Em's 8th Grade Farewell

This year we used no snow days so the school year would be ending a whole week early. This news was well received but it also meant that the year end activities were all compressed into one week. The picnics, field trips and ceremonies would be non-stop.

We received a letter notifying us that Emma was receiving an award at the award ceremony on Monday. We were happy to get the invitation to attend. Jim and I went to school and were proud to hear Em's named called as a recipiant of the Gold Presidential Award for academic excellence.

Tuesday morning was the actual farewell program. We had purchased a dress a few weeks prior, and found shoes and nail polish to coordinate. That morning Emma braided her hair and was ready to go. We were only allowed 2 tickets to the farewell so Jim dropped me off to get seats then he dropped Bridget and Ben at Mary's and Rae and Meg's at Elementary school. He was back in plenty of time to wait around for the start of the ceremony.

The 8th graders processed in as Em's friend played the piano. The program included 3 student speakers spread throughout. Emma sang in the farewell chorus and played with the 8th grade orchestra. The principal, Mr. Thorne, gave an emotional address full of stories from the class of 2012. Emma received her certificate elegantly, and we enjoyed a picture slide show. Sadly Em never passed on the info about needing a baby picture, but she did wind up in a number of the middle school pictures. The program was a fun way to celebrate the end of her middle school time. We took pictures and headed back to get the little ones. We then satisfied Em's craving for a blueberry muffin and had lunch at Panera. That evening there was a party at our pool for the graduates and families and even though it was chilly the girls had fun. Emma and her best friends sat huddled on a towel and chatted away.

Emma has grown is every way these past three years and is an amazing young woman. We are so proud of her and look forward her high school journey.