Prima Settimana

Thus endeth the first week of school.  On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give this week a 10.

The clickers worked with minimal issues.  The students actually paid attention when I went over the class expectations and procedures and (don’t be shocked) the online math program worked for almost 95% of my students.

Oh, and the two S.B.O. boys contained their goofiness and, other than a small audio issue, the announcements went smoothly.

My 8^th Grade classes are ‘rest-of-the-world’ small, (25, 26 and 27 students).  I’ve got a group of girls that drove me crazy last year all in the same period, but there’s enough room to keep them apart.

My 7^th Grade classes are a bit bigger (30, 33 and 33), but by Utah standards, they’re still small. (Most  years my overall average was around 35, and I’ve had up to 42 kids in a math class).  They seem like a good group, and there are a few that are going to walk the line between annoying and hilarious.  Line-walkers can be my favorite students, animated enough to keep the class lively, but with just enough respect that they allow me to teach the class.

My Tech Crew looks good too.  I don’t have a shining star like last year, but I have the same talent spread over several students.  One student is going to build a teleprompter for the studio and another knows Adobe Master Suite well enough to produce what I think will be a really awesome intro for the “News” (the announcements).

The only drawbacks so far (knock on wood) are aching feet and a sore throat – I do a lot of talking the first few days.

Cobwebs on my blog.

This week I’ve met over 130 new people.  In the next couple of months I’m supposed to get to know them well enough to ensure that they are academically successful and emotionally secure.

I had to make my academic and behavior expectations for them clear enough for a 12-year-old to understand.  And throw in just enough entertainment to keep them from falling asleep.

I’ve had to help them find their lockers, and help them open them, find their next class and make them believe that the world will not end because they are a couple minutes late to that class.

I’ve kept my cool as 30+ of them at a time were having issues connecting to the computer network, and then the Canvas site, and then the Acuity testing site.

I’ve gone from spending most of my days mindlessly puttering around the house or blathering about irrelevant things with friends, to having 30 pairs of eyes watching every move I make. And trying to keep those eyes on me rather than spending their time catching up with friends they haven’t seen since last June (or at lunch yesterday).

I love my career, can’t imagine doing anything else.  But these first two weeks are completely and utterly exhausting.  That’s why I haven’t been by to visit all my favorite blogs, and why mine has been growing cobwebs.

And why every night this week I’ve fallen into a deep sleep by 7:30 pm.

Here’s to one more week of 10 hour sleeps, as I get the curriculum ball rolling.

Of Kaffeeklatsches and JNCO jeans...

.... Ok, so there are a few negative people, but after Thursday I felt even better about being where I am.  Part of the isolation I was feeling is because I'm at the end of a hall with only 2 classrooms in it, and the doors aren't even right across from each other.  That was alleivated when I found out that the Schmeisenhower Coffee Klatch meets at the T where my hall connects to the cross-hall.  We had 7th grade orientation that day and I came out of my room to go to the office, there was 3 of the more fun teachers standing in the hall chatting.  As I walked up they said hi and informed me that they like to meet right there in between classes and just chat, making it clear that I was invited to join.  SCORE!  Those of you who know me, know that I like to chat, especially at school.  Add to that the sister of one of my best friends in high school is our half-time English teacher and the PE teacher is the wife of someone I got along well with at Granite Park, and VOILA, I feel fun in the future. 

.... A guy came into the Chevron driving a Delorean today.  When he walked into the store and I told him I liked his car, he recognized me as his Jr. High math teacher.  I sort of recognized him, but asked him to refresh my memory.  He says "I was the kid with his book in his pants."

.... Ahh, yes.  Remember JNCO jeans?  The grandpappy of saggy pants.  I actually still have a pair.  They fit normally around the waist, but very, very loose otherwise.  And they have big pockets.  So, this kid, we'll call him Spencer, was not doing very well in math and we had a meeting with his counselor.  One of the things we agreed on was that he would remember to bring his math book to class every day, something he rarely did.  He was pretty good at it for a little while, then one day came when he didn't have it with him.  I asked him about it and he told me he had it with him.  I looked around, under his desk, on the desk behind him and it was nowhere, so I looked at him and said "so, where is it?"  He stood up, stuck both hands into one of those oversized and extremely deep JNCO pockets and pulled out his math text book.  I was stunned and speechless.  He was gloating and triumphant.  All I had left to do was laugh and thank him for remembering his book.