Although my teaching assignment is 8th grade Math and Algebra, I would have to say my biggest success story this year was not a curriculum success. In February, one of our students was diagnosed with Leukemia. This affected the students and staff in many ways----from being worried and scared to missing their friend, from not knowing what to do or say to knowing that they needed to talk and share feelings, from being able to talk of a family member who survived or lost the battle with cancer to being able to now do something for a classmate and her family, from keeping it all inside to stepping up and doing fundraisers..... I opened the door to letting students know that I am an 11 year survivor and above all else, the most beneficial thing to me is to keep the "Power of Positive Thinking". We coined that and the initials of PPT (in orange---the color of Leukemia) showed up all over school. There were several afternoons when students met in my classroom to make posters of awareness to put up in our hallways and commons, to cut out paper ribbons in the "colors of cancer", and mostly just to talk and share their feelings and thoughts. It was important for me to know that the students knew that there was a connection for them in our building, but mostly they needed to know that we needed to keep the hope and that we can be survivors. The school year was coming to an end and students were still coming to my room "just to talk". One of their biggest concerns, was (since the young lady did not return to the school building during their 8th grade year) if their friend would be joining them for 9th grade. I was able to reassure them that when her health and strength allowed, she would be rejoining them. I was so pleased that I had given them a place of comfort in their sometimes confusing "middle school" years.