A Very Happy Friday

 My first real week of classes (after last week's overnight retreat) included standardized testing and my students had extra choir practice in advance of the first all school mass of the year. Suffice it to say that as of yet, we have not had our normal schedule. Even so, in many ways it was a typical first week - I was exhausted each night, my throat hurt as a result of using my voice much more than usual, and we ended it with a well-attended staff happy hour at a local restaurant.

Some of my favorite lessons of the school year come right at the beginning. I was able to run my version of Dave Burgess' crash survivor lesson in the auditorium with both seventh-grade classes at the same time. Although there was a technical hiccup once they were broken into groups to begin discussing who should be rescued and who should remain on the island, I was able to begin by asking the students to sit in two rows of two on the floor. They became part of a simulated crash which was likely instrumental to their ability to sustain their attention through the technical glitch and ensuing transition back to the classroom. 

At first it was difficult for some of them to believe that there was not a right or wrong answer, just solid reasoning and less solid reasoning. But once they understood, passionate discussion ensued. It was fantastic. Most small groups decided that the survivor list contained many pairs of people with the same basic role. For example, they thought the priest and comedian were interchangeable on the island: both able to maintain the mental health of those left behind. But while everyone agreed that getting the priest to his destination in order to donate a kidney to his niece was of time sensitive importance, several saw the comedian's lack of experience "roughing it" would amount to dead weight on the island, becoming a problem for those left behind. They saw the priest as better able to cope with all of the challenges involved, his niece's urgent health crisis included. It was fascinating to listen to the debate, which could have gone on much longer than time allowed. I hope they can bring this same level of critical thinking to all the tasks and assignments they encounter this year.

The middle of the week brought a couple of compliments from former parents that really stuck with me. One came across me in the hallway, and rather than a typical greeting, she said, "You have glorious hair!" It would have made my week, except today I responded to a request from another former parent for a letter by asking who to address it to and where to send it. The response I received began, "Have I told you lately how much I love you?! Honestly, your heart is one of my favorites." I hope there are many more moments like these throughout the year, but even if that does not materialize, these two moments will easily sustain me for some time to come.

This afternoon my principal came in during the last few moments of the day to take the eighth graders to the upper field to be the first students to view and walk on the brand-new turf. Turf that has been much anticipated for many years. The principal was grinning from ear to ear. It was awesome.

It is going to be a fantastic year!

And That's a Wrap on the First Week!

The start of the school year is always a rush of activities and deadlines that bring an abrupt end to summer break. The position I've had since last year has the extra crazy of planning an overnight field trip for the second and third days of school. I am now a huge advocate of overnight field trips. Admittedly, I spent some time sobbing at how overwhelmed I was the night before I took my first class of fifth graders away for three nights at the end of October. But nearly 20 years later, even the added load of arranging all the paperwork before the start of the school year (when families are still often out or town - or the country - and not motivated to respond in a timely fashion to emails from the school), I'm solidly on board.

The "meet and greet" on Tuesday was great. I teach eighth grade in a PreK through 8th grade building. But every family showed up, and nearly every parent took the time to spend a few to several minutes chatting with me. I discovered one family spends their free time much as mine does - playing tabletop games together. Another parent does marketing for a game that my 18-year-old spent all summer playing and offered to send merch. Most of the few who have not signed their student up for the spring trip to Washington DC discussed it with me and plan to sign up before the discounted rate expires within the next week.

Students and their families alike took in the new decor. Some were interested to find out who their congressional representative is, somewhat embarrassed to admit they didn't know. I tried to put their minds at ease. It's my mission to ensure my students become informed voters because I know there are many who don't engage with politics in this day and age.

Many laughed out loud at the history meme wall I started this summer.

And still others were surprised to discover that Clarence Thomas is still a Supreme Court Justice.

I gave my homeroom students, remember that they're eighth graders, welcome bags this year. I put rubber duckies that came with gold chains, sunglasses, and cowboy hats in the bags. Someone put their duck on a communal table. Others added their cowboy hats, and one girl took it upon herself to glue the hats together to provide more stability. The boy who may or may not have donated the duck christened him the class mascot: Johnatan Quackington III. There are lots of signs that indicate it's going to be a fantastic school year.

However, this year's group got off to a rough start on the annual first week retreat. Gum was a huge issue last year, with students chewing it constantly, rolling their eyes, and even popping a new piece in immediately, when asked to spit it out. It was found stuck to the bottom of brand-new student desks and chairs, the blacktop on the playground, and in planters near the back entrance to the school. So, on the first full day of school I made a point to tell every participant in this year's retreat to leave their gum at home. I said the same in an email to their parents. The bus driver who drove us from school to the retreat said gum was not allowed on his bus. It was the ONLY rule he gave them. At least five kids were caught chewing gum on the way to the camp.

