With all the "turmoil" at the top of the food chain in our school district of late, I'm kind of glad to be one of the foot soldiers on the battlefield.  At times, it appears that the struggle could better be joined by the boots on the ground, rather than in chairs around a big table.  Whatever happens with our school board and upper, among resignations and politics, the walls of our school still stand, the teachers are still committed to do our best, and our students still have the same needs today that they had yesterday.

Even if the head of the dragon is cut off (or temporarily in a state of convulsion), this dragon (this eagle) still flies. I know this is true.

I have withstood anguish of a terrorist bomb and an EF5 tornado.  I have ridden the rollercoaster, and I know that as sure as the sun sets every evening, it always rises the next morning.  Until the rules of the universe change, this statement is true.  So, while the current political turmoil in our fair city sometimes looks like the latest reality TV show, this too will pass.

Eventually.

On this last day, we had several students announce that they would be moving out of our area and would not return for fifth grade.  For these, the announcement was hard and sad; for the others, it was shocked and sad.  I loved hearing the mantra that We are family repeatedly, as tears flowed throughout the day, having started earlier during our slide show (It turns out I snapped 1,130 photos, this school year, most of which were posted on the website as they occurred.).

Wherever they go - whether they stay at Cecil Floyd for another year, move to another community, or transfer to a private school - my message was simple:  take what you've learned to your new class.  Look them in the eye, offer a hearty handshake, say Yes, ma'am and No, sir.  Use mannerly language:  Thank you, You're welcome, Excuse me, and I'm sorry, and never forget that Once a Hoggatteer, always a Hoggatteer.

It looks as if the first school I taught for may soon receive a makeover. I wrote about Page-Woodson before, how it was built in 1911 and was designated as a segregated Negro high school.  The building has sat empty for the last few years, but a developer proposes turning the old structure into apartments.

In the recent Daily Oklahoman article, I learned some things about the abandoned school that I had never heard before.  Most notable is that Duke Ellington actually performed on that beautiful stage.  If only I had known such when I stood in the wings as I wandered the school. I might have been inclined to listen for some ghostly jazz riffs emitting from the floor boards.  I might have taken a seat in the auditorium to imagine Ellington's orchestra warming up to play one of his original compositions.  Who knew the impact of Ellington better than a black high school student in the inner city in the 1960s!  I can only imagine the influence such a powerful entertainer might have had in the community.

I tested and retested the class, this year, to try to improve our ability to multiply single-digit numbers, from 0x0 to 9x9.  With this effort, every student improved, and 11 Hoggatteers  earned Multiplication Master status.  While I hope to have every student thoroughly fluent in this area, 11 is a record number.  My biggest disappointment in this area is that some students are still performing below 60%.  For me, this is unacceptable: parents, please work on this over the summer!  As teachers, we tend to see the deficiencies, but let's take some time to celebrate the successes.  Here is the list of our masters for the 2014/5 school year:

Well, it finally happened.  At our final assembly, this year, two young men were rewarded for their achievement at the regional Math League competition.  MATTHEW and COLE took their mathematical abilities to the contest and earned spots at the state level of the competition.  Because of this, they earned the opportunity to pie the coaches in the face - an opportunity that COLE in particular took quite seriously.

Mr. Culbertson and I are all too eager to allow such humiliation in our lives if it encourages our pupils to put a little extra effort into their success.  Our world may some day thank them for trying a little bit harder.

We talk a lot about our class being a family, but our next class seems to make that truer than ever.  Starting in August, I will teach the siblings of former students JACOB, NATHANAEL, ELLA, TOSHA, CORALEE, and FAITH and this year's Hoggatteers BREYDON and WENDELL, as well as the niece of former student CANDACE.