Yesterday I spent a very enjoyable day at Hampton Middle School. Mrs. Graham welcomed me warmly the moment I arrived and all the staff was very friendly. I first met with the theatre full of grade seven students and they were very attentive, respectful and engaged in my presentation. I was very impressed with the thoughtful questions they asked and their insightful observations. As always it is challenging to share such a personal journey with a large group of unknown people but I was well rewarded for doing so. Next I faced a large group of active , pre Christmas break, grade eight students. At first glance I expected it to be daunting trying to keep this percolating group still. On the contrary though overall they were equally attentive, respectful and engaged. I came away from the group feeling very warmly received. At lunch time I was treated to a lovely stir-fry meal, salad and desert made by HMS EA Mrs. Freeze. Her generous attention to detail was very much appreciated and together with Mrs. Ketchum Boudreau ,Mrs. Jensen,Mrs. MacEachern and Mrs. Freeze (the district Literacy Specialist)I had a delicious and relaxing lunch.In the afternoon I had 21 eager students for a Writers Workshop and the enthusiasm and skill they showed was wonderful. Hampton Middle definitely has some budding writers.So all in all I had another very successful WISP visit and look forward to a few more this year. I am always reminded how much I loved being a teacher, how much I love being retired and how much I love being an author.
