Links

June 9, 2005

 Dear Friends,

This past week, I left the Kingdom of Room 312 (AKA my classroom) for the last time.  As many of you have heard, I have accepted a position as Employee Training and Development Specialist at the University of Akron and, therefore, will not be teaching next year.  

I am excited about this new path in my life, but I do not leave my students without some sadness.  For the past few years, you have been a tremendous part of my life.  I have loved watching you discover knowledge and hidden talents.  I will treasure the memories of you chanting, "Secrets!  Flashbacks!  Divorce!" as we read about Brian Robeson in Hatchet.  I will remember your shocked faces as you heard Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" for the first time and the laughs we shared when we read O. Henry's "Ransom of Red Chief."  Your reenactments of scenes from Homecoming and To Kill a Mockingbird will remain with me, as will your song parodies for Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.  Each year, it has been an honor to watch you enter my classroom as children and leave as young adults.

I hope each of you takes something from my class, whether it be a new vocabulary word, a better understanding of grammar, or a fresh appreciation for poetry.   It was more than just ICWA's, worksheets, and reading stanzas of "The Raven" and "anyone lived in a pretty how town" - it was a blessing every day to get to know and love each and every one of you. 

I wish all of you the best in the future.

~ Mrs. Messner

Enjoy your
summer!