Kids With Issues

I had gotten a message to call C.S.S.'s father, so I called him last night. All he wanted to know was how his daughter was doing.
I told him only the positive things because I had been told by the principal that C.S.S.'s parents didn't treat her the way they should be treating her, so I didn't want to get her into any trouble. I figured that I better tell the principal about C.S.S.
I did go to the principal today in school and she seemed a little concerned that C.S.S. had taken the seating chart, and she definitely seemed surprised that C.S.S. admitted it.
8th grade had a test today, and of course C.F.C. wasn't feeling well, so I told her to take the test home and give it to me Monday.
I'm upset because she does this to me all the time. She's afraid of taking tests and she always manages to get sick when I give one.
I must call her parents.
The 8th graders had a wonderful time talking to me after their test. R.S. wanted to know if she was allowed to write about what kind of boy she wanted to marry in her letter to self.
I laughed and told her that she could plan all she wanted but that it wasn't going to help her. I told the class about how I always said I would never marry a man with the name _____, and that's what I married anyway. They asked me why I went out with him if I didn't like his name, so I told them that I knew him before and that's why it happened by mistake that we went out.
I refused to tell them anymore LOL.
R.S. and D.Z. wanted to know of my husband's name was _____ (his name). I asked them how they knew, and it turns out that my little stinkers went onto Onlysimchas.com to check me up.
They are nuts.
T.B.N. also took the test home to finish; I told her to do it with her notes open. It won't make a difference to her anyway. She's not capable of doing well on the test no matter how much help she gets.
Seventh grade was slightly annoying today. I finished the chapter with them and scheduled a test for Tuesday which means that Monday I will get to show them Johnny Tremain.
I began doing their writing with them and I was more than a little frustrated. The girls are really lazy to think. When I was in school we were given a topic and you had to write about it no matter what. Here, these girls expect to get a new topic, or at least a lot of help, when they can't figure out what to write.
S.S. and S.G. drove me nuts asking for ideas and help writing.
I don't know how I'm going to get through to this class with their writings.
S.S. was passing notes all day to R.B. of all people and C.S.S. passed to S.N.K.
The new seating chart is not working out because the girls are way to heimish in this class. F.E. and S.G. were chatting all day, and I just realized that C.S.S. was sitting in the wrong seat. That may be why the seating chart didn't work out.
I have to talk to that kid.
I heard she told the resource room teacher that she couldn't do something because she had "issues".
No kidding.
I am so looking forward to vacation tomorrow!
I'm off till Monday!

Observed!

I wanted to talk to Hebco today about asking her friend to sub for me. I told her I wanted to speak with her and she smiled and said, "Don't worry, I already spoke to the Hebrew principal. I'll sub for you for sure!"
I was pretty upset because I had specifically told the principal to give me time to think about it, but she went ahead and offered the job to Hebco anyway. The stupid thing is that Hebco would only do the 8th grade which still leaves me to find a sub for the 7th.
So if I still have to find a sub, I didn't accomplish anything.
I mentioned this to the Hebrew principal and she was insistentf that Hebco take the 8th grade anyway.
My co is so upset. She does not want Hebco taking over the 8th grade. She had her turn with them last year. Now we need them to give us a chance.
We really want to talk to the English principal about it, but we need to find an opportunity to do so.
In the meantime I think I found a sub for both 7th and 8th. It would make things so much easier if she did the whole afternoon and I only had to deal with one sub.
I dunno. I have to get this settled with the English principal.
Anyways, the 8th grade today was NUTZ and the Hebrew teacher was ever so glad when I took them over for the day.
We barely managed to finish the aim of history today which is not that good because their test is tomorrow and I really wanted to review with them a little.
I taught about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and I got really gory and read them a live account with a lot of details and pictures.
They were really disgusted. :)
I was a little nervous because of the observers, but then I relaxed and had a good time.
During recess I found out that I was having observers in 7th grade too.
I had been told that I would not have them in 7th, but turns out the seminary sent them anyway.
I ran to the 7th grade to get my book and prepare, and I bumped into my co who told me that the girls had refused to switch seats and that the seating chart was missing.
She had yelled at the class, but the seating chart had not turned up. She was furious.
After recess, C.S.S. came over to me to tell me that she was the one who hid the seating chart and she felt bad but now it was lost and she couldn't find it.
I asked her if she thought that was the right thing to do, and she looked sorry, but I will have to call her parents and talk to the principal. Whoopie.
I was kind of nervous because I hadn't prepared very well, but I ended up having a great time because I taught the Boston Tea Party and that's always a fun lesson.
The observers seemed to be enjoying themselves too, and S.E. kept them busy by schmoozing with them through my lesson.
D.A. drew a graphic image of a half naked Indian during the class and was proudly passing it around during dismissal.
I told her that if she cleaned up the image I would put it on the test.
Hope it gets her to do something constructive.
And that was my day! :)

And It's Not My Fault?

The principal came over to me today to tell me that the 7th grade's persuasive essays were atrocious.
I got a little defensive as I had spent a long time teaching them to write and I was afraid the principal was going to bash my technique.
I asked her if she thought it was my fault.
She looked at me and said, "Absolutely not! I knew what I was doing when I hired you. You are a great teacher and this is just your class acting lazy. I know they can do better than this! I'm going to go it and talk to them about it!"
I was so excited. I almost called my husband right then to tell him how much I loved this place.
I went into the 8th grade and we were too busy talking to get too much done is history. I'm not too excited about that because their test is Wednesday.
During class, the light fixture fell onto R.S.'s desk and the entire class had a "mouse reaction." They all jumped up and shrieked.
We finally got Jerry the janitor to come in and fix the problem. He seems to be in my class a lot lately. This place is falling apart.
I told the class that we'll be having seminary girls observe us tomorrow and that they better make me look good.
The girls were very spunky today and they totally agreed to behave tomorrow.
I had brought in a chassidishe CD that was produced by the Pittsburgh chassidim because I had taught the girls about the steel mills in Pittsburgh and wanted to tie in a little bit of Judaism.
They were hooked on this chassidishe CD and asked me to play it during their writing class.
I didn't mind and I thought it was insanely funny...so did my husband.
During recess I spoke to my co about a sub for me.
The Hebrew principal had suggested asking Hebco to sub for me when I need to leave, and I was really not happy with the idea.
I told the Hebrew principal that I was intimidated by Hebco because the class liked her so much that they probably wouldn't want me back after her subbing them for 6 weeks.
My co had another take on the matter. She said that if Hebco subbed for me, they would need to find a sub for her too. She refuses to teach as a co to Hebco.
We decided we had to go talk to the principal about her because we found some 8th graders talking to her about their shabbaton. They were asking for her help with ideas. It makes me nauseous to see them kissing up to her like that.
We went over some history today in 7th and then the principal came in and spoke to the girls about their essays.
She promised that if they did a good job and if they persuaded her to cancel school uniforms or give them more trips, she'd give it to them.
The 7th grade was so excited and they even felt a little bad when the principal told them that I was too good of a teacher for them to hand in such sloppy work. I felt great.
After we learned some history, I spoke to the girls about their writings and then gave them back and read more of their read aloud.
I also hung up a seating chart which the girls went a little crazy over. I hope it works out well.
Tomorrow I'm teaching the triangle shirtwaist fire and the Boston teach party. I'm so excited!

Regards From Last Year

I was coming home from the grocery at about 11pm Thursday night with my husband. We were both carrying about a zillion bags and I was waddling into the building all wet from the rain when who should I see in the lobby but S.G.L. from my last year's class?
She was looking for a family who lived in the building so that she could deliver some stuff for them and I showed her where to go.
We stood in the elevator together and I asked her how school was going.
She said that she liked school so much more this year because 8th grade was just going easier for her. I'm happy for her.
She looks so mature now and she also looks so happy.
I also met T.J. and S.J. on Shabbos and though they're still short and petite, they are also looking more mature.
Maybe there's hope for my last years' students!

Another English Friday

I think I like English Fridays.
They're so casual and fun. I don't expect to really teach much, I just go for the social life of it. :)
My sister did yearbook in 8th, she gave out deadlines for all the groups so that they should being pacing themselves and start getting a move on.
I helped out by driving the office staff crazy to make copies for me. I sat with the features kids and helped them expand on their ideas for a stunning layout for their baby pictures page.
They planned on doing the game Guess Who by Milton Bradley for their spread, so I photocopied the box for them and helped them paste their pictures in instead of the actual game pictures.
It's hard to explain, but it came out adorable. Now I just have to call Milton Bradley to get their permission to use their game.
The seventh grade was a load of fun because we did some current events and I told them about the gulf war and how I remembered it as a kindergarten tot.
I told them that I really believed that Saddam Hussein was hiding under the floor in my room. I had been told that he was underground and I really believed it!
Of course, C.S.S. piped up and said, "One second! I thought when they said he was underground they really meant it! I mean he was found in a hole, wasn't he?"
The class was on the floor. If nothing else, at least she adds comic relief to the 7th grade.
I got their literature groups started and I met with the two top groups to discuss how to go about reading and filling in their papers for our next meeting.
I explained to the class as a whole that the reading groups had nothing to do with how smart they were, it was about how their brain processed the info that they read.
I told them that they were so
I still had to meet with the other two groups, but we were out of time, so I just spent the last 10 minutes of the day reading out read aloud.
I wore sneakers and a slinky skirt today and no one said a word. What a great place. Now the only thing that could make it better is an elevator.
I'm getting kind of tired schlepping my big self up four flights every day...

Great News!

