Growing up Stehekin Style: Turning pages

The last week of school has arrived.  Students have been counting days, awaiting summer and, for some, the end of a chapter.

The school newspaper arrived on the boat the same day as a visiting teacher from Quincy.  The paper is a compilation of the hard work the students have done over the year.  Inside are autobiographies, writing, pictures and artwork created by the students.

First look at the school newspaper

The guest teacher received a grand tour of Stehekin.  The students took her biking to see the sites from the landing to Rainbow Falls.  That sure does remind us of what a wonderful valley we live in.

Tour stop at the Old School

Tonight 3 students will graduate.  Two of them have attended the Stehekin School since kindergarten. The rest will continue for 3 more days and then launch into summer!

To get ready for the graduation night, these past couple of weeks have been a blur of marimba practice, speech writing (for graduates), singing, poetry memorization, hanging of artwork, outfit planning,  and cake flavor choosing. 

Poem memorization

 

 

Run-through of graduation program

The class

One last day of school tradition is for the 8th graders to surprise the teacher with an early morning breakfast. (A tradition to surprise? Hmmm....)  Our retired teacher's habit was to arrive around 5:30 a.m., so that required students and mothers who make smoothies to get it all together by about 4:45 a.m.  Whew. Part of the fun is to sneak and hide and jump out and scare the "unsuspecting" teacher.  This year we got to sleep in a little since our new teacher doesn't get there quite as early.

Watching for the teacher's arrival

Classroom breakfast

Our spring beauty is graduating from 8th grade-- turning the page to a new era.  She has been biking that same route to school for 8 years.  Some years it has been early to get in on the play: foursquare,  squash each other with the mats, island game, rope tag,  popcorn.  Later years it has changed to leave with just enough seconds to bike up there and slide in by 8.  When she entered school, it was a lively class of 23 ruled by the benevolent (?) older boys. This year has been a class of 5 or 6 with girls in the majority.   This morning was a special breakfast of a Dutch Baby pancake, her favorite.  The young brother and I waited in line for the shower after his crew cut listening to her singing tonight's song.  She will soon begin a new chapter.

forever young

plw