A Teaching Finalist!

Today was a great day! There was no school today in order for the teachers to attend an in-service. About two weeks ago I received a letter in the mail saying that I was a finalist for the Excellence in Teaching Award. This is basically the Teacher of the Year award for my district. I was one of 15 finalists in the second grade through fifth grade category. There are about 600-700 teachers who qualify, but there were only 15 finalists. My teaching partner was also a finalist! It was so great to be up there together!!

At the start of the conference, all the finalists had to go up on stage and state your name, grade and school. I was SO nervous! Talking in front of a couple thousand people is not my idea of fun. Then the winners were announced. All of the finalists received a Visa gift card and a plaque. The winners received a 7 days/ 7 nights trip for 2 to Jamaica!! I wasn't the big winner, but I still felt appreciated for all my hard work.

Then during lunch, they had arranged for a trolley to come pick up the finalists and take them downtown for a VERY NICE lunch! The rest of the schools stayed for a buffet dinner, but we dined on walnut cranberry salad, buttered rolls, and cherry pecan stuffed chicken. It was delicious. Then we took the trolley back to our meetings.

As a school we decided to head out for dinner after the conference. We headed to a local Mexican restaurant and made it there in time for happy hour. We had a huge meal and just laughed and laughed together. To top it all off, when I got home, my parents and Abby had a dozen pink roses for me along with a personal note. They were pink because that's Abby's favorite color and she got to choose. Even though I am an adult with a family of my own, having my parents tell me how proud they are of me still means a lot! I didn't cry all day, but I did with the roses. Thanks mom and dad!