Bittersweet can never encapsulate the emotions of goodbye

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Yesterday, I closed my first classroom door for the last time.

Bittersweet is the adjective commonly associated with the end of the school year. But one word is not sufficient to describe my last few days, the endless goodbyes, and the turbulent emotions I crashed in between. 

This school year was, as predicted, challenging. Not only because it was my first full year but because of the unique trials and tribulations forced upon my school community in January and the sudden loss of my grandfather. Grief was etched into weekly meeting agendas, 10-hour work days, and late-afternoon grading sessions.

However, this first year will be memorialized by the joy in community, perseverance, and growth that my students, coworkers, families, and I showed in spite of each trial we faced together. There is so much to celebrate this year that cannot be measured by data points and formal assessments.
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