letter

Dear eighth graders,

Two years ago I made the jump from teaching 6th grade to teaching 8th grade. If I must be honest, I was a little nervous to teach you because many of you are bigger and taller than me. A part if me wanted to prove to myself that I could do it, that my classroom management was strong enough to handle big bad 8th graders. While yes...some of you are very challenging, I absolutely adore you! I love how you are mini-adults who can think for yourselves and carry on good conversation. I like that when I say "how are you?" or "have a good weekend" most of you return the regard to me and genuinely care about my answer. I love how you get my sarcasm and laugh at most of my jokes. I really like how if you are messing around, I can give you a look and say "really?" and you will realize you are being ridiculous and stop. I love how many of you take responsibility for yourself. All of you have taught me things along the way and I am grateful. Be confident in who you are, both as a student and a person. Remember you have all the power in the world to do whatever you want to do and be whoever you want to be. Don't give your power away by letting other people or circumstances keep you down. It has been SO fun watching you grow and mature and get ready for high school. It is the last day of 8th grade and you are ready now. You will go on to do great things I'm sure! I sincerely hope you come back to visit me, because I will miss you. I hate that I only get to know you on campus for one year and then you're gone. Embrace change because it helps you grow as a person. Enjoy every minute of the present! Stay focused on your goals and dreams and your future will be bright! You better come back and visit me!!

Love, Mrs. Harvey