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Sunday, September 6, 2015

The end is the beginning...

I have spent the past seven and a half years at New Berlin Elementary teaching over 175 kindergarten students and having an impact on many others through tutoring, afterschool programs, extracurricular events, and more. Truthfully though, the greatest impact was not from me to them, but from them to me. I learned how to be patient when I had no patience left, to smile when I wanted to cry, to hug and comfort when I needed space, to stir a passion for learning when the odds were overwhelming, to appreciate a child's humor even when the joke had been recited dozens of times, to be a parent to children who didn't see much of their own, to be worthy of these sponge-like minds who put all their trust in me, to teach self-confidence and humility in the shadow of my own insecurities, to light a spark of bravery for trying new things without the worry of failure, to rejoice in small accomplishments because they are the basis for big ones, and to treat all my students with love and respect so that even on a bad day, they never questioned how much they were truly cared for within our classroom family.
I will miss all these things and more, but it is time for me to say goodbye to teaching at New Berlin. The end of this road, however, is just the beginning of another and I am excited to see where it may lead. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of my journey thus far!

In response to some emails, phone calls, and questions I have already received, here is a little more information about what is coming next...

- Private Tutoring: If you or someone you know has a child in need of a tutor, I just so happen to know this teacher... :-) Seriously though, I offer flexible, one-on-one and small group tutoring for reading, writing, and math. Just contact me for more information!

- After School Care: Need an afternoon to run errands or just some quiet time here and there? I am available one or two afternoons a week to pick up your child, or children, from school and take care of them for a few hours. This can be done with or without academic tutoring as well.

- Music: This is the biggest reason I have decided to take a break from education. We constantly tell our children to never give up on their dreams and, yet, many of us as adults never fully committed to going after our own. I don't intend to make that mistake and have to look back 20 years from now and think, "what if?" So, I am going to see where my voice and my passion for music will take me! Currently my acoustic duo, Dust to Dust, is already playing at several venues around Jacksonville and St. Augustine as well as providing live entertainment for weddings, parties, corporate events, and more. Over the summer, our first single, La Luna, also released on iTunes, Amazon, etc... If you'd like more information about coming out to one of our performances or how you can support us as independent artists, just go to www.bygreeneyes.com :-)

- Art: Painting has long been a pastime I thoroughly enjoyed but rarely had adequate time for. I am hoping that my break from the classroom will allow me a few extra hours to apply myself to the canvas. The artwork will be available for sale and the proceeds will go towards furthering my goals as a musician. You can see the most current artwork for sale at the bygreeneyes.com website.

Thank you again for all the support and encouragement I have received both in and out of the classroom. I hope the 2015-2016 school year is a huge success!