First I'll tell you about my day; that'll keep you reading to the great news part...
I had a crazy morning, trying to get to school on time from Manhattan. I made it just in time to walk into class.
I come into the 8th grade just to find that there is a huge gaping hole in the ceiling and the desks are all crowded to the front of the room around where I usually stand.
I asked them what was going on and they told me that the roof was leaking and the ceiling had collapsed under all the weight of the water.
So now I teach in a classroom with a shattered window and a holy ceiling.
Somewhere in the middle of my lesson we heard a scratching from right above us.
The girls all looked up and I nonchalantly said, "don't worry girls, it's probably just a mouse of something."
That was the worst possible thing to say because in about 30 seconds I had the entire class running under my desk and shrieking.
I finally convinced them to move their desks to the the side of the room and continue learning.
So now we had all the desks squished into the front right corner of the room.
I finally began teaching my lesson and I had to move quickly because I still had half a chapter to teach before their test on Wednesday.
I started teaching about inventions in the late 1800's and C.F.C. needed to know why she had to learn all this.
I tried explaining to her that our lives would be so different without the lightbulb and the telephone etc...and when she heard that we were learning about the telephone, she was quiet. It seems that was an important enough invention to learn about.
In the seventh grade, we continued learning about the taxes in the colonies and during review, R.A. began giving me a whole rundown on stuff I had never taught.
I stopped her in the middle of a sentence and said, "Thank you R.A., that's all I wanted to hear. Please save some questions for the other girls."
The class snickered and I felt mean, but she so deserved it.
I began telling the girls about their literature groups and they were so excited. I'm starting to get excited too. Maybe they can be fun.
After school I met up with my old co in the street.
She looks amazing! She is so married and looks like the sweetest young wife. :) I hope her husband is enjoying her company as much as I did last year!
We began talking about how things are going etc, and she told me the best piece of news I had heard all year...
The girl who took over my job is QUITTING!!
Hee hee hee.
That's my good news.
I'm a little stinker. :)
By the way, if any of my readers know of a good substitute who is willing to sub for a few weeks in February, tell her to give me a call. I'm getting sort of desperate.

Taking Stock in What I Do

Eighth grade today learned all about stocks. I wasted an entire history lesson teaching them the basics of stocks and investing. It was part of the aim in history, but I spent a long time on it till they got it.
I mentioned to them that this was what my husband did for a living and they asked if he could come down to school and teach them about it.
That took up the whole period for them and even B.K. had to be quiet long enough to listen to this lesson because she herself didn't understand much of it.
When I was done teaching this, M.S. (not the one who cries during tests; the other M.S.) asked if this was what the stock market was all about.
I told her that if she understood today's lesson, she knew all about the stock market. The kids were thrilled.
Seventh grade learned about the taxes the British put on the colonies.
I learned from last year that these lessons tend to get very animated and full of discussion, and it was like that here too.
D.A. and S.E. and R.B. and C.S.S. were very busy taking sides.
Talking about C.S.S., she handed in her persuasive essay a day late and it was terrible. She had written it in class and I told her to take it home and make it better. All she had done was taken it home and added illustrations.
I was peeved. I gave it a C and plan to hand it to the principal at the top of the pile of the rest of the class' essays.
She and S.N.K. were sitting on my nerves all day. I finally yelled at S.N.K. and warned her that I would put her in 6th grade for a day if she would not behave.
I am so tempted to write on her report card; "S.N.K. was a fine, mature, intelligent student until she met C.S.S." :)
I quickly taught them more about subjects and predicates and then at the end of the day, I continued with my read aloud.
I am reading a book that I loved as a kid, called "Yesterday's Child" by Ruth Benjamin. The girls never read it and they are so enthralled by the plot so far. I'm so excited.
The principal dumped a load of books on me to read for my literature groups that I plan on starting tomorrow.
I don't know how I'm gonna read 4 books in one night, but hey, I'll manage.
I wrote report cards comments for the 7th grade earlier. I crack myself up sometimes.
R.A. got the comment; "R.A. is a gifted child who adds much to our class when using her abilities in the right way."
C.S.S.'s comment was something like, "C.S.S. is a talented student who is capable of making a consistent effort to follow school rules and apply herself in class. We are sure that with a little effort she is sure to achieve."
E.M.B.'s comment asked her to participate more and C.K.'s was similar to C.S.S.
I want to change T.G.'s in 8th's comment to something about curbing her tongue, and B.K.'s to waiting a few more years before she tries to be the teacher.
T.B.N. also needs a more specific comment about her abilities, (or lack of them) in the classroom.
N.N.'s comment mentioned her unique personality because I couldn't think of a nice way to say she gets on my nerves. :)
Anyways, I have a lot of reading to do.
I got to go, but I will leave you with this; my husband has agreed to come down and teach the girls a lesson on the market.
They'll be so excited. I love this school.
P.S. I made a new sewating chart for the 7th grade. My co has agreed to it and we hope it'll work out. Keeping our fingers crossed!

On My Nerves

Today a lot of kids got on my nerves.
B.K. managed to do it while I was cramming a lesson of history into the 8th grade. I realized that I had scheduled a test for next week but I hadn't begun teaching the material.
Anyways, B.K. managed to frustrate me by going ahead in the lesson and calling out everything I was about to say. M.S. was totally crying because she was so confused.
I finally had to tell B.K. to shut up and let me teach.
My co had the same problem with R.A. today. She had to call her over and tell her to shut up too. R.A. started crying and I told my co that R.A. could cry until tomorrow but she had to learn to let us be the teachers.
I have to figure out now how to write a comment about R.A.'s attitude and B.K.'s and N.N.'s without sounding too negative.
By the way, R.A. asked the same question on her index card as she has been asking for the last three weeks. She keeps asking me why is a dog a man's best friend. I got fed up and told her that I believed she had asked me this question befire and I had told her that I'd get back to her. I told her to trust me and not ask it again.
She irks me.
I gave aliterature quiz to 8th grade because I needed a mark for the report card and I have to say that they did well.
The seventh grade left me in a down mood because their persuasive essays were atrocious. I gave it to them over the head and then gave the essays back to them to rewrite so that I could mark them.
I marked them before and got a bunch of A's and B's. Even B.B. got a B-. She got a lot of help, but still.
Today in class B.B. asked me how to write a conclusion. I totally lost it and gave it to her. I asked her what she thought she was doing in my class as we had gone over conclusions about six times today. She got the message and then did a good job writing her own conclusion.
This kid is learning diabled and lazy. What a combo.
My co also gave it to her today because she raises her hand but then refuses to talk. I have the feeling that my co and I think alike when it comes to who gets on our nerves.
I regave the maps quiz today and I hate to say it, but I don't think they did any better today than they would have done yesterday.
I spent a few more hours on report cards tonight, and the only thing I have left to do is the 7th grade comments and one more 8th grade mark that I don't yet have.
I'm starting to get my life in balance.
I have to make a seating chart for both classes because the 8th grade has never been changed, and because Hebco totally messed up the 7th grade charts.
Last week she was all into the discussion about who should be friends with whom in 7th, but now she went and split everyone up.
I just don't get her. Does she just lie and shale her head to look good to the principals and then do what she feels like, or is she for real?

How do You Kick a Kid out of School?

The seventh grade teachers had to meet today with B.B.'s aunt to discuss her future in the school.
Her aunt was very defensive and refused to hear of anything that would mean B.B. had to leave school.
We did discuss a million different options, but there is no money to send her to special schools. We are going to look into the Ichud program for her even though they have no seventh grade; we are thinking of putting her into the 6th.
My co and I kept glancing at each other every time Hebco opened her mouth. I was worried about getting my point across without seeming like I was miss-know-it-all. It didn't seem like Hebco worried about that at all. She spoke to B.B.'s aunt as if she were a baby and she just dumped the info on her stone cold.
I was slightly taken aback as Hebco described her as being like a wall in the classroom.
I needed to help B.B. a lot in class today with her persuasive essay and all I kept thinking about was how to get her into a program that would really benefit her. Seems like she'll be taking up a lot of my time this year.
S.G. and C.S.S. and S.S. and C.K. all needed my help with their essays. I'm pretty shocked that I have so many girls who need help. The rules are simple enough, but they all kept messing them up. I'm starting to feel like I have no idea how to teach writing. It's a little depressing.
I am under pressure to get these writings in because report card rating sheets are due in Thursday. I told the 8th grade to hand in the first two parts of their "Letters to Self" so that I could give them an average mark on grammar and spelling and writing for this term. I spent all night on them.
I also spent all Sunday writing up comments for each kid in 8th and averaging out their marks. This year I put everything on an excel spreadsheet so that in case the principal needed things averaged over (like last year), it wouldn't be a big deal. The entire averaging took about 4 seconds this year.
I'm so pressured to get the marks in, but I have no real writing rubrics for marking and I think a lot of the marks on the report cards are baloney. How am I supposed to mark a kid on "Oral Communication" or "Accuracy in Class Discussions?"
I gave a maps quiz in both classes today because I needed a Geography mark on the report card. 8th grade all passed with flying colors. In 7th, I didn't even collect their answer sheets. I collected their question sheets instead and told them to study like hell for tomorrow. I don't know why, but I'm giving them another chance.
Tomorrow is going to be a day devoted to report cards. I am giving that quiz in maps again, plus a quiz on literature in 8th, and I have to cram in one last chapter and test in the 8th grade before report cards are due. Help!
By the way, I got some index cards today that I could only get in this school: Two girls asked me when my birthday was. One girl asked me what color my hair was under my wig. N.N. told me girls are bullying her. And B.B. told me that F.E. and S.G. are teasing her.
B.B. so needs to get out of here.
Another by the way, this post is the 201th post on this blog. Last post was number 200!

Hats Off to Me!

