Saying Goodbye to Hiroki

I am feeling heavy with the news that one of my students will be leaving our school, as of the new year. This is my first experience in having a student leave in the middle of the year, and I don't like it! This particular student has brought so much joy into our classroom, with an additional measure of ten-year-old boy silliness. He is one of those kids who light up a classroom- so eager to learn, so easily excited. A true joy to teach, even on the days when I had just about had it with his goofy faces or his questions: "Hey, Miss Muckkk-Millan (as he pronounces it), can you do this??"(moving his ears without his hands, actually, quite impressive). Ah, it is hard to let him go. I guess we do our best to make a difference for as long as we have the chance, and then trust that someone else picks up where we left off.

(on the right)