February 23, 2004

Well, the time to pack the dreaded box finally arrived. I had been told to allow hours for that task.

I prepared all my forms and other necessary items ahead of time, so my focus could remain on finalizing my written commentary. Even so, finishing up those last minute revisions came down to the wire for me. Toward the end of the process, even thinking of synonyms for words I felt I had used too often was hard!

A total of four entries had to be packed; a fifth envelope contained all the necessary forms. My plan was to pack each envelope separately -- to bring closure to one entry at a time. Two of the entries and the forms envelope were successfully packed a week before the box had to be mailed out. The third entry awaited only the last minute insertion of the name of a test I had given my kids. The last entry was a struggle, however. I was still revising that one as two of my colleagues sealed their envelopes. I think I had simply run out of steam; exhaustion had officially set in!

The box did, however, finally get packed. Then the neurotic thoughts began: Had I put the envelopes in the right order? Was my videotape included? Did I number the pages correctly? After checking each entry envelope for a third time, I declared the box packed and vowed not to open it againuntil morning, that is!

Meet Stephanie Capalbo Stephanie Capalbo received a bachelor's degree in psychology with a concentration in elementary education from Rhode Island College in May 1995. She became certified in early childhood education in August 1997. For the past six years, Stephanie has been teaching kindergarten at Bradford Elementary School in Westerly, Rhode Island. In the fall of 2000, the kindergarten at Bradford became the first and only kindergarten in the district to receive accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). In 2003, Stephanie was named Westerly's Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year.