I wore a hat to school today.
I was waiting for this since last year, and now that this school lets the teachers wear hats; I wore a cute little cap all day.
The first that happened, was that the principal came over to tell me how cute I looked in a hat. I had to call my husband and tell him that. He had such nachas. He loves this school too.
The 8th graders were very quick to tell me that I looked good and they all wanted to take pictures of me.
The five sweatshirts that were damaged were finally sent back to me today, and the seniors were so excited to get them. And to top it all off, the company felt so bad about the damaged stuff; they gave me $25 off my next order!
8th grade voted on a maroon print leather cover for their yearbook today, and I printed out ad blanks for them to get on Monday.
They took a history test and all got in the 90's. I'm so proud.
The seventh grade manages to get me off track no matter how hard I try to keep to what I have to do, and today it took us an hour to get through history.
After that I read them some funny headlines I had collected for them, and promised to bring in because it connected to what we had done in current events last week.
I also brought in an imitation Kipling bag to show them what a knockoff looks like. They were all very impressed. LOL
I began teaching them about persuasive essays, and S.E. put on a good show trying to persuade me (who was playing her mother) to give her her own room.
Talking about S.E., my co told me that during lunch, she was outside in the lobby reading a book. She refused to come in to lunch saying that Hebco had let her sit there. My co told her that once Hebrew is over, she was the authority, and S.E. had to listen to her. S.E. refused.
I went upstairs and asked Hebco why S.E. was allowed to sit in the lobby. She told me, "Oh, because she was in a bad mood, so I let her go chill out."
I asked her if she was aware that it was against the rules and that it was causing S.E. to be chutzpadik to my co.
Hebco just shrugged like she didn't care.
Argh. She is annoying me to pieces.

Hebco

The blogger website has been down the past couple of days and that's why you haven't heard from me in a while.
It wasn't such a bad thing, as I didn't have that much to say anyway.
Monday was a relatively quiet day, and Tuesday was curriculum day for teachers so there was no school anyway.
Today though, I'm angry and need a place to vent.
If last year I had issues with my principal; this year I have issues with the Hebrew co of 7th grade.
The 7th grade teachers had a meeting today with the principals to talk about 7th grade extra curricular activities and the class in general. We spent a lot of time discussing different girls in the class, and the Hebrew co pretty much dominated the conversation; which was weird, since I didn't really think she had all that great of a grasp of the girls' social scene in the classroom.
We started with C.S.S. and how her attitude was really affecting the class. She has C.K. and E.M.M. under her spell and D.A. and A.S. and a bunch of other girls are subconsciously following along.
We discussed different ways to break up the group and get them to make friends with others in the class.
Then of course, we had to discuss B.B. and what to do with her. Her aunt is coming down to school Monday so that she can sit with us and talk about the best possible thing for B.B. I'm dreading it a little. How are you supposed to tell someone you don't want their niece/daughter in your classroom anymore?
We talked about R.A. and N.N.'s social problems, and I was so relieved to hear the principal say that R.A. is annoying. If I'd have said something like that in my old school, the principal would've said it was all my fault, and that I was not tolerant enough.
The Hebrew co seemed to think that all was ok with S.G. and her status in the class. Funny thing was that later, when my co spoke to S.G. later, S.G. told her that she didn't think anyone in the class liked her. She said that she felt no one was nice to her anymore. I wonder how she could say that when the Hebrew co insisted that she was sooo happy.
I wonder what else the girls are lying to us about? According to the Hebco (I like that new word) the class is wonderful and great.
Well my co and I had gone in planning to work as a team to make sure the girls don't get to have a grade Shabbos. We pushed and pushed for a melave malka instead; and in the beginning the principals agreed with us. Problem was; this Hebco had them eating out of her hand, kiss up that she is, and by the end of the meeting, they were all pushing for a Shabbos. My co and I wasted an afternoon there.
We already both said that we wouldn't be there if the 7th grade had a Shabbos, but I also hate to think that by doing that we are basically giving the 7th grade over to the Hebco and letting her do what she wants with them. I'm not comfortable just yet to wash my hands of the 7th grade just because Hebco is hard to deal with.
I need to discuss this with my co a little more.
Anyway, while we were at the meeting, the 8th grade managed to shatter the window in their classroom; which I think is quite funny and cool, but don't tell them I said so, because I yelled at them for it.
I had to rush through history to cover the material on tomorrow's test, and I went through recess to finish it all.
It was fine because my co walked in late, so they had their recess. They also had more than enough recess while I was at the meeting. Any class that has to break a window out of boredom, definitely has had too much recess.
Seventh grade was fun today. I don't even know why.
In history I got really into it, and was joking around with them a lot about the topics we were covering.
I then closed the door and told them a huge secret of mine- how much I hate grammar. I told them that the grammar we would learn would only be fun, and that as soon as it wasn't fun anymore we would stop.
They seemed to be ok with the idea, and were very good about starting to learn sentence structure.
At the end of the day I gave out their project marks and they all seemed to be fine with their marks.
I saw some girls comparing marks, and I wasn't so thrilled, but what I did like was that not a single girl came over to me to contest her mark.
To quote Phoebie from the Magic School Bus Series, "This would never happen in my old school!"

A Free Day For Me

I discovered how to get rid of my English Fridays; at least in the 8th grade. I had my sister come in this week and take over the period to do yearbook.
It was so much fun. I sat at my desk doing other work and my sister ran the class. They need a lot of time and have a ton of work to do, so I'll probably have to bring my sister in to take over more of my classes. Yay!
I went to school dressed in a long slinky skirt and my senior sweater and no one said a word! (Besides mu husband, of course.) The kids didn't look twice and the teachers just laughed. This school is so great.
The seventh grade outdid themselves on their projects.
I was right in my other post about M.B. having done all the work. She presented her group's project while everyone else pantimimed behind her. I must find a way to give her a good mark for this project even though her group is so failing.
The New England colonies group was adorable. S.E. and D.A. both dressed up as Indians, while the rest of the group dressed up as colonists and they all read a part of their sumary out loud. Their 3D model was very impressive also.
The last group was a flop. R.A. didn't come to school and N.N. was quick to tell me that it was because she hated the group. I honestly thought R.A. would be more mature about these things. A.S., who had had a problem with the group to begin with, really pulled herslef together and did very nicely. The group did not dress up like the other two did, and they literally read straight from their summaries which, by the way, I had to rewrite for them, because the principal refused to copy it in N.N.'s terrible handwriting. I had to spend the entire morning rewriting it.
After the groups, we all discussed them as a class, and I told them that I was very impressed with them. They were thrilled.
Now I just have to sit down and mark them...

Chinglish, Yinglish, and Engrew

Before I start with today, I have to write about how funny C.F.C. was yesterday.
I had been telling the class a story about myself when I was in high school and I mentioned my maiden name sometime in the middle of it.
C.F.C. piped up, all confused, and said, “One second…this story is about you or Miss ________? (My sister)”
I told her that that was my maiden name.
She lit up and asked me if I was related to their yearbook teacher.
The class was laughing at this point because they had all figured it out a long time ago.
“C.F.C.” I said, laughing, “Miss _______ is my sister.”
She nearly fell off her chair. “But you talk soooooo much more than she does!!”
I had to plotz.
“On second thought, you’re both sooooooooo skinny, so I guess it does make sense.”
I plotzed again.
Anyways, that was yesterday.
Today, the 8th grade got to watch a video because it was Rochel Imainu’s yahrtzeit. (My anniversary.) It was the biggest waste of a lunchtime I had ever sat through.
Once I started class, history was a ton of fun. I had made them all go home and find out who Colin Powell was because this class had never heard of him before. So we started the class talking about him.
Then we went on to discuss all the pointless wars the Americans and the Indians had. The girls wanted to know why the Indians weren’t as successful as the blacks in getting their way, so I taught them about how the Indians gave up their culture as soon as they saw they were getting killed for it.
I turned it into a nice hashkafa lesson on how special the Jews are because we never gave up our mesorah even though our people were killed for it many times. I told them that is the only reason we are still around today; because we have a mesorah we believe in. Lehavdil, the Blacks believed in freedom, and freedom in its own way, is a type of mesorah too. But when the Indians were prepared to give up their culture so quickly, what would guarantee for them to live on as strong as they once were?
The girls really appreciated the lesson, and I am patting myself on the back for getting myself so put together today. J
We spent the rest of the day on current events, but the lesson was funnier in 7th, so I’ll tell you about theirs.
In 7th grade, I had to give them a speech about being prepared for class before I could start anything, because I walked in 5 minutes late, and they were dancing to music with the desks all pushed to the side of the classroom.
After that was settled, I taught them about Chinglish in current events. Basically, we shared a bunch of funny stories of when people tried to literally translate different languages to English.
For example, to say “be seated” in Yiddish, you would say “zetz dich.” But the literal translation of “be seated” is “ver tzezetzed”, which would mean, “Go bang your head.”
The girls had a grand time.
They began getting off topic and discussing different languages and alphabets, and so I showed them the Russian alphabet on the board and then showed them how to spell their names in Russian.
I think I just became their hero.
Speaking about heroes, T.B.N. had asked me to go out during the video to the bathroom. I let her go, but it was taking forever and other girls were waiting for her to come back so that they could have a turn.
I walked out to the office to get a drink and bumped into the 7th grade Hebrew teacher and T.B.N. having a DMC (deep meaningful conversation) in the hallway.
I told T.B.N that she belonged in class, and sharply told her that other girls were waiting and that she was showing me that she was irresponsible with the time I gave her outside of class.
The other teacher said, “Oh I had no idea you were in the middle of class!”
No Duh.
She gave T.B.N. a huge hug and tried to make me look like the mean witch, but I don’t care.
If T.B.N. thinks her last year’s teacher is a hero; let her.
I still have about 8 months to figure out how to get my way….and I think I’m doing a good job so far.

