The Break

It's been a marvelous break. The weather has been superb. I've been able to spend a lot fewer hours at school this break than ever before and that allows me to start the summer program fresh and in a much better frame of mind.

There is a lot that goes into the summer program. The first order of business is always a major clean up from the school year. Classrooms need to be re-arranged, the cloak room re-done, the kitchen re-stocked with summer foods. The cleaning is always hours and hours. This year we have Miss Amy to thank for most of the cleaning. She came in over the break several times and cleaned. I can't tell you how much this helps Edith and I personally. The cleaning has traditionally belonged to Edith and I, and this year we were able to do some of the extras because of Miss Amy.

I was able to get some time with my family and not have to run to school several hours a day to make sure that the floors were washed, and the carpets were washed, and the animal room was cleaned which Edith did this break.

I was able to put in more of the school garden which will make a big difference this summer in food costs. I was also able to develop some summer food projects and activity projects that would otherwise have had to take a back seat. The wave of exhaustion that always follows an intense period like the end of the year or the holiday season simply because of the work that needs to be done between tasks has been eliminated because of the volunteer action of Miss Amy.

Running the school is a difficult business to begin with, and the kind of unselfish help with cleaning and organizing Miss Amy is willing to provide goes a long way with me. Amy has a very mature work ethic. She's the kind of employee who says, "It needs to be done; might as well be me." And then she hits the ground running. If you ask her about her work, she always shrugs her shoulders and says, "It's done."

Summer is a very active time for us. Planning the activities, phone calls, trip planning, finance planning, schedules for teachers, new students, returning students all take time and effort and a lot of thought. Couple that with the huge task of cleaning, and the usual final product is "Pooped" to start out the game.

This year we will start the program with nearly 50 children. That's a lot of kids for us. It's a huge responsibility to organize people. You will find our teaching schedule changed. I usually open the school every day at 6:00. This summer on Mondays and Thursdays, I will be closing the school and letting Amy and Edith open. I will work on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and all day on Friday of course, for field trips.

Miss Kelly will be at school all day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

Miss Molly will be at school Monday and Thursday mornings.

Mr. Tom will be at school every day mid morning through mid afternoon and all day on Friday

Miss Lindsay will be at school Monday and Thursday afternoons.

Miss Amy will work Monday and Thursday mornings, and Wednesday and Thursday afternoons and all day on Friday.

And we are introducing a new young lady, Miss Kendra, who will work every afternoon. Miss Kendra is a licensed teacher who is coming to the GS for a summer fun break from public school. We welcome her with open arms. I have known her family for a long time and she is Miss Kelly's neighbor and good friend.

This time management means a much better summer for the children who will have fresh happy committed teachers, and you can't beat that.

This summer Mr. Tom has planned some "Advanced Learning" projects with the older children. He is also committed to do the summer reading program at Willard Library.

Miss Kendra is eager to do some more music with the kids. She and Amy will join forces.

Mrs. St. Louis is going to do a lot of art with different groups of kids.

I will be doing domestic arts which will include the time management of good housekeeping. My girls will put snack to bake and then we will adjourn to do some needlework.

It should be a knock out summer.