Farewells, School Supplies, and Surgery

It has been a busy few days. The last day of school for students was Friday last week. Monday, staff worked to get their rooms cleaned up and final grades entered. Tuesday I returned to school to sort the pile of school supplies generated by my request for donations to be sent to Ghana.
The State Department allows me to send four 40-pound boxes of educational materials to Ghana at no charge. I have a few economics books that I want with me, so those went in first. Then I put in the supplies I know I will want for teaching econ: calculators, straight edges, graph paper. Finally, other useful supplies made the cut.
All these supplies were "donated" by students who were cleaning out lockers. (Most of it was rescued from the garbage by custodial workers. You couldn't believe the amount of now or nearly new stuff that gets tossed out at the end of the year!). Cori helped me with the task.

The last week of school was emotional. Every year teachers have to say goodbye to students they have grown close to, but this time I was saying goodbye for a full year! For the juniors, that means I won't see them again before they graduate. I handed out my email to many students, and sent this blog address to all. For students reading this, STAY IN TOUCH!

Wednesday I go in for Achilles surgery. This will be an outpatient procedure. The doctor will slice me open up the back of my left ankle/calf, pull the skin open with a pair of "forks," and sew my Achilles tendon back together. I'll then wear a cast for a couple of weeks keeping my foot elevated. Then I go back to the boot I've had since the injury and I'll wear that for about 6 more weeks. If everything goes as planned, I'll be out of the boot and walking (gingerly) sometime in mid-August, just in time for our departure!