700 Visitors Since May 2

I'm so excited! People actually read this thing!
I have to run out to school now, but I will post later...or at least try to...
Thanks to all for pushing my count up!

Taking it Sitting Down

I dunno what is wrong with me lately. I'm so sick these past couple of days. I can't remember the last time I stood all day to teach. I keep taking advantage and giving the girls writing or their history project groups so that I can sit down.
Today was no different.
In eighth grade I started off the day teaching history. I could tell the girls were bored. I know that it's a dumb aim, but usually I can make it interesting. Today it took a while before I could get the girls into it.
Once they got into it it was fun though. We spoke about cowboys and cattle drives. The girls were telling me everything they knew about the wild west, and that produced a couple of funny comments and laughs.
After history I gave them time to revise the first part of their Letters to Self. They were having a hard time doing that because they all decided that they did an amazing job to begin with. Yeah right.
T.B.N. does not belong in an 8th grade. She still hasn't finished her first part when the girls are already up to revising their first and second. I dunno what I'm gonna do with her.
T.G. has been getting on my nerves lately. She is a little bit of a baby. Yesterday, she had one of the damaged sweatshirts and she made such a huge fuss about it. Today, the first thing she wanted to know was if I already had new ones for her. Then she needed to know why they couldn't come any sooner than two weeks from now. AGH!
During recess I had an interesting conversation with my co. She and I both feel very overshadowed by the 7th grade Hebrew co. We feel that we can't really do anything with the seventh grade because she is always mixing in. My co said she wished that the Hebrew teacher would just stay in the Hebrew dept. and leave us alone.
We have a meeting with the principal next week Wednesday to discuss some extra-curricular things for the 7th grade. We want to make sure that we get our way, that we get what we believe is best for the class, and not just what the Hebrew co wants.
Problem is, whatever we do end up doing, we won't be recognized for it. It'll be the Hebrew co getting the credit. Oh well.
Seventh grade worked on comparing and contrasting in essays while I supervised sitting down. they didn't do too a bad job either. Of course, B.B. and S.S. and some others did terrible jobs, most of the girls were pretty on track.
I gave them independent reading while I marked them, and then I let them get into groups.
I will never put C.S.S. and C.K. in the same group again. They are fooling around and letting the other girls do all the work instead of them. I'm so not impressed.
On other days I see what they're doing, but I know that E.L. and M.B. are working and while they aren't happy doing all the work, at least they have each other.
Today, E.L. was absent and M.B. was left doing all the work herself. She handed in the summary the group was supposed to do and it didn't include everything I wanted, so I asked her to just add one more paragraph.
She left the class crying, and I spoke to her after school to tell her that there was a reason I gave a separate mark to the group and to the individual girls. I told her to go home and not worry about the summary, that I would give her time to do it in class, and I would speak to the other girls as well.
I remember having this in one class last year too. I hope this works out better though.

Sweatshirts!!!

My sweatshirts came!! The 8th grade was thrilled! We had a little problem with some damaged pieces, so I sent them back to the company and they promised to send them back within two weeks.
I wore my sweater all day because I was soo excited too.
The seventh grade totally keeps me on my toes these days. We learned to compare and contrast by doing a Venn diagram on the board comparing myself and my co.
The girls were so funny.
They were analyzing all my clothing and how I like to wear sweaters and zippers and how I have a million pairs of shoes compared to my co who wears suits and buttons and one pair of flats.
They were saying how I am soooo skinny, and I had a good laugh.
They went nuts to hear that their Hebrew teacher and myself lived on the same block as kids. I hope they don't drive her nuts.
I used the time I had while the girls were in their groups to test them on their reading levels. Most girls were on Y or Z, but I was shocked that C.K. was on R, a 4th grade level. And F.E. was on a 5th-6th grade level. B.B. won't be above a 3rd grade level if I know her. I have to finish testing by tomorrow, because I really have to start doing their groups by next week.
Aside for the problem of when to do all the groups, I'm kind of excited to start. I've been reading up on it a lot, and I got some really nice things to use for them. I hope it all works out.
I'm having a little trouble trying to make up a test for 8th grade. I'll be finishing their next chapter by the end of the week, and I need to give them a test. Problem is, the chapter is so boring, and the test that I was given by the book has all the info that I don't plan on teaching. That means I'm basically stuck making this up by myself.
Uch.

Acting, Mining, Teaching...Etc.

There was a teacher’s meeting today, and of course that meant that I was running late on the way to school. We made it there in time, but it was a hectic morning.
I had been in Manhattan all morning, and of course M.S.’s mother decided to call when I was out. I can’t even call her back tonight because of sheva berachos, so it’ll have to wait till tomorrow.
R.S.’s mother asked me to call her too, but she has to wait as well.
The teacher’s meeting was a joke. In my old school, a teacher’s meeting meant a ton of extra work and a lot of criticism. This was more like a book club.
We are all getting books on classroom strategy that we’ll be reading together and discussing in the group. I think it’s so funny. We also discussed sending home more updates to the mothers and some other little things. I had a good laugh when it was over.
8th grade was fun today. History went by so fast. We learned about the silver and gold rushes in the west and we had good discussions on miners and money.
Later, we did literature, and again, the issue of if money makes a person happy came up. I didn’t mind spending the time discussing it because I got everything I wanted done anyway.
Recess time I had to keep sending the girls out, and they thought it was so funny that I kept running after them to stay up on the roof.
T.G. and R.S. presented their G.O. theme today; “G.O. metric.” I thought that was adorable.
Seventh grade had a great time during literature today. We were talking about playing hooky and how to act sick, so I did some of my acting for them. They were in stitches. I had the entire class trying to wipe their nose as realistically as I did. It was a sight!
Then I let them get into their history groups again.
I got very nervous from R.A. and N.N. who I put in the same group. They were of course, leading the entire thing, and making everyone else feel like babies.
C.S.S. and C.K. were also in the same group and were acting way immature. I don’t believe they actually did any work today.
F.E. and S.N.K. on the other hand, were really impressing me with how they were working so hard.
The third group I made is amazing. S.E., D.A., R.B., S.S., H.B. and E.M.B. were so great together. They shared the work and had cute plans for their 3d model of a colony.
I spoke to C.K. after school to ask her what happened to her test. She said she couldn’t study very well, and I think it’s just a problem with her notes. I told her I’d give her special notes, but I wanted her to take the regular test. She seemed fine with it, but I still want to call her mother.
Another thing for tomorrow.

Observed, Rested, and Had a Good Day

Today the principal came to observe my class. She put a note in my locker to schedule the sit-in last week, so I knew to prepare a good lesson.
I was so easygoing during that class... such a difference from last year.
The lesson was fun, I taught about why America is divided into the North, South, and West, but no East. I used funny examples to illustrate my point, and it worked well with the girls.
By the time I hit seventh grade I was dead tired and couldn’t stand anymore, so I just got them all excited about a history project and divided them into groups. A.S. started giving me problems about her group, but I refused to make any switches, so she’s stuck. She was cute about it, but if she just sits there without doing her work, it’ll show up on her mark.
H.B.’s mother had asked me to call her to discuss sending work along to Israel with H.B as she was going for two weeks. I couldn’t call her because of my schedule this week, so she sent a letter to school today.
I’m so embarrassed. I sent one back and photocopied notes for her. I hope her mother’s happy.
M.S.’s mother was supposed to call me about her test, but she never did. That means she won’t get through to me until Friday. Too bad.
The office in this school is so funny. They make sure to set aside food for me when I come in recess time because lately I’m always hungry. They are the cutest people.
I love this school.

Gym and a Day Off

My life is a wreck until sometime next week. My niece's wedding was yesterday, so with all the rushing I had to do on Sunday, I didn't get to prepare much. I came to school Monday without a piece of work to give my classes.
Lucky for me, 8th grade had gym so that took up half my period. The other half was spent writing their letters to self.
Seventh spent their time with independent reading and writing a history essay.
I rushed like mad to get home so that I could make it to the hall in time for the makeup artist to do my face. I had 9 people in the car including myself. 3 in the trunk, 4 in the backseat, and one in the passenger near me. I'm just lucky I didn't get a ticket.
Whatever the case was, I made it to the hall on time, and I didn't get home until about 5 am this morning.
I had to go to school anyway, but I had scheduled a test, so I sat and had a day off.
I was disappointed though, when marking the tests, because the averages were terrible. 8th grade had an average of 87, and seventh is going to be much worse.
I know it has a lot to do with the two week sukkos vacation, and that the material was a lot of memorization, but still. I feel bad about it.
M.S.'s mother asked me to call her, and basically, she is another S.G.L. She has way too much pride to take an easy test, but her confidence is shot because she keeps failing.
I thought she seemed like she knew the test today, but when I marked it she got a 63.
T.B.N. took a special test and got a 73, and that was only cause I was being nice.
C.F.C. also had a hard time with the test, but at least she'll talk to me about it so that we can work it out.
C.K. in 7th grade failed her test too, and so did S.G. I didn't get to mark the girls with the special tests, but I already know that S.S. is going to fail.
I think I officially hate N.N. and D.A. N.N. went out of her way to show off things she knew but that we didn't learn in class on her test. What a kiss ups.
D.A. kept her test until I dismissed the class and then made this huge fuss about how she for sure failed it. She got a 90 something. EW!
At the end of the day, B.G. and D.Z. in 8th came to ask me if they could take a picture of me in glasses. I told them yes, but then D.Z. snapped a picture, without permission, of me on the phone. I heard from other teachers that they have been going around the school snapping pictures of teachers. I had explicitly warned them against using their cameras without permission, and I think I will confiscate D.Z.'s for a week. I want to get the principal to speak to them about it tomorrow.
7th grade has been getting on my nerves lately. They wait outside in the halls to see if I'm coming and then scream, "She's coming! She's coming!" I told them off for that a couple of times.
Yesterday, some girls locked the classroom door and half the class, and myself, could not get in. Today, they started shrieking in the halls when I came out of the office.
I yelled at them big time today, but I think the principal needs to go there too.
talking about S.G.L., I met her today. She was with two girls, dressed all fancy, and she looked me up and down but ignored me. Just as well. I'm glad I don't have to take care of her anymore.
Tonight is my last year's co's wedding.
I hope I make it back from sheva berachos tonight to get to her.
I'm way too busy to keep this blog.

