It’s June, now July and I have yet to officially say goodbye. Yes, I made my goodbye video with my message at the end, but boy a lot has happened that we should have experienced together in our classroom and a lot got cancelled that makes this year really stink for you in 2019-2020.
I have always valued our time together, our discussions together and our “back and forth” together because I know that these moments are the teaching/learning moments way beyond our #EagleNews work. Let’s start from right here, today, June 14th/July 9th and head backwards to what would have been your last day in class with me.
I want to say that the #BlackLivesMatter means a lot to me. If you read my previous post, I stand against those who live out there and want to be racist towards the black community. My best friend in high school was black and never did I think about what life looked like through his eyes and I can’t imagine how different it was. I never saw race, I saw a guy who had my back and I had his and I miss him so much! So I think of my black students and I tell you that I stand with you against the fight for equality. I will not stand for ANYONE in and around my world, inside or outside my classroom that will be racist, it will not be tolerated. I believe that things will change.
“Be nice.”
On a different note, the Stanley Cup Playoffs should be wrapping up and the NFL will be starting in the next month, but I was unable to share my love of the Penguins and Major League Baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates with you all. It’s a big part of me and you didn’t get to live all my Pens gear in the months of April and May as the playoffs run. I am sorry about that because it’s a big part of me.
COVID sucks and it took away from us the Lipdub, the Film Festival and so many real goodbyes. Here is what I mean….look at the last week of the school year or let’s start with the week before the last week…
Friday, May 15th would have been the lipdub, I would have asked the 8th grade team to let you guys down to my room from after lunch until after school to get the lipdub ready, to do your hair and makeup, to hang the signs, to be ready for our taping of the lipdub. It would have been a glorious day of taping, a connection with some of you as we clean up and then the weekend for me, getting the film festival ready and the lipdub edited and ready for the show!
Monday, May 18th would have been so much fun in so many ways. We have arrived to school knowing that there are only 4 days left. “Yinz” would have bugged me to watch the lipdub and I would have rubbed it in that Emme and I were the only ones that have watched it. I would have left school at 11AM to go home and get all the stuff down to the Lennox movie theater. You all would have left school with questions for me, how to get to the theater, and got dressed UP! Maybe some of you would have gone out to dinner and a lot of you would have come to the show very nervous about whether or not you were gonna win an Eagle News award and/or a Film Festival award. I know that feeling and I would have warned you that only about 11% of you would leave the show with an award.
I would have worried so very dearly about who wins my students of the year and other awards, but it would have been a fabulous night with pictures, popcorn and awards. It would have been a special night for all of us, the #EagleNews alumni and helpers that come back every year and the Hyatts community.
Tuesday, May 19th would have included a look back at the night and your raw opinions of the night. Some of you would be very, very happy, some of you would have not been happy with the results and some of you would be ok with it all and you just had fun watching! YOU ALL would have loved watching the Lipdub on the big screen and we would have shared our opinions from the night. That’s it and it would have been very important to me.
Wednesday, May 20th would have been the hardest day of the year for me. I would have said goodbye to you all and asked you all to make it to my room for UA1 so that I can get to share with you my thoughts on the year and my advice for your high school years. I would have cried, as I am doing now as I write this and you would have cried, if that is something that you do. Some of you would not have cried and that is ok. I would have premiered for you the goodbye video I shared with you all last month. You all would have cried/shared emotions because it would have hit you like a ton of bricks that Eagle News was over, that you were never again going to make a film, edited a video or had a speech to listen to by me, ever again. Again, I would have cried. That would be our last day in the Eagle News room as teacher and student.
Thursday, May 21st would have been the day that you all walked for “graduation” from 8th grade and Hyatts Middle School. I would have asked that you all meet me in the library before heading upstairs to line up for what has been a tradition of my students to take a final picture with me in it. I am so upset that we do not have that picture. It is something that I know I will miss and that will make me more angry at COVID than anything else.
You all would have graduated and left Hyatts early, I would have taken some pictures, talked to some of you with your parents and congratulated all of you for a wonderful school year. I love this day, but also dislike it immensely for I know that I am no longer your teacher. If anyone stays at school, you would have helped me take down the studio and pack up my classroom, but that would only be a few. The goodbyes would be over at 11:00 am and at that point I would be really recruiting the 7th graders to take Eagle News.
Present Day…..middle of June/Early July and I have finally announced to the winners of the Students of the Year. I want to tell you all that these students not only did the work the best during the year, but also were a huge help during the “At Home” episodes of Eagle News. These were very difficult decisions for me especially because of the Coronavirus taking away 2 months in the classroom. Your votes and words from the survey I asked you all to fill out helped me make the following decisions.
Here are the 9 winners for Eagle News Student of the Year for the 2019-2020 school year:
Alexis Agyemang
Caylin Ellis
Teagan Coffman
Sophie Stanton
Addie Kearns
Dakota Riley
Emily Huefner
Fina Davy
and Willem Frank.
Congratulations to all the students in my class, without your work our program would not have been as strong as it continues to be. Here are some more award winners for Eagle News. I do have certificates for you and I will deliver them to you in July/August.
Broadcasters of the Year: Hailey Myers and Aubrey Noeth and Avery Cook
Behind the Scenes Person of the Year: Caroline Johnston
Bloggers of the Year: Charlotte Wolf and Ella Napolet
On Camera Award: Ella Napolet, Ella Ehlers and Brooke Aberle
Editors of the Year: Precious Okoroafor, Sophie Sampson, Abby Kille and Natalie Nichols
I can honestly say, if your name is not above, you did a great job in my class. I appreciate all of you with all my heart. In Eagle News, these awards are the hardest part of my job because there is a part of me that wants to give an award to everyone! I have also learned that in real life there are not winners and losers, but those who do a job better than others.
In my eyes, everyone of you are winners and are a very important part of my heart and life. Please share with me your worlds, your accomplishments, game schedules, recital times and places and I will try to come. If I can’t, please keep me posted on how it all goes. I thank you all for the commitment that you gave me during your 8th grade year.
I will always DISLIKE the Coronavirus for taking the 2 months of TIME that I should have had with you in class. We did the most with the time we had and I hope that I can lean on you guys if I ever need anything! I miss you already and I wish you all nothing but the best in your future and in the near future at Liberty, Berlin or wherever you will be heading to high school.
For now, goodbye!
Mr. Meta
PS. Hamilton was released 5 days ago on Disney+ and it is bringing out so many emotions that I realize how I missed such an important show is just crazy! If you haven’t watched it, go watch it now! I haven’t stopped listening to it since driving back from the beach on July 4th.
Mr. Meta's World 