I was like who is this guy? The guy that would become my best friend at school. Our rooms were connected so we just left the doors open during the day so our kids would go back and forth. We had polar opposite approaches to how we went about teaching but our hearts are the same in the sense that we are not just there for a job from 7:00-3:00. Whatever it takes, inside or outside of school. He grew up just like the majority of our students did, and made it. He challenges me a lot on my theology, and I secretly love it, even though I hate not having all of the answers and him appearing to be "right". I will miss our discussions about anything and everything, but look forward to a lot of good laughs in the future as I have gotten to know his sweet family as well.
I know none of you will read this, but it truly was an honor to work with you this year. Thank you for all of the great memories...