Yearbooks, Monograms, High Schools and a Meeting

Starting from yesterday.
My sister and I went over with the class every single page that we would put in this yearbook. We told them how many pages were allotted per group and what to do with the pages they had. We now have to come up with a price for ads, but it shouldn't be too much. Any extra money raised will go to the 8th grade graduation trip so it doesn't matter if we overcharge them for the books.
The girls got to sit in their groups and it made it so much more real to them. That got them really excited about everything. We told them that by next meeting they should have thought of ideas and brought in things to start working with so that we can actually do something at the meeting.
I hope we can see this through.
History lately has become a blast because I'm teaching about reconstruction and all the discrimination the Blacks faced. My class is so racist. They keep getting of topic to have heated discussions about whether they are better than the whole world.
Seventh grade's seat change it getting on my nerves. C.S.S. developed this huge attitude and she's a huge distraction. I'm just surprised at A.S. because I thought she was a better girl, and now she keeps schmoozing with C.S.S.
I had to call B.B.'s aunt to discuss a test I'm giving, and the funniest thing was that we were on a tour together in Israel last week. I'm so embarrassed because on the tour my husband and I decided to have some fun and he dared me to go around all day in one of those Israeli shmattahs the women wear to cover their hair. So B.B.'s aunt spent a day with me when I looked nuts.
Go blame it on the hubby.
I honestly think it's a crime to have to wake up early on rainy mornings like today. But it's an English Friday and I had to go to school.
I was supposed to be there early to meet with the principal, but due to the rain we came late.
It didn't matter because she wasn't ready anyway, and by the time she was, I had gotten my class started off davening to themselves with instructions to knock on the office door when the class was done.
The meeting wasn't half bad.
I'm actually kind of looking forward to doing independent reading with the classes and even literature groups don't sound as hard as they did in my old school. This principal was a lot less pressured.
She gave me some great books to read aloud to the class, and I dragged them all home so that I can read them over Shabbos.
I got her approval to begin a project with my 7th grade, and now that means a bunch of organizing work for me. Yay. As if with my niece's wedding my life isn't hectic enough.
I walked into 8th grade and realized that I had nothing to teach. I spent ages on maps with them, and we got way off topic discussion monograms and themed weddings. It was fun, but then I finished up the chapter in history because Monday they have gym and I don't think I'll have time to finish everything I want to then.
Seventh grade also got me off topic talking about teachers who don't know your names and about what high schools I went to and where they should go.
S.E. has an attitude about her, but its so cute. She doesn't mean to be snobby, but I think that's the way she was raised. From what I saw of her mother during orientation, I see where she gets it all from.
We also had to start discussing the literature story we had just finished, so that took till the end of the day.
Boy am I glad the week is over. I can sure use the break!

I'm Back!

Hey everyone. I'm back from a long Sukkos break. Aside from a bumped flight, some lost suitcases, stolen jewelry and a bit of jet lag, Sukkos in Israel was beautiful.....But I'm glad to be home and back to work.
The sub that came in the day I left lost the sheets I gave her and showed up an hour late. I was a little horrified when I heard.
I'm back now and extremely pressured. I scheduled tests in both classes for next Tuesday and I spent all day Monday and last night making them up. I just finished making up the 8th grade test and I still have to make up the easy tests for both classes.
I began teaching essays in 7th and the Letter to Self in 8th. Writing is finally getting somewhere, but when I have the time I will have to sit down and figure out my curriculum for the year.
The principal wants to meet with me Friday morning to talk to me about reading groups in my classes. I'm so not looking forward to more work now.
I have to organize a history project for my 7th grade, and I'm just glad that I'm way ahead of where I was last year this time.
My niece is getting married Monday so I'm under a ton of pressure to get all my papers in by the end of this week so that next week I can have everything ready without having to prepare after nights of sheva berachos.
My sister is supposed to be coming in for yearbook tomorrow and we spent a long time tonight going through the pages we plan on putting in there. It sounds nice.
I finally ordered the senior sweaters, and they should be here before the end of the month. I'm so excited.
I brought back red strings from kever Rachel for all my students and it was so cute how they kept trying to pronounce the words "roita bendel." I just love these kids.
The 7th grade Hebrew teacher made a seat change and I absolutely hate it. C.S.S. and S.N.K. are always talking, and they sit in front of my nose! You would think they would be a little more scared to act up in the front seats!
D.A. and S.G. are also becoming chummy in the back row. I'm having a hard time navigating the classroom now. I barely learned their names and now they're all mixed up again!
Anyway, I'll try to post tomorrow, but with the mess my life is in right now I can't guarantee anything.... I will try though, so keep coming back!

Sub Business

Nothing much happened today, but I spoke to my co and we both see a problem with the achdus in 7th grade. They have had good leaders before, but they were all bad influences, and they were sent away from school. So now the 7th grade is just a bunch of pairs of friends, but not a class of friends.
They are overshadowed by the 8th grade and could use more attention, but we have nothing to do for them if they can't work together.
I heard about it from my sub already. She said that the 7th grade hadn't been a nice experience because they weren't cute doing trouble in ones and twos.
I spoke to the 7th grade about it today. Not in a bad way, but in a mature way, so that they could understand that it was all about them, not about a sub.
I told them that I didn't want to think about any of them in a different way and that I purposely did not ask the sub for names of the girls who misbehaved. I asked them if they could make the commitment to behave and do better the next time around so that the teachers could see that they do deserve some special things.
The girls all understood what I said, and I hope it works. Now I have to make sure that my sub will come back when I need her this week.
I'm leaving to Israel for Sukkos Wednesday night and I'll be missing Thursday. I'm so excited!

Parent Orientation

All the teachers were so nervous to have to talk to the parents. We were all squished into the main office, wasting time until the parents came upstairs from the ballroom.
Finally, they were here.
The mix of parents were so funny! There were a lot of fathers and they were all wearing colored shirts and tan pants. The mothers wore bandannas and were dressed pretty modern. Some were dressed pretty normally and some were dressed kind of weird. In other words; big mix.
I was the last teacher to speak to both classes. In the 8th grade, I kind of botched up, but I think I went over ok. I basically went through all the subjects I teach, and told the parents that I was there for their kids, not for American history. They appreciated that, and I ran to 7th grade.
The seventh grade parents were much more responsive and I had a much better time in there. I basically went trough everything I said in 8th, but I made it more fun.
I explained my whole index card thing to them and they all thought it was a great idea. I liked to meet all the parents, It gave me a little idea of where the kids were coming from.
I felt relieved to get it all over with, but I think I'm dreading doing it next year LOL.
The best part of my night was squeezing into a tight parking space without killing anyone or even scratching my car. :)
I'm getting somewhere in life!

Yom Tefila

Every year during the aseres y'mei teshuvah, there is a huge hookup organized between about a zillion different schools, and they all daven mincha together.
Today was the chosen day this year and it meant that I got to waste about two hours of class time.
I feel that this is a beautiful thing but it's a shame to waste it on kids who can't understand what a yom tefila is all about. They see it the way I do...as a way to waste class.
The girls were totally lost during davening and they were talking and waving to their friends from other schools instead. Actually, from what I could see, my girls were the most well behaved of those there.
I think that the yom tefila should be done with high schools instead, but that kind of defeats the purpose of the yom tefila of the tinokos shel bais rabban, doesn't it?
When we got back, I took the 8th grade for about 25 minutes and we voted on senior sweaters and then finished up The Necklace in literature.
Seventh grade was slightly immature today. I heard from my substitute yesterday that S.N.K. and E.M.B. didn't stop talking all day. I'm so shocked. I didn't even know the kids could talk.
We also did some literature there. We got as far as predicting the title "Stolen Day," when the bell rang.
Now I'm home and I'm all dressed up and nervous, waiting to leave to parent orientation. I have no idea what I'm going to say to all those parents there!!!

The Name Game

The 8th graders did amazingly on their tests, and I am very proud. The only girls who scored lower than average were R.Y., T.B.N., and M.S.
R.Y. got in the 80's, which is pretty nice, but I thought she'd get higher, especially because C.F.C. got a 92% and D.F. got a 90%, and these are girls who have learning issues.
M.S. studied hard with her tutor, but she didn't do her essay. I decided to be nice this time and until I talk to her tutor, I marked her without counting the essay. She got an 85%. She would've gotten a 65%.
T.B.N. failed. She answered less than 10 questions and got 3 of them right. I spoke to her and she seemed at a loss. The principal had told me that she had a problem and that her parents refused to acknowledge them. I could see she had problems from the first day of school, but I never dreamed they'd be this bad.
I spoke to her about taking an easy test and she seemed willing to try anything although she didn't believe anything could work. I have a feeling this is another R.R.
Seventh grade was cute today, and all they wanted to know was my name. They knew what it started with and they drove me nuts trying to guess. Finally, they ran to the 8th grade and got it from them. They were in 7th heaven that they knew my name LOL.
I think that in the end I'm just going to screenprint the senior sweaters because this embroidery thing is way too complicated.
We'll see. Right now I'm just happy I have off for yom tov and that I have a break until Tuesday.

