Beginning and Endings.

Lots of changes happening these few weeks and as summer progresses I have high plans of easing back into the blog. Beginnings and endings:

• My 7th and 8th grade students have completed their 2012-2013 school year. I'm bittersweet over the 8th graders graduating because I'll miss them terribly. This is the first time I've had a looping schedule, with two years of the same students. It's wonderful that you get to know them much better, but hard to say goodbye.

Some of my eight graders and their water bottle rockets:

A launch:

• I'm heading to Japan for a long length of summer. Should be fun and I'll be blogging the experience so that I can remember it later considering my terrible memory.

• I'm heading into my last MFA residency at Converse College. I'm quite sad, because I love all the readings and lectures.

• I'll be finishing my novel, A Map to the Heart of London, this summer. I will also attempt to write a novel in the month of July. It depends on how well the MFA work is going preparing for my final semester.

And so the summer begins.