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.