Senior Sweats

The eighth grade would not leave me alone with the planning of their senior sweaters. I had to call up a bunch of companies and try to get it arranged. I hope it works out ok.
We started The Necklace in literature today and the girls got sooooo worked up over the way the main character was such a brat.
I had to laugh about that.
The girls heard from the 7th grade that my test was no biggie; I hope they still study well. They'll need it tomorrow.
Recess time I had to meet with the principal about a new spelling system they're doing in the school, and while it was quite interesting, the other teacher there made sure to tell me that it wouldn't last. LOL
Because of the meeting, I came into 7th grade about a half hour late, and they hadn't had the sense to start mincha on their own.
It wasted more of my class time, but I didn't really care because I had left my literature book at home so I was looking to wasted time and cut out literature for the day.
I had the girls spellbound when I told them the story of Cortez and Pizzaro in history. Both my classes this year get so emotionally involved in every little story they learn.
It's so cute!
I have to hand in a summary of what I'll be telling the parents next week at the parent orientation. I'm all nervous, and I think I'll just type it up into a handout like the other teachers did. Whatever happened to PTA? Isn't that bad enough?
My sister's vort is tonight, so I know that my day tomorrow will be hectic. At least I don't have to prepare for 8th grade because of their test. I hope it goes as smoothly as 7th's did.

Yearbook and Tests

The first matter of business today was getting the yearbook started. My sister came in and gave all the girls their jobs, and then we both explained to the class what each job entailed.
I got the girls all excited by telling them that they had something over the future grades. They were going to set the example for all the other grades when it came to yearbook. Also, because they were such a small grade, they would all contribute tons to the project. I explained that in the lower grades that were parallel classes, they would be too big for everyone to really do something.
Then, we put about 20 themes on the board so that the girls could choose. I came up with a theme earlier this morning that they ended up loving. Since they were the first graduating class and the first grade the school opened with, they chose the theme. "Echad Mi Yodea." The principals loved it, and we're excited to work with it.
I crammed in a load of history, and even managed to fit in a hysterical story about getting stopped in the airport in Israel. (Security thought my Jawbreakers were bombs. LOL)
I thought I would for sure come home with a splitting headache after the first test in 7th grade. Instead, I'm coming home thrilled. The girls all finished with at least 20 minutes to spare, and the class average was a 90%! Two or three girls got into he 70's and one in the 80's and then S.S. and C.S.S. failed, but I expected that. I have to call C.S.S.'s parents to arrange for special tests, and S.S's already expect it.
Believe it or not, B.B. got an 87. I needed to help her out a little and organize her paper, but she did it on her own. I'm shocked. I have to try and figure this kid out. Maybe I made the mistake of writing her off too quickly.
Anyway, I have a feeling that the class performed so well because I'm such a great teacher.
Ok, also because I think that they are very chilled out compared to my old school. Here the marks aren't such a pressure, so the girls are relaxed when they take the tests and that makes all the difference in the world.
Even the girls who got 70's were happy when I told them that it was a great mark for the first test of the year.
I feel so calm and relieved.
I spoke to the principal about ordering two or three books for me as read-alouds, and she was like, "Yeah, I'll order them now!"
This school is so cool.

Busted!

The first thing I saw on my desk this morning was a copy of the dedications in a book that was dedicated to me. I guess my students found my name in the book and thought it would be cute.
Problem was, they discovered that their yearbook teacher was also in there, and so we're slightly busted. The girls didn't say anything to me, but I know they caught on LOL.
I raced through history in 8th today because my test in on Thursday and I still didn't finish the material... Hope I have enough time!
I made them all describe a picture they were told to bring in using spatial ordering, and they all seemed to have a hard time with it.
I know it's pretty hard to do for any age group, but I figured, if they could do this; they could to anything in my class.
They all did a nice job...7th grade as well.
We played a history review game in 7th and they all seemed nervous for the test. I don't blame them. I'm nervous too. I can tell by the way the girls played today, they did not begin to study the way they should be studying. I have a feeling I'm gonna be coming home with a headache tomorrow.
I taught the 7th grade some more of the map of America, and they were so excited with it. They even begged to sing the song without my help. I was so proud!
I spoke to S.S., B.B. and C.S.S. about special notes and they all seemed so relieved to get them.
My sister is supposed to come down to school tomorrow to meet the class, and the girls are so hyped. I'm excited too, but my sister and I are nervous that we have no idea what to do! LOL
I'm sure we'll figure it out somehow..but until we get there...we'll you know what it's like with me till I get there! LOL

Parents!

In the first week of school I got three messages to call parents.
I didn't get around to calling them the day I got the messages, so I called D.F.'s mother and F.E.'s mother on Thursday night, and I called C.S.S.'s mother tonight.
I used to think that mothers wanted to protect their daughters, but it seems that this has changed with the generation.
D.F.'s mother just wanted to talk about D.F.'s reading problem and that I should know that it was going to come up and that I would have to call her eventually during the year, so she figured she'd call me first.
She asked for easy notes straight off the bat; without even trying to see how her daughter would do to begin with.
F.E.'s mother was not so different. She went on and on about F.E.'s focus issues and how she thought she was ADD and that she had B.B. down her back to give her notes all the time and that she was afraid that F.E. would start spacing out and falling behind and that I should snap her into attention as soon as I noticed anything.
She wanted me to be more strict with her daughter from the start, hoping it would keep her more focused, but I felt that would just be mean. She also told me to call if she forgot her homework for even one day or something, so that she could be on top of it right away.
C.S.S.'s mother called for the sole reason that C.S.S. wouldn't focus because she had auditory issues, and she needed to be in the front...and away from B.B. who sat in front of her. Her father got on the phone and asked for special notes so that he could preteach her the material so that she'd come to class and not get distracted so much.
Her mother had an Australian accent, and it was cute to hear. LOL
She said that the Hebrew teacher refused to change C.S.S.'s seat, but I think that teacher is just being selfish for not wanting to take care of it right now. I told the mother that in the worst case I could have her switched for English only. She was so grateful.
I know that these parents were only trying to protect their daughters, but I can't help wondering if by telling me all this, they inadvertently made their daughters seem like bigger problems in my eyes. I know that F.E. did seem to have more focus issues on Friday after I spoke to her mother. Psychological, I guess.
I know when I went to school, my mother never called the teacher! In fact, she hoped she wouldn't hear from her all year. And if I had problems, my mother crossed her fingers and prayed for my teacher not to notice them. Here, the girls' problems are getting shoved into my face. LOL
I feel a little overwhelmed that I have so many disabled girls to deal with this year. I hope I can balance it all.
I spent time again this week on a beautiful plansheet. Last week's plans came back with a bunch of compliments on what I was teaching. It's so great to work in a school where you're appreciated!

Fridays are Fun

Waking up early and driving to school in the rain wasn't even so bad. I was tired, but I had time to wake up while the class davened.
We did a lot in writing, and then I gave the girls recess. During recess we had a great time. The girls were telling me about the extravagant weddings they'd been to, and they kept peppering me with questions about my life.
For some reason, they thought I had an accent and were convinced that I wasn't American. I played along with their game and refused to tell them where I was born.
They wanted to know what schools I went to, what camps, and how old I was. I told them that if I told them everything into he first week of school the rest of the year wouldn't be as interesting. They all groaned, but I got my way.
I had walked in with a starbucks coffee and the girls didn't even blink an eye. T.G. asked me if I ate cholov stam and I told her "yes." In my old school that was a bad thing. Here the kids were all like, "Ok, so do I."
I started teaching both classes the map of America in a song, and the kids all loved it. Truth is, I liked it too. It was so much fun, and no pressure at all.
When I went to take the seventh grade, the science teacher hadn't finished yet, but I walked in nonchalantly and asked if I could take the class. The girls and my co were all laughing.
In the seventh grade, I was teaching about spatial ordering, so I called up C.K. to the front and asked A.S. to describe her using spatial ordering from top to bottom. Then, I drew some pictures on the board and had some girls describe them too. That really got the point across to them and it was fun and easygoing.
B.B. had serious issues when it came to writing down the capitals of the states we were memorizing. I just don't know how to help her out in class.
N.N. gets on my nerves a bit. She knows a lot, always raising her hand, but she's always kissing up to me. I know I should feel flattered, but I honestly have better things to do after class than listen to her tell me about which episodes of "I Love Lucy" she liked best, and about how she crawled earlier than her baby sister.
But hey, I guess this is what it means to be a teacher with heart.
I came home at about one and I had enough time to make my whole Shabbos, and still do laundry and clean a little.
The only thing I didn't get to was my nails. The nail polish thing is going to my head. I must go get them redone after Shabbos!

Setting the Mood

I spoke to the principal about B.B. today. Turns out the Hebrew teacher beat me to it, and the science teacher was also waiting to talk to her. The principal totally understood me, and she said that B.B. would have to be sent back to a special school or something. Turns out B.B. lives with her grandmother because both her parents are mildly retarded. I feel so bad, and I know that leaving the school will absolutely crush her. The principal said we should all be nice to her and make her understand that leaving is the best thing.
Class itself was a ball. I scheduled history tests in both classes for next week. 8th is having one on the civil war and 7th on early civilizations in America.
During recess I spoke to the 8th grade about their G.O. and yearbook jobs and they were all excited to meet their yearbook teacher. I refused to tell them who she'd be, and I definitely don't want them to know she's my sister...yet.
I'm trying to reach my sister so that she could come to school tomorrow, but newly engaged, and being that it's her birthday, she's impossible to reach. Oh well.
Seventh grade had the greatest time with literature today. We're still filling in the definitions of our literary terms sheets and today we went over moods.
I described to them the mood of a scary scene in a play I once watched, and I had them all shrieking along with the turns of the story.
We ended off laughing in a great mood.
S.E. and S.G. are totally becoming my favorites in that class. E.L. and A.S. and R.B. and M.B. and H.B. and D.A. aren't bad either. 7th grade is shaping up.
In 8th we also had a nice Harry Potter discussion today. Now that I don't have to be careful when talking about him, he's a great example to use in my lessons; the girls all know who he is, and can totally visualize what I'm trying to tell them.
I don't know why I felt so tired today when I got home, but I'm trying to make an early night.
Whip 'em tomorrow!

