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.