The Last Day of School that wasn't

An unexpected end to the school year

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Unbeknownst to us, my son’s last day of school was yesterday. He had plans, the other students had plans, the teachers had plans, the school staff had plans and the parents did too. They all had a vision of how the last day would unfold, only it had already happened.

At first, I thought it was an internet rumor or a senior hoax when my son told me this. He and his friends were talking online, and they all knew about the school closing before their parents. I checked the school’s parent portal, and the announcement was there. The last day of school was today, and it would be closed Thursday and Friday. The reason given was vague. Computer server problems would cause the school year to end abruptly. The reasons stated were there would not be air conditioning, phones or an intercom system. This morning it is 50 degrees, and the next 2 days the temperatures will be in the lower 70s if that, plus both days all schools would be dismissed around noon. This was obviously not a cooling issue. There was also the urgent message that all students had to do a hard shut down of all their devices they had on them from the school, and they were instructed not to use them.

As you can imagine all of the parents are speculating to what caused this abrupt closure including the students and school staff. The answers will eventually come out, or they never may. Cyber security and a breach are thoughts that are entering all of our minds.

Photo by MChe Lee on Unsplash

To have a school year end unexpectedly like this is jarring to say the least. We are still on the heels of the Covid years when there was no last day of school. It was a time when classrooms were frozen in time, and some still had Saint Patrick's Day decorations adorning their classrooms in June. It is not 2020, we will see each other around but those memories take us back to another time when the school year ended unexpectedly due to a global pandemic.

I'm up at 6am anyway. My son’s backpack is in the entryway by the door and on the table is a game of Catan that he and his friends planned to play after finals. My schedule has changed for today due to some of my client’s being teachers. I was looking forward to saying good-bye to their pets before summer break.

My heart aches for the students that didn’t get to say goodbye to their teachers and friends. My heart aches for the pre-k classes that worked so hard for their graduation ceremonies that will never be seen. My heart aches for all of the students that are moving on from one school to the next and didn’t get to walk through the halls one more time. There will be no goodbyes, there will be no end of the year ceremonies for them. The teachers and staff did not get to say goodbye. The parents did not get to say goodbye either.

The last day of school is sentimental

There is something very sentimental about the last day of school. It’s a time when we can mourn and yet celebrate another year that goes by for our children. Unknown to us, our son became an 11th grader yesterday.

Sometimes life doesn’t happen as you pictured. Actually, it never does when you think about it. We have images in our head of how it all should be. It is ok to grieve that too. I know I am.

What memories do you have of your last day of school as a child?