chalkdown - (S. African, informal) - noun - a teacher's strike (Lexico.com)
For many, today marks the last day of school before summer vacation. As far as I know, there is no single word that encapsulates it. Chalkdown, if taken literally, comes close as the final day of school involves teachers putting down chalk and dusting off their hands for July and August. Although this is somewhat of a poetic image, it is not reality. Most teachers today use white boards and markers, not chalk boards and chalk. Still, teachers might always be associated with the antiquated image just as Alice Cooper's 1972 hit, "School's Out" is still played on the radio in celebration of the joyous occasion for students and teachers alike.
As a secondary ed English teacher who retired the June before the pandemic (whew! I just made it!), the last day of school no longer holds relevance. The memory of the relief felt at the end of that closing day is still edifying, though, especially as I experienced it each June for over twenty years. That being mentioned, I still embrace the cleansing sigh uttered each June 23rd and exhale it after comparable moments of difficulty that invariably lead into freedom, if only for brief periods.
Sometimes when life gets tough, you have to have your own personal chalkdown: put down the ammo and walk away, immersed in a healing albeit tentative sigh.
Happy Hump Day!
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