Last day at school

Yesterday was my last day at school! I felt a mixture of relief at finally finishing and a touch of sadness at moving on from many friends. Many of the pupils said nice things to me, and were sad that I was going. Thanks for that! The job has been much more rewarding this term as I have been able to teach more and the control has been less of an issue. It is still nice to be appreciated.
We had a form "party" where the girls danced on the tables along with some of the boys. Two of the lads were very effective bouncers, which could have caused problems as they were trying to stop the Head from coming in!
Once all the detritus had been cleared up all the staff trooped down to Vida for "the drink". The moment I had been dreading arrived ... "the speech". Ann said some nice things about me and left out the embarrassing stories (thanks Ann!). My speech was short; so much so that I forgot to salute my colleagues who carry on doing a very difficult job. There you go, I have done it here!
I was delighted by the leaving presents of various classical CD's. It will take me hours to listen to them all. The birdsong CD is particularly excellent as it will remind me of many a long hour spent birding in this country.
If any of you do read this, then thanks for your support over the last few years. I will not forget my time at Collegiate. I have had some terrible times as I have learnt how to be a teacher. Overshadowing all that will be the the good times - the jokes and sense of community that is to me the best part of the school.