Day 120.

Last school day ever at Sullivan Middle School in Fairfield.

That’s it.  That’s all.  Today was our last classroom workshops of the walk.

I say “classroom”, but today was actually in a multipurpose room with stage, kitchen and cafeteria.  Even when the 100+ kids were quiet, it was loud.

The teachers’ side conversations didn’t help.  They expected their kids to be quiet and respectful, but for several periods, they apparently didn’t qualify.  There was even a funny moment in third period, where I paused for the noise to settle down only to realize that the teachers were the chief offenders!

That being said, the kids were FANTASTIC.  They were so enthusiastic and thoughtful.  We found out later that Fairfield suffers from a lot of gang activity, but these kids were some of the most polite and thoughtful people we’ve encountered on the Walk.

We knew it was going to be a good day when a girl held open the door for us when she saw me and my mom coming with our cart of supplies.  Then later, a boy said thank you when I held the door for him.  Plus, there was the girl who saw that I had trash in my hand and offered to throw it away for me, and the slew of kids lined up and waited patiently to add their healthy goals to the wellness wall.  There were so many who wanted to write their goals that the pages are stuffed now (even after adding an extra sheet)!

This was a great day for wrapping up the workshops, and despite whatever difficulties we’ve had along the way, I am confident that we have had a positive effect on these students.