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Last week of school full of excitement for kids
Raw energy, plates of food and Christmas songs in the hallway are just a few of the signs that Christmas break was only a short time off, area teachers, students and parents said Friday.
Area students’ preparation for two weeks of fun and relaxation came with an awful lot of expectations.
Bailey Dickson, a third-grader at State Road Elementary School in Ashtabula, said the final day of school before break was “exciting.” She said games and eating were a big part of the final day of school.
At the same time her mother, Cindy Dickson Marthaller, was gearing up for the holidays, as well.
“A lot of preparing for Christmas. We got our tree up yesterday (Thursday),” Marthaller said.
“It was fun. We played a lot,” said Bailey’s brother Matthew, a sixth-grader at State Road Elementary.
“The kids are really excited,” said Lisa Newsome, head teacher at State Road Elementary School, in perhaps the understatement of the holiday season. She said it can be a challenge to maintain a working educational environment but teachers work to keep learning amidst the heightened emotional intensity.
“The teachers take the opportunity of the holiday to talk about sharing and family,” Newsome said. She said they use math and other subjects as they connect to the holiday season.
The intensity begins on Monday and builds in a crescendo toward the final day of the school week, Newsome said.
“You’re looking at the aftermath,” said Shelley Austin, a third-grade teacher at Spencer Elementary School in Geneva, while cleaning her room Friday afternoon.
“The week is usually with all kinds of activity,” Austin said. She said keeping the focus on learning can be a challenge in the preholiday experience.
“It’s very difficult (to focus on learning). You are definitely trying to keep them on task as much as you can,” she said.
Friday was especially bittersweet for the Spencer Elementary School family as Dixie Hamilton led her final Christmas carol session in the third-floor hallway. Hamilton is retiring after more than 40 years at the school, Austin said.
“It was a little teary,” Austin said of Hamilton’s leading the students through a series of 10 different Christmas carols.
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