Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom (And Whimsy)
Posted on July 9, 2025 under Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom with no comments yet
School’s out
“No more pencils, no more books,
No more teacher’s dirty looks,
Out for summer, out ‘til fall,
We might not come back at all.”
School’s Out – Alice Cooper
If you are a young person, is there anything more delicious than the last day of school?
Surely you all remember that feeling of pure joy when the bell rang one final time and you were set free, with two endless months of anticipation at your disposal. It’s impossible to describe the feeling but if you’ve lived it, you know what I mean.
I was a golf nut. Let me rephrase that. I was a nut who liked to play golf. (My children often admonish me for using labels). The moment that I got home from school, and after showing my parents my report cards (some of which I still possess), I would head to the golf course where I spent entire days. The rest of the time, I was shirtless and hatless at the beach (and clueless as it turns out). Little did I know that all that time spent in the sun would leave me in stitches (sutures, actually) later in life.
Summers lasted forever.
The school year ended in our province on June 30th. I’m sure those in authority can explain the timing but dragging students back for one hour on the Monday before Canada Day seemed like an odd call to me and almost every other teacher, parent and student. I was actually surprised at how many students showed up.
I hadn’t planned to go to the school, knowing the chaos of the final few hours, but the timing of my morning walk coincided with the final bell. Just as I was passing the school, the front doors of the school exploded and all the grade 8s came cascading out into the courtyard. This was to be their final day at SAJS as they would be attending the Regional High School in September.
I stood alongside a few teachers and administrators and started dishing out high 5s. I spent a lot of time with the grade 8s this past year until I stumbled into oblivion in the parking lot at Sobey’s in early April – my own version of an April Fool’s joke, me being the fool.
These students had come outside for a class picture and a few moments later, they re-entered the school to grab their personal belongings including their yearbooks. I had the honor of signing many of these.
I chatted with several members of staff and then left. A few hours later, the school would be empty, no longer an educational institution but just a mass of brick and mortar. The key ingredient in a school is the children. No kids. No school. Just a building until September comes a calling.
Many local businesses hand out free treats to students on the final day. Students, resembling packs of wolves, were seen marauding the streets of Antigonish. I have a suspicion that many of these young people ended up with upset tummies after this avalanche of sugar.
In all likelihood, I was the only person at school that day who was sad to see the year end. Had I expressed these sentiments out loud, I might have been put in a straight jacket and hauled off to the psychiatric unit at the hospital. For once, I had the good sense to keep my mouth shut.
Most of us aging souls know that having a purpose is every bit as important as diet and exercise. Substitute teaching gives me purpose and much more. It has become my community. Unlike discussions with my peers, conversations with young people don’t involve surgeries, artificial body parts, canes and walkers. We talk about hockey and horses and hairdos (I remain mute on this last one!) … and “tats”. For you very uncool oldies, tats is short for tattoos. I have one on my upper arm which instantly makes me cool in the eyes of my students.
Will I return in September? You betcha…the good Lord willin’.
“See you in September,
See you when the summer’s through.”
See You in September – The Happenings
Have a great weekend
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