I received a friend request on facebook the other day from Paulina, a girl who was in my class the same year as Rivers. Paulina is another very special student. She's now in 9th grade and in JROTC, which is crazy to me, since I taught her in 5th grade, and she was the tiniest 5th grader I've ever seen. It's hard to sum up all the special things about her, but she was just so tiny and sweet. When she became frustrated with something, she would stomp her foot and exclaim, "Awww, Miss...it's my supa-bad day!" That happened rather frequently, as she was on a pre-kindergarten reading and math level. During school breaks, she would often call me to tell me that she loved me, and made me many drawings and cards to that effect. She even made "I love you" cards for my mom! (Also, when she called me over school breaks, she would end our convos by entreating me to, "Tell your mama I love her!" I might add that she had never actually met my mom.) Given some of the things she had experienced in her life, it was just amazing that she was so kind and loving. She continued to call me for several years after I taught her, but I hadn't heard from her since moving to Costa Rica, and I was so excited and relieved to hear from her again!
Since I accepted her friend request, Paulina has sent me several messages. Her spelling isn't perfect, but I'm just so excited that she's able to type messages to me at all, as writing anything, even her own name, was somewhat of a struggle for her at the beginning of 5th grade. She made so much progress that year, and I'm glad to see that she's continued to grow since then. Of course, that's what I hope for all of my students, but sadly, it doesn't always happen. It can be hard to let go of students, especially when you don't know exactly who or where you're sending them...