Harry Potter isn't a Dirty Word!

In 7th grade today, we were talking about different endings for books, and some girls began discusing Harry Potter. Because they started it, I pushed the discussion.
Later, I was talking about what a global age is, and I asked the girls if they knew what was caused us to have a global age today. All 17 hands went up and they all shouted, "The internet!" I was surprised.
When I spoke about it with the other teachers, they were all like, "Yeah, so what? Harry Potter and the internet is so not an issue here!"
Hee hee. In my old school those were dirty words.
The girls had a field day because I wore a shorter sheitel to school today, and they thought it was so funny. I had a good laugh too. I totally didn't care.
I gave a history quiz in each class, and marking them, I can't believe how dumb they are. I know I taught it well, because many girls got 10/10. But a nice percentage got 2's and 3's. There's a nice division between the smart girls and the dumb ones. LOL.
R.A. got a 10/10 but gave herself the comment of "pretty good." She's a teenager in a too smart for herself seventh grade body.
B.B. is coming here from a special school that claims she is ready to be mainstreamed. This kid cannot keep up with the pace in class, and I'm really starting to get frustrated because she's always like a page behind in notes. On the quiz today she got a 1/10. She marked herself as a 6, but when I rechecked her work, it turned out that she cheated. I mean, I hope she didn't cheat, and she just decided her answers were right, but they were very far off.
I need to talk to the principal about her. I can't bend over backwards for her if she's that far from keeping up with the class. Even S.S. who is intensely learning disabled, doesn't have as hard a time as her. Granted, she also failed the quiz, but in class, she generally can tell me a little of what's going on.
C.S.S. came over to me to request that her seat be changed away from B.B. because B.B. keeps turning around to copy her notes and it distracts her. C.S.S. herself needs help. She leaves twice a week for speech therapy or something.
I have no energy to deal with problem cases this year.

September 11

No school Sunday was the best thing that happened to me all year. I had a crazy day as it was; school on top of it all would have been unmanageable.
In the morning my sister got engaged, so I was busy with that all day. The family was so excited and I had to be there to meet her chosson and his family and all his cousins and everything. Then, I had to run to a friend's wedding two hours away, and I didn't get back till 1:30 am.
I was up and out early this morning to an appointment and I barely made it back to drive the teachers to school on time.
We got to school with 5 minutes to spare, but I hadn't even begun planning my week. I called my husband to let him know that I had parked safely, (he gets kind of nervous if he thinks I'm scratching up his jeep) and I told him that I didn't know what to teach.
He was like, "C'mon, this school is so laid back. Why don't you teach history for a bit and then spend the rest of the time discussing September 11th?" -He's a genius.
8th grade had the most hysterical discussion today about the south and the north and if the south was right for seceding. Somehow we got to talking about sisters borrowing their stuff. It was really enjoyable.
I had to tell C.F.C. that she couldn't ask so many questions on a story that already happened. She was trying to dissect the minds of the Confederate and Union leaders. I finally gave up and admitted I didn't know all the answers and what ifs. I could only teach them what I know happened.
We then finished the entire chapter in history. I'm impressed with myself LOL.
Seventh grade was slightly slower, but I had time to read their index cards, and that was very enlightening. R.A. wanted me to call her my a different name. This is an excerpt of her card, "I have been dropping subtle hints to the class about what I would like to be called for three years now, but no one seems to have caught on. I have a feeling that if you would call me by the name I would like to be called, the class would laugh, so phooey on that idea. I think that it might be better to stick to calling me the way you do now."
I was plotzing. This kid totally thinks she is an adult. She tries volunteering information that just confuses the class, and I'll have to talk to her about it, but I'm not looking forward to doing that right now.
Our September 11 discussion went really well in both classes. The girls were in 2nd and 3rd grade when it happened, so they couldn't really remember all the details so well. I couldn't believe I actually had to teach them what happened that day!
On the way home from school, the first grade teacher was telling me that she had asked the kids if they knew what was significant about today. The girls had no clue. One brave girl finally rasied her hand and asked of Spetember 11 was special because that meant it was almost Chanukah. We all cracked up over that.
I'm dead zonked today, and I can't believe that I have another 4 days this week, (I teach on Friday this week) and I still have to do my plansheets and figure out my week!
But all in all, I'm really happy here.
I met a teacher from my last year's school. It was nice talking to her, but hearing how things are going there, I'm so happy I'm here!
I marked the girls' homeworks, and I'm annoyed to see that 4 kids forgot to put their names on their papers, and three just didn't hand them in at all. I must have a talk with the class.
I was told that N.N. is a good girl, but she's missing her homework for the second time....and it's only the third day of school! What am I gonna do with these kids? LOL

Second Day

I was a little nervous to walk in today, I wasn't sure if I was ready to carry through all of my rules and be good about checking homework and reviewing, but it all worked out fine,
The seventh grade was a little more lebedik today, and the eighth was just as much fun as they were yesterday.
The girls all described their rooms and their sisters because I was teaching about sensory detail charts; so I got to know quite a lot about my girls. It was more fun for me than for them.
8th again got far in history and 7th just finished their first aim. I explained about my index cards and my journal system, and they all seemed to get it.
I gave written homework for Monday, and I hope I have the patience to check and mark them all....Vacation is totally over. Whaaaa!
My brother's bar mitzvah is tonight, so I won't even be busy with schoolwork till Monday. I have tomorrow and Sunday off this week.
I'm so lucky!

P.S.

I spoke to my last year's co after school today. She loves her 7th grade, but feels that the 6th grade she's teaching this year is really immature. I didn't get to speak to her much, but we'll talk. I also must ask her who my old school hired in my place LOL.
Also, my co managed to get my paycheck for me from my old school. She's so nice.

First Day!!!!

I was a wreck all morning, but as soon as I got dressed, and looked the part of a teacher I felt better. Practicing my lessons in front of the mirror helped too.
The drive to school was fun, and when we got there it was pretty hectic. There isn't any teacher's room in my school because we are expected to be with our classes all the time. That meant that because it's Wednesday, I had to go to my classroom to eat lunch with the 8th graders. They had pizza for lunch and it smelled so good, but I didn't think it'd look right to eat it in front of them on the first day of school.
When I walked in, I just smiled right away and made a joke about the lack of a teacher's desk in the room. I had to squeeze my looseleaf, my stencils, my seating chart, and my book on this tiny student's desk. I ended up just holding the book and the chart in my hand.
The girls in 8th grade were very much like the 7b class last year. They're upbeat, smart, and really cute. I remembered B.K. from last year. She was always raising her hand. She reminds me of C.S.A. last in 7b.
R.S. is sweet too, and M.S. already asked me if they'll have subs often with me. LOL. Mm.S. seemed a little slow; the principal already told me she has focusing problems. C.F.C. is really cute, but she also needs things explained to her more than once. D.S.W. is a cutie pie I remember from my model lesson, and T.G. kept trying to participate.
I'm a bit worried because the class keeps forgetting to raise their hands and they call out like 7b, but I'll come in more strict tomorrow, and see if I can't settle them down.
I taught them 2 aims in history and they were so proud of themselves for learning so much. They hadn't covered that much in three weeks last year.
We did some writing, and a creativity spark, which they all loved.
I explained my rules, and made them sign a contract for homework.
I told them about my journal and the index cards and they seemed very excited to try them. I gave them recess outside, (it's a rule in the school) and then I switched with my co to 7th grade.
They reminded me of 7a because they were quiet, but they seem much slower than them. They're more like 6th graders than 7th graders. And that's not just because my girls grew up over the year, they really are on a lower level than they should be. I barely got through half an aim in history, because they didn't write notes very well, and they kept asking questions that slowed me down.
R.A. is a brilliant show off of a child who already got on my nerves for trying to show me how intelligent she is. I heard she needs a challenge, and I feel a little bad for her, because the other girls can't stand her brilliance.
D.A. is adorable, but I can tell she is a bit of a trouble maker.
S.S. is majorly learning disabled (LD), I asked her to turn off the air conditioner, and she couldn't figure it out.
B.B. just switched from a special school, she's getting mainstreamed in my class. I can tell she isn't up to par. Her hair was a mess, and she was a little slow in everything she did.
R.B. is quiet, but a real good kid...or at least I think so...
I can't figure out S.E. yet. She had her sleeves rolled up pretty high, and she participated a lot. I think I'll keep an eye on her.
The day flew by so fast, I didn't get very far with 7th in writing or in history. I hope to catch up tomorrow.
The girls in both classes all seemed cute and friendly, and I'm excited to get to know them better.
The teachers are wonderful and so are the principals and secretaries. I spoke to the principal again about yearbook, and she was like, "Oh, for sure she got the job, I didn't tell you that?"
I asked if she actually wanted to meet my sister, and she said, "Yeah, that might be a good idea, when do you think she can come down?" I was laughing because everything was so chilled.
I hope the girls all have their contracts signed by tomorrow, because I would hate to start disciplining tomorrow...
The car was like the teacher's room, with all the teachers chatting away about their day. I need to get some food for the drive, because on the way home we're all starving.
We all unanimously agreed that we wouldn't wear suits anymore. The first day of school is over and out come the sweater sets!
By the way, a big thank you to N.Y.F. who changed the name of my blog. I'm always talking about how I do this because I'm a teacher with heart, so it's a fitting title. Also, for those of you who know where I'm teaching, the name is kind of cute, isn't it?
Waiting for your comments....and please people, let's try to get the site counter up this year!

