Our trip to the Bronx zoo was cancelled due to a major transit strike going on in the city. The girls were devastated so we tried as much as possible to give them a great day.
They were allowed to eat their lunches in their classrooms, that was a major treat for them. (Never mind what a mess they made!) Then, my co and I took each class for 45 minutes before recess.
After recess we gave the girls a choice of watching 3 different National Geographic DVD's. We set them up in 3 different classrooms, and the girls were able to go wherever they wanted.
10 girls came into my class just because they wanted to be with me. The funny thing is...They even said so! When I was their age, I would've died before I'd have admitted to liking a teacher!
The videos were great, the girls had a blast.
After all the videos were done, they all went into the computer lab to watch one more film on animal clips. It was fascinating. L.K. kept screaming though every time an animal ate another one, and as a joke, the class began to scream with her.
What a riot.
I took advantage of the dark room to hand out my "special notes" to the girls who needed them, but I knew S.G.L. wouldn't take them here.
I watched her for a bit.
She was chewing gum again, and she was making a deliberate effort not to look up at the screen. Instead, she was slouched in her seat, looking out the window. She was obviously trying to get someone's attention, and she definitely got mine.
I snuck out of the room, and stuck the notes into her looseleaf. I can't understand why it's such a problem for her to admit she uses my notes.
I called her over after the film was over and the girls were heading back to class. The first thing I addressed was her gum chewing. I told her that I didn't want to embarrass her when I noticed her chewing before, but I was giving her a warning, that if she'd chew gum again, I would have to send her out.
The first thing she did was tell me that she wasn't the only one chewing.
I already knew that, and I had spoken to some other girls. I told her not to feel that I was picking on her. She made a face that clearly said, "I don't believe you."
Her mother had actually mentioned to me over the phone that her daughter felt that I didn't like her as much. I find it funny that S.G.L. is very quick to blame teachers, when all she has to do is spit out the gum, bring her books to class, and smile, for us to stop punishing her.
I told S.G.L. that I noticed something was bothering her. Her eyes teared up, but she didn't say anything.
"I'm not a good guesser," I told her. "But anytime you need anything, I'm here to talk." She nodded.
I told her that she didn't necessarily have to talk to me, it could be any teacher, or she could even write it to me, but we were all here for her.
I had had a meeting earlier with all the seventh grade teachers and the Hebrew principal about her. We were all very worried, and the other teachers kept saying something about her older sisters. I have to figure out the story there.
The Hebrew principal is going to try to meet with the parents tomorrow, I hope she accomplishes something.
By the way, the principal was back in school today. Her face looked terrible, (she has cellulitis) and she looked very uncomfortable and embarrassed. Her eye was swollen shut, and she had big red blotches on her face. I couldn't help feeling sorry for her, but I still dislike her, don't worry.
