Late February Shenanigans

 I once went on a road trip with a friend, her two children, and my two children. The kids were all under ten years old, possibly younger... and both of our husbands were out of town for the same week during the summer, so we decided to drive down to California and visit my parents with our kids. About halfway through the first day, my friend told all four kids to stop their shenanigans. The kids promptly responded, "What's a shenanigan?" It became the refrain of the trip, and now, over a decade later, still runs through my head when things get especially silly. This was one of those weeks where I could NOT stop thinking, "What's a shenanigan?"

I don't actually feel at liberty to blog about the shenanigans of this week, but rest assured, it was an unusual week.  Of course Tuesday was a sugar-overload, with those who ordered hot lunch getting a heart shaped lollipop, a red velvet cupcake, and a package of fun dip. My classroom floor had colored sugar all over the place. Primary classrooms had colored sugar inside student desks. But Wednesday through Friday brought new and different experiences to teach through, even though I am over two decades into this career.

I almost never hand out behavior reflections, but I handed out two yesterday - not for the initial behavior (which was relatively minor), but for bald-faced lying about it in a way that commanded the entire class's attention for at least ten minutes even though some of the other students had witnessed the minor infraction for themselves. Wednesday was a non-uniform infraction (not adhering to the guidelines for a non-uniform day) that consumed over half of my day and caught the attention of the principal. Today I saw my principal aghast. Twice. Two events that happened without his knowledge had him gasping out loud and in instant damage control mode. Shenanigans indeed... and all a month too early.

In the midst of all of this, our school has partnered with the parish to support an apartment complex that houses formerly homeless college students. We sent over school supplies and grocery store gift cards, and had our students create Valentines. This was my absolute favorite Valentine that was created for the college students. I hope it was appreciated! 

Good work happened, even in the midst of all the shenanigans. Thankfully I have a three-day weekend to recuperate.