And Then There Were Five

Just 5 more wake-ups until the end of this school year.  That's what the kids and I have been counting.  They have 4.5 days of school left and as far as they're concerned, they've been done for a while.  This week will be very easy in some respects since all the academic work is done.  In other respects, it will be a tough week.  We still have field day tomorrow (or Tuesday, if the weather doesn't cooperate)  to get through.  That's about 4.5 hours of outside activity:  relay races, egg toss, tug of war, etc.  They love it, but it's pretty wearing on this particular teacher.  Then we have another outside day at a local camp on Thursday.  In between we have Roman chariot races, ice cream making, book project presentations, and awards.  And I get to go into this week with one of the worst spring colds I've ever had.  Two nights of no sleep because of the nasal congestion does not make me feel rested and ready to go.

I still have to get my room packed ready for the move up to 7th grade. This week will be tough for me.   I've worked with members of my team for 3 years, 5 years, 7 years, and over 10 years, so this is going to be very hard emotionally for me. I'm heading off into uncharted territory and I just pray I have the energy left to do this.  I plan to use the summer to really relax so that when school starts again, I have lots of reserves to draw on.

School Daze

We've completed 7 days of school. Of course, we've had 7 brilliantly sunny, warm, gorgeous days --- after a summer of rain, rain, and more rain. That's usually what happens. The first September of retirement (2014?) I plan to take a vacation sometime during the first or 2nd week of school because I can count on great weather!



I'm settling into my new classroom. There's more floor space than I expected, and the room is actually almost square shaped. I have one wall of solid windows, another wall of fake whiteboard (shower stall sheets) and 2 cinder block walls. There is no storage space of any kind, so I have a collection of scavenged bookshelves, tables, and crates, some filing cabinets, and lots of boxes under tables. The biggest challenge right now is the fact the windows are south-facing and there are no shades. It's so bright that I can't use any sort of projection device which totally changes how I teach. Plus, it's hot. I've been keeping track of the heat because we just spent almost $10 million to build an addition, renovate existing space, and upgrade ventilation systems. Only 2 of my windows open. On Thursday, at 6:15 am my classroom was 78°F -- and I'd purposely left my windows open overnight. By 8 am my classroom was 85°F and at noon it was 89°. And that reading comes from the wall thermostat on the hallway side of my room where the direct sun doesn't reach. The cheap thermometer I bought at the dollar store on Tuesday over by the window side of my room was 5-7° warmer at any given time. On the positive side, I made administration aware of the problem, and they're trying to resolve it. I just wish the architect had asked the teachers who inhabit the classrooms what they needed!



Monday is science lab experience #1 for me. It's an easy experiment, but it's the first time I've ever done a lab with kids. I don't need a lot of materials -- ice, hot water, thermometers. I got creative --- since I don't have a sink in my room, I brought in a large coffee urn to heat the water, and I will bring in a small cooler with ice. I have a bucket to fill from the sink in the hall. So all I have to do is set up the 5 lab stations for each class, instruct the kids on safety procedures, and then . . . have at it! Wish me luck!

I just finished looking over assessment data on my kids, and I realized I have to have 3 spelling groups this year. About half my kids can use the regular 6th grade spelling program, but I will have to either greatly modify the program for about 1/4 of them or find something else for them. The other 1/4 will need something quite advanced -- I'll probably have them use a vocabulary program I have. They are above grade level by 3-5 years, while the lower group is 3 years below grade level. I'm teaching 2 sections of reading/language arts this year so I'm dealing with just under 40 kids. I run a reading workshop in my classroom, so it's a little easier to differentiate the reading than it is the "formal" spelling. What's tricky for me this year is that I have only 50 minutes daily to teach reading, writing, and spelling.

Oh and finally --- a sight that probably won't be seen again soon -- a clean desk!

A Day and A Half and I'm Sick

I'm down to counting the hours til school is out. This has been the longest week! And there's still a day and half to go. Don't get me wrong. This year's group of 6th graders has been the kindest, most compassionate group I've ever taught and I'm actually sad to be losing them. But we're all tired! It's been a long year with lots of bad weather that prolonged the school year. Since last week, we've basically been about fun - walks to the local ice cream parlor, field day, nature walks, another field day . . . more like crowd control than teaching. In between we've done grades, pod awards, academic awards, Pride Awards, (too many awards if you ask me!), placements, budgets, bid orders, and lots of packing for the next move. And on top of it all, since Monday I've had a sore throat, swollen glands, and general exhaustion -- but no fever. Not a great way to end the year. . . .

I did finish another book, A Ghost in the Machine by Caroline Graham. It's another Inspector Barnaby book, and it's very intricately plotted. I wish I'd waited to read it til school was out, because I lost track of a few things, I wish I hadn't --- too many interruptions! I liked it though.

Feelin' Glum

Glum describes a depressed, spiritless condition or manner, usually temporary rather than habitual:

That's how I'm feeling today. I'm not exactly sure why. It might be that I joined Weight Watchers and wasn't pleased with my starting weight. I've been working hard for most of the year on losing weight, and had managed to lose 35 lbs. Since school started however, some of those pounds have been found again, and I'm tired of all the planning ahead I have to do in order to eat. I joined WW because my work place offered a 17 week program and I decided I needed the support of others. But when I went today I looked around and realized that of the 15 or so of us there, most probably only need to lose 5-10 lbs, not 150 lbs. It made me feel worse than I already do about where I am right now in the weight battle. I left the meeting and did 30 minutes of intense aerobic exercise at my fitness center. Usually that gets the endorphins going. But I came home tired, and feeling like I will never succeed. I need some positive self talk but haven't got the energy tonight to do it.

I shouldn't be glum - I have a 4 day weekend ahead. I plan to do some shopping with a friend, and lots of knitting. And of course some grading papers. There's a church supper on Sat. night, and big events on Sunday at church. Next week will be an easy week at school too--- classes on Tuesday, and then 3 days at a local outdoor education center. But somehow all that just makes me tired.

I even had fun with my kids at school today --- something that's happening a lot this year. I'm really falling in love with my job again.

But tonight, I'm glum.

Tough Day in the Trenches

You can tell we're almost at the end of the school year. Minds are wandering so far from the classroom that you sometimes wonder if you've accomplished anything. Today was a tough day. It started with my wearing my CSI hat, investigating a trail of evidence to determine which student did what to whom when. That consumed about 20 minutes of first period - fortunately my class was working in groups on their ancient Rome power points, so I was able to do some investigating. Later in the morning I had to confiscate a forbidden PS2 from a couple of young men who thought their game was more interesting than their assignments. A few more run of the mill issues to deal with came my way -- I'm in charge of student discipline for my grade level team. At lunch time I supervised a roomful of young folks who had chosen to disrupt their morning classes in some way or another, and I had to consult with our guidance counselor about another student who ended up getting suspended for some very poor choices ---- All in a day's work, I guess, but I am getting very, very tired.

We have 14 days of school left, budgets to finish, end of year awards, 4th quarter grades, orientation for the incoming 6th graders (who come from 2 different elementary schools), placements, and end of year activities - a field trip, a field day, and assorted other events.

Oh well. My knitting looks really good tonight!