Thursday, June 5, 2014

Goodbye School

          Poetry Friday is hosted today by Carol Wilcox here, at her blog, Carol's Corner, welcoming summer days with a beach trip! Happy Travels, Carol!

             Thursday was the final day of school for our students, and while all of them and all of us staff are ready for a break, there were tears too. Here's a goodbye I imagine from a student or a teacher.


Outta Here!

Goodbye pencils
and lined paper,
friends at recess,
game creators.
Farewell teachers
and homework lessons.
They must leave us to our summers-
assignments lessened.


So long surprises-
paper bag food.
Now I can eat
what I think’s good.
Hello Cheetos,
chips and crackers.
Summer treats wait in my kitchen;
just call me Snacker.

Ciao to quizzes,
crafty posters.
Here come summer
roller coasters.
Toodle-oo my backpack
that’s filled with essays.
It will sit still in the corner
till September days.


Now I’ve done it,
said my “cheerio”.
Sorry, but it’s
high time to go.
It’s vacation;
I’ll say goodbye.
I’ll miss every one of you;
And now I’ll cry.

 Linda Baie ©All Rights Reserved

20 comments:

  1. Yesterday was our last day with kids too. Lots of cheers, and also a few tears! This would have been fun to share with teachers and kids-- next year for sure!

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  2. This is perfect, Linda! We still have two more weeks, but I'm looking forward to a more relaxing schedule with lots of time to read and write. Enjoy your weekend!

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  3. You capture the essence of the day. For me it's happy memories from long ago. Have a great summer break, Linda!

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  4. Love the title Outta Here! Can imagine a group of children echoing that statement as they exit the school doors. Thank you for sharing a delightful poem.

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  5. Perfect! You've captured the sense of letting go of another year of lovely classroom memories, and looking forward (at last!) to the summer! We have 9 more days to go...but who's counting?!:)

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  6. I kind of miss having the "I've finally put in the last grades, handed back last minute papers, packed and stacked everything" feeling in June of "Outta Here" now that I'm retired... but not THAT much!

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  7. Your poem captures the end of school mix of emotions so well. I like the elation expressed in "outta here," "toodle-o" and "cheerio." Of course the snack stanza is delicious! :)

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  8. Can't believe it's already that time of year again...I'm sure lots of students feel this way!

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  9. You captured that mix of emotions -- excitement about summer and freedom, sadness that you'll miss friends and teachers. (I especially liked the rollercoaster line. That's definitely part of my summer plan!)

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  10. Cute poem, Linda. It was our last week too-- it ended a bit more chaotically than I might have liked, but we got through it.

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  11. I love that you took on the kids' point of view! I love all the little details like the backpack in the corner and the sudden shift at the end.

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  12. This is just to say that I have been here and read your words, but surgery on both thumbs last Tuesday prevents me from typing a personalized comment. Forgive me -- copy/paste is the best I can do this week! :-)

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  13. Awww, so very apt, dearest Linda. I will share this with my 12 year old girl who was robbed of the experience of saying goodbye to her classmates as our family had to take a trip before school ended - and yes there were lots of tears too. I will have a working summer, I think. :( Lots to do and prepare for the coming academic year.

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  14. Love the little twist at the end. The end of the year is so bittersweet. I have to admit after two weeks of summer, I miss the kids.

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  15. A sweet poem, Linda, that really brought on the nostalgia for me. I hope you find time to relax and read and write this summer!

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  16. Have a sweet (& salty), relaxing, Cheeto, chip and cracker-filled summer. You deserve it!

    Violet N.

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  17. For us end of school means the busiest time of the year. It's going to be an interesting summer at the public library--Fizz Boom Read!

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  18. I especially love that third stanza, Linda. I only taught for two years, but I cried on the last day both times. I taught 8th grade, so the kids were leaving the school and moving on toward adulthood--wonderful, but bittersweet, too.

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