Last day of school. Rituals include:

- putting butcher paper over the bookcases to protect books during summer cleaning

- surplussing unneeded furniture

- sitting around gabbing about kids

- last-minute material cataloging and disposal if necessary

- parties

- the mid-morning kindergarten bus fiasco (AM kindergartners come for one hour, then PM kindergartners show up, then AM kids get on the bus that the PM kids were just brought in); no pee break for the K teachers!

- kids piling onto buses with arms full of final projects, items cleared from desks (ewww, really), gifts, candy, etc.

- office staff playing the Hallelujah Chorus as the buses pull away

- staff clapping in the foyer, relieved

- messing around until the clock says you can leave!