Once a Creeker, always a Creeker

This last week before retirement has been full of tears and laughter - and to think I just wanted a simple breakfast...  I guess I should have known that that just isn't Chets Creek's style!

Believe it or not, I don't actually look for the limelight, although I know that must be hard to believe after this week! For me the silver lining to this week is that through all the activities, other people outside of our school are able to see the school that I see.  There's such a great sense of family, of love and caring, of taking care of each other.  When teachers feel that kind of support on an adult level - when their cups are full -  it is easier for them to give to children, to get involved in their lives and to really understand the mission of making a difference.  If there is a larger message that I hope that people will get from this week of tears and laughter, it is that relationships have to be the foundation for quality instruction.  When you trust the people you work with and when you feel safe and honored for your efforts, when you are invested in the children and families that you teach, you are willing to take risks and with risks and relationships (and good on-going embedded professional development) amazing results are possible.  And we do know how to celebrate our results - triumphs and accomplishments!

Does that mean we don't have problems at Chets Creek.  Absolutely, we have problems.  Even with Julie's radiant sunshine as we enter every day and KK dancing through the halls sprinkling her fairy dust, we have devastating, difficult, heart wrenching problems, the same that every school in America faces.   But the difference is that when the problems come, and they inevitably do, we are able to see them as learning opportunities because we know there is always someone who has walked before us and now there will be someone to walk beside us and to stand behind us to pick us up if we need the support.  You are never alone and that makes the difference.

As for me, I will take the lessons I have learned at Chets Creek and the forever friendships that I have made into this next chapter.  I will smile often at the memories and I will remember my time here... with love, because I know...

Once a Creeker, always a Creeker!