Today was my last day at the west side elementary school where I taught Improv for the last two weeks. All I can say is that in spite of being teased about my sexual orientation, they were a pretty good group of students.

Mary, my teaching partner, and I headed to the west side for an all school assembly this morning. We were asked if we would demonstrate the techniques using some of the best students. We chose ten students from one class. They performed a game called "bead on a string" or "string of pearls." They did an excellent job (as I knew they would).

The best part of the assembly had to be the excitement surrounding it. Remember all school assemblies? Remember everyone going to the auditorium and all the grades mixing?

They showed a video highlight of the year that could be used as a recruitment tool for teachers. It showed different events from the fall through the spring. There were many field trips, school plays, special guests, and lots of dancing.

The big event of the day (after the improv, of course) was the announcement of the two top scorers in math and reading on the Iowa Standardized tests. There was one math winner and one reading winner. The winners chose between three prizes: A 10-speed bike, a personal DVD player, or an X-Box. Both winners chose the X-Box and became extremely popular even though was basically the last regular day of school.

Overall, I give today's assembly an A+.