Published: May 15, 2009 11:51 pm      

It’s that time of year

May brings the end of school, the beginning of warm weather

Here where I spend most of my waking hours, in the newsroom, we measure time by events.

Belcher and I discussed it this week, saying how for so long, our goal was to make it through Youth Expo in one piece. That down, our next goal was to make it through Derrick Days.

American Cancer Society Relay for Life has usually fallen into that category for me, too, until someone else covered it the last couple of years.

Now, Bob says he just wants to make it through May and graduation!

To me, since my kids have been in school, May has always been synonomous with end of school plays, programs, banquets, parties and other events. And since it’s the time of year when the weather starts really heating up, I find myself crankier than normal.

Yes, it is TOO the heat that does that.

I’ve spoken with a couple of teacher friends, who say the kids turn “wild” in the month of May, just itching to get out of school and start their summer vacation.

Would that all jobs had a three-month vacation.

I got the honor and pleasure to be able to hang out with two groups of elementary kids this week. Cindy McCary’s second grade class at Fannin Elementary was a delight. Those little darlings read so many books, and earned so many points, that each child had 500 points or more. One lively young man had over 1,100!

As a reward for their efforts, they went to a Texas Rangers game at the Ballpark in Arlington Thursday. When I saw them on Wednesday, they were so excited.

Amazing what you can get a kid to accomplish when you give them a little incentive.

All of the third, fourth and fifth graders from Blooming Grove Elementary went to Navarro Mills Lake Friday for Global Day. I was fortunate to be invited along, and actually got to pet the little alligator myself!

I did not, however, touch the snakes.

These kids got to shoot off rockets they had made, make paper out of leaves and banana fibers, see the inside of an air ambulance helicopter, scope out a firetruck, and lots more interesting stuff.

I have to say, I believe the education system has come a long way since I was a kid.

Not knocking my teachers or anything, but I don’t remember doing anything off-campus in elementary school except hunting Easter eggs at Bob Carroll’s house. We went there because it was close enough to walk from Bowie.

Never do I remember petting little alligators at the lake.

Always have a fun time with that bunch from the Grove. Mike Baldree, supt., is quite the comedian. Asked if my “press” sticker allowed me front row parking at the American Airlines Center. Told him, “Yeah, I guess.”

“Hook me up, Deanna!” he said.

I don’t remember having a superintendent with a funny bone, either ...

Happy May!

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Deanna Brown is a Daily Sun staff writer and editor of “exp...the Magazine.”

Click here to e-mail Deanna Brown.

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