Farewell: Round 3
School Closing
Today is the kids' last day of school and the last day of existence for Mannheim Elementary. The installation closes this summer, so this is it for the school.
The ceremony was a pretty big deal. The kids sang songs, there were speeches from the administration and from alumni. The theme for this school year was "Oh the places you'll go". Very fitting for a bunch of "Army Brats" who are literally moving all over the world in the next few weeks. The school has invested a great amount of time and effort into celebrating the closure and move.
Leaving this school will be a little different then leaving school in Virginia, mainly because this community is so small and tightly knit. The kids are leaving a very small, essentially private, school with class sizes that range from 10-16 to a much larger public school in Washington with about double the class size. Here, everyone knows everyone! I guess that can be a bad thing, but our experience has been absolutely great. It is so sweet to know and be known by your entire school community.
The fact that the school is closing really has less importance to us than to the teachers who have been here for so long. I doubt it really mattered to the kids that the school is closing, since we were leaving anyway, but it was really fun to have this big official closing ceremony. I hope they don't expect this every time they leave a school!
Allied forces arrived in Mannheim in 1945 and have had a military presence here since. The first Mannheim American School was established shortly after the war ended and after a few moves and a lot of growth the school became Mannheim Elementary School and found its home in the building it is in today. It is really neat to be part of the closing of this school and installation. American presence in Mannheim was needed in 1946 but our job here is done, and it is time for the Mannheim community to take back their land.
After the ceremony the kids played for hours at a little fun fair the school PTA set up while I chatted with the kids' teachers and some of the administration. We finally said our last goodbyes and left Mannheim Elementary school for the last time.
I hope the boys will always look back at their time at MES and consider how special their days here were and how wonderful this little community was.
The ceremony was a pretty big deal. The kids sang songs, there were speeches from the administration and from alumni. The theme for this school year was "Oh the places you'll go". Very fitting for a bunch of "Army Brats" who are literally moving all over the world in the next few weeks. The school has invested a great amount of time and effort into celebrating the closure and move.
Leaving this school will be a little different then leaving school in Virginia, mainly because this community is so small and tightly knit. The kids are leaving a very small, essentially private, school with class sizes that range from 10-16 to a much larger public school in Washington with about double the class size. Here, everyone knows everyone! I guess that can be a bad thing, but our experience has been absolutely great. It is so sweet to know and be known by your entire school community.
The fact that the school is closing really has less importance to us than to the teachers who have been here for so long. I doubt it really mattered to the kids that the school is closing, since we were leaving anyway, but it was really fun to have this big official closing ceremony. I hope they don't expect this every time they leave a school!
Allied forces arrived in Mannheim in 1945 and have had a military presence here since. The first Mannheim American School was established shortly after the war ended and after a few moves and a lot of growth the school became Mannheim Elementary School and found its home in the building it is in today. It is really neat to be part of the closing of this school and installation. American presence in Mannheim was needed in 1946 but our job here is done, and it is time for the Mannheim community to take back their land.
After the ceremony the kids played for hours at a little fun fair the school PTA set up while I chatted with the kids' teachers and some of the administration. We finally said our last goodbyes and left Mannheim Elementary school for the last time.
I hope the boys will always look back at their time at MES and consider how special their days here were and how wonderful this little community was.
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