by César Poyatos 
This past week flew by. It it hit me again that my very first class is leaving to go to different schools or leave our campus. I received a very lovely card from one of the boys and I know, I am going to miss them. He is one of the kids that Ambookgeek and I can have a lot of fun with. We actually made posters when one of the kids decided it was "hug-a-[insert name]" day. He told us about it and, of course, we had to take the opportunity that he handed us on a platter to celebrate the day and share it with the other students. He received hugs all day long (to his dismay - but he's a good sport so he took it in stride). Anyway, it still trips me out how quickly they grow and leave the middle school. The transformation in those 3 years is really extraordinary. They are taller, find their style, get less shy or more shy. Some get quirker, some we worry about, some come into their own...of course, this again will change but it is amazing to witness and some times, be a part of. We start winter break and for the first time in a long time, I woke up close to 11 am. I usually continue on my schedule of waking up at 5 am so this had me thrown for a bit of loop this morning. I will spend the break in San Diego catching up on reading and getting prepped for Jan. 5 when we return.
Hope everyone is has a happy holiday and a wonderful new year!