During dinner on the first night, one table of a cabin of boys got food everywhere except their plates. Underneath the table was a solid smear of pasta sauce and frosting. Someone turned over a salad plate, with a pool of dressing still on it, in order to have a clean surface for the very moist cake that was dessert. Crumbs from said cake and the dinner rolls sprinkled the length of surface of the table. The principal, who attends this retreat meant to build leadership, teamwork, and community, was NOT happy. I was happy to let him handle the "talk" with the kids in both situations.

However, I can report that these kids showed visible growth over the two days. Not only was gum not an issue on the bus ride home, but they were kind, caring, and generous toward one another during every activity and meal. Two students in my group took it upon themselves to help others into their harnesses for the high elevation activities in order to ensure that as many kids as wanted to had time to attempt each challenge. Others who were so afraid of heights that they did not attend last spring's retreat at High Trek Adventures attempted challenges this week or put on harnesses and seriously considered attempting something incredibly far out of their comfort zones. They were thoughtful and reflective during the evening activities and became more comfortable responding to the deeper questions asked during these more serious times.

Two former fifth graders of mine attended the retreat as cabin chaperones. It was great to see them and reminisce about the time they were little boys (both were small for their age at ten). It was affirming to hear how they remembered my class and see how they interacted with my current students. Best of all, they were able to pick up the slack I left as I'm still dealing with my knee injury. I accepted rides in an off-road golf cart to get to the high elevation sites while they hiked there with my small group. 

One of my former students did 7 pushups on the catwalk.

I am exhausted and my husband had to go onsite at in a client's office to help with some important IT fix just as I was settling in after my post-retreat cleansing hot shower. So I had a "girl dinner" - cheese melted in refried beans, tortilla chips, and a margarita. An early bedtime sounds lovely. But I can't wait for Monday. It's going to be a fantastic year.

First Day Eve 2023

 As one of the last teachers in the nation to return to school, tomorrow is the official first day of school for my students. But it's really just three hours in the morning set aside for families to come into the building and drop off supplies. Since the first full week of school - beginning September 11 - includes several schedule interruptions (like an all-school mass and standardized testing) and I will be gone with the eighth graders at an overnight retreat this Thursday and Friday, it's going to be a choppy start to the year. It's the same as last year, but I had forgotten since this is only my second year with this start up schedule.

I spent most of this holiday weekend about five hours from home at my nephew's wedding. He was the first of his generation in my family to marry. He's the third oldest, but the first three were born in quick succession in the spring and summer of 2000 and the fall of 2001. It was a beautiful wedding in a beautiful corner of the world. My husband and I enjoyed the sunset the night before the big day and a rainbow the morning of the wedding.

The highlight of the reception was when my nephew sang "Your Man" by Josh Turner to his new bride. I had no idea his voice could go so low.

Click here to watch my nephew singing.

We came home on Sunday. Not only were the wedding festivities at an end (though we did inadvertently end up in the same hotel as the bride and groom), but I have to work this week, with an overnight retreat on Thursday and Friday. According to the news, we missed some nasty traffic by coming home before the end of the long weekend.

Thankfully, my first week of school doesn't involve much planning. I have the first day, tomorrow, to greet students and their families as they drop off supplies. Wednesday is the first full day of school, and we will run our normal schedule, though obviously there will not be any core content taught. Thursday my students and I will leave prior to the start of the normal school day for our overnight fall leadership and community building retreat.

However, I had literally just finished my lesson plans through the first full week of school* (this Wednesday and next week) when I received notification of a new email. The fall standardized testing schedule was sent out - and we go in order from oldest to youngest. While I know I will use the plans I made, I can't be sure when. The middle school will need to meet tomorrow, after the "meet and greet" supply drop off morning, to discuss the testing and all school mass schedule for the first full week of school.

Given that I spent two of the three in-service meeting days at home with a migraine AND that last year was my first year as a middle school teacher in my current building, I realize it's fine that I forgot about how crazy the start of the school year is. Well, I DID remember how crazy the start to the school year is, but I had forgotten the specifics of what makes it so crazy.

Regardless, it's going to be a great year. I just need to adjust my expectations. Maybe I'll remember how and why my expectations need to be adjusted before the night before the first day of school next year?

*I would like to add that my first several lessons for both seventh and eighth graders are designed to get kids excited for my classes (thanks, Dave Burgess aka the pirate of Teach Like a Pirate fame) and to think like historians (thanks, Standford History Education Group) and are SO MUCH FUN that I'm disappointed we won't get to them all as quickly as I had imagined.