The Rookery

I've been in to school a few times in the past week and finally sat down to do one of the most necessary chores of the new year:  label changing.

I peel off each fifth grader's name in disbelief.  Surely they'll walk through the door in September.  How could they not?  They've been "The Herons" for the past two years.  What will I do without them?  Two years is a long time to spend with a child.  When they leave, the classroom feels a bit empty at first.  (Part of that, of course, is that they are HUGE by May of their 5th grade year.)

But then I write out new labels, spending time with each new fourth grade name, reflecting on what I know about that child already and what I hope to learn.  As I place each new fourth grader's name on a bin, I think about the rising 5th graders and where they were a year ago.  Now they're ready to lead; to come to the front and help others along the way they were helped.  On the first day of school, though, it doesn't feel quite real.  I always overhear someone sharing, "I can't believe I'm in fifth grade!"

I can't quite invision what the Herons will look like and be like this year — I never can in August.  But, by saying goodbye one last time to the treasured old Herons, we've made some room for the new.  It's always a bitter-sweet beginning.