Teacher's Orientation..The Way it's Supposed to Be!

I managed to drive there without too much screaming from the back seat. Parking was harder than driving, and my husband called at that second, worrying if I got there alright. He became very protective of me lately. He's so happy that I found a good school and that I'll be much happier this year.
I feel so good knowing that he cares LOL.
The meeting started on time, and it was so great. The principal and the administrator both spoke for about 5 minutes each, and then the Hebrew and English teachers split up to go to separate meetings.
Our meeting took about another 10 minutes, and it was so light and easygoing. We were each given folders, and flipping through it, I was so happy to see that everything in there was important for me to have. It wasn't just a thousand papers of junk.
There was the schedule of all the English Fridays, a schedule of the day, some rules, the school's insurance policy, and the progress reports from last year.
The principal met with each of us to go over some of the students and their problems. Turns out, I have a lot of LD kids this year. I hope it'll be ok.
I asked the principal what to do about the reading program, because I had no idea how to do it. She told me to just do my own thing until she had time to sit with me and explain it all. I was so relieved. She was so cool with history also.
It seems that last year the seventh grade had only completed up until chapter 8. I was ready to go in tomorrow and begin teaching from chapter 16-17. She said it was so fine and that I should just start where I wanted.
She didn't seem to care about curriculum as long as I kept the girls busy and happy.
I wore my longest sheitel and nail polish just to see if anyone would say anything, and no one did!
I had to spend some time setting up my classroom, and that was annoying, but I got to meet my co, and she's a sweetheart! I'm so excited! The teachers in general are so nice.
I got home from school about 1:30. At my old school, orientation didn't end till about 5 last year! When I called my husband to tell him how nice it went, he laughed, because he was so happy for me.
I'm a little nervous for tomorrow, but I think I'm prepared enough, and I'm sort of excited to get back behind the desk.
Have me in mind tomorrow while I try getting the year off to a good start...

I Can't Drive

In about 20 minutes I'm supposed to be leaving to my teacher's orientation, and I'm supposed to be driving there with three other teachers in my car. I just figured out though that my driving stinks. I have a feeling it's a bit too late to learn to park.
I was up till who knows when last night sorting out all the junk I had accumulated over the past year in school.
My old principal's sheets and stencils and whatever other garbage she gave me went straight to the garbage. I had a folder that was 1000 pages thick that my old school had give en out last year during orientation. I had never even opened it. I went through it last night to see if maybe there was anything in there worth reading, and I took out ten pages or so and dumped the rest. It felt goooooood.
I worked hard typing up a writing introduction for the year. It turned out to be 10 pages long. I plan on using it in both 7th and 8th grade this term. After that assignment I'll have to figure out where to go from there.
My principal still hasn't gone over the curriculum with me, and I'm a little bit of a nervous wreck. History is prepared up until June, I just have three more lessons to go. That leaves me free nights for marking papers, making suppers, and working on a holocaust project I plan on doing with the girls when I get up to there.
I heard that the tzniyus rules in my new schools are that if you're married, you have to cover your hair. That's basically it.
I can wear long wigs with natural parts, I can wear black tights, and maybe even socks under a long skirt. Nail polish is so not a big deal, and I still have to find out about hoods. I have this adorable orange hoodie I'd love to wear. I have a feeling that the teachers here don't wear suits as much as the teachers in my old school did. I think this place is a lot more laid back. Yay!
Right now I should get my stuff together for the orientation, so I'll write more later.

Vindication 2

About a week ago I heard a piece of news that made my summer....My old school had offered the job to someone, (a girl I had spoken to about the job) and she took the job. Two days later she quit!! It makes me feel so good!
Today the girl herself called me and we spoke about teaching methods and different curriculum that we might like to cover. She got a job now for 6th grade in a local school that is known to treat teachers much better than my old school. I'm truly happy for her, and I'm even happier that my old school got a kick in the pants.
I had a run in with them this week. I called the secretary to complain that I had never gotten my last paycheck. She told me that she wasn't giving it to me until the rating cards were done. My co didn't either get her check for the same reason.
I am furious. I'm debating now if I should degrade myself and do the work just to get paid. It's so unfair. I wonder if they are legally allowed to do this? But technically, they can't legally get away with paying me $6,000 for the year either.
I spoke to my co and she said she'd go in and take care of it so that we could get our money. I want to make sure she puts her foot down and does it only if she can get the check as soon as she finishes. I'm so angry at them.
Right now it's a week to the new school year, and I'm so nervous.
I made two gorgeous signs for my classroom and I'm excited over some curriculum changes I'm planning on incorporating. I hope the year turns out to be better than last year...but really, I know it will.
Hope you all keep logging on to read my posts, now that a new school year is starting, there should be lots of interesting things happening!

Vindication!

Hee hee hee hee hee!
My friend B.Y.S. was looking for a teaching job for this coming year, and as much I kept telling her she wouldn't find one now, she insisted on acting stubborn.
So when I heard that my old school still hadn't found a teacher to replace me, I told her to call. I hated thinking of her taking a job there, but if that's what she wanted, I was going to do anything to help her. After all, if I survived there, I guess anyone could.
B.Y.S. called me to tell me that the principal had called her back and asked to meet her about the job. Right off the bat my friend told her she didn't want the job. She cooked up some excuse, and said no.
I asked her what she was thinking as she seemed to want the job so badly. She told me that after I had had a miserable year she was not about to subject herself to all that. I feel sooooo good.
Just two nights ago, a neighbor of mine called. She had also applied for the job. I couldn't control myself and blurted out what a stinkin place that was to work. I went on and on and on about it.
She told me that money didn't mean anything. I told her that she didn't know what she was talking about. Maybe she didn't need the money right now, but as soon as she would realize how awful the job was, she would realize that not only would she not be getting appreciation; she wouldn't be getting money either.
She told me that the principal had asked her how she took criticism. I told her that was only the beginning, and that criticism was not the word.
I must've gone on for about a quarter of an hour, just bashing the job. After a bit, I felt bad for scaring her, so I told her to do the model lesson, be creative, and let me know from there. I did tell her that there was no other school that was going to prepare her and train her in as well as that one. I reassured her by saying that it was manageable and that I was sure she could do it. I promised that if she got the job, she could call me and I would give her my notes.
I fell bad for her, she's a year younger than me, straight out of school, and really wants a job. Listen, it's her life, not mine. But secretly, I do wish that my old school starts off the year missing some teachers. It would make me feel so good.
My husband says I'm being obnoxious. He's right. He says I should just forget about them and focus instead on my new job and him.
He'll never change.

No Paycheck, but Another School Year

Not surprisingly, I haven't gotten my last paycheck from my old school yet. Not only that, but they haven't even had the decency to return my call after I left a message. I am so annoyed. They can call me and pester me for my sheets and stuff, but when it comes to my paycheck, they all disappear.
But my new school sent the nicest letter and a school calendar. I have a load of vacation next year!!! My midwinter vacation is going to be, Friday, Shabbos, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday! That's like a whole week!
And I don't have school Sundays and every other Friday, and on some legal holidays too. I'm so happy. Still nervous, but happy.
I got the funniest letter today in the mail. The high school of my old school sent me a school calendar and a welcome letter. I think they think I'm coming back. I spoke to the principal about leaving and she was ok with it all, but I have a feeling she either forgot, or she hopes I forgot, or she didn't get anyone to replace me yet, so my name is still on their list.
Whatever the case is, I'm not going to show up there anytime soon, I think they're going to find themselves stuck! :)
I have been speaking to some of my friends coming home from seminary, who all want to be teachers this coming year.
They don't want to hear it, but they're being entirely too unrealistic. Some of them may find jobs, but the others, who are putting off good opportunities for the hope of getting a teaching job, are really going to be disappointed. I have a friend who refuses to be an assistant, refuses to sub for a year (which is what I did), and only wants an older grade. She also only wants to teach history and science which are two subjects that don't come together in a departmental grade.
Oh well. I learned by making mistakes, and they'll have to make their own too. I just wish they would at least read this blog to see what it is they're getting themselves into.
By the way, I just got my Teacher With Heart assignment back from my instructor. She loved it, but she felt there were parts that were a little vague. I can understand what she meant, but I don't think that any of you readers who've been keeping up with the blog had any trouble understanding the vague parts and filling in the blanks for yourselves. :)
I also met C.O.'s mother who told me that C.O. and S.G.L. are still going strong. Not that I care anymore, but I do know what their next year teacher will be dealing with!

Why Won't They Lose My Number???

I've been working on preparing lessons this past week. I got about 10 aims done so far, so that's good. I have another 50 to go.
I think my sister agreed to do the yearbook in my new school, so now I just have to verify it with the principal, and hope it works out.
My old school called today and left a message claiming that I hadn't returned a book. I had never gotten that book to begin with, and I made sure to call the principal and leave her the message that I did not have anything else belonging to her. I also told her that I had never received my last paycheck and that I was expecting someone to deal with it. If they're going to keep calling me, I should at least get paid for it, shouldn't I?
I'm starting to get kinda nervous for my new job, but I know that once I'll get past the first week of school it'll all be good. I just have to get back into the routine of teaching.
I hope that I won't come home this tired every day after teaching though. I can barely keep my eyes open by the end of the day in day camp. I took a break today to deal with the idiots in the American government system about getting my name changed on my social security card. I never had it done after I got married, and it can mess up my taxes and stuff, because I get paid under my married name, but I file under my maiden name. So now I'm all married. Officially. It feels nice. :)

Got the Stuff!

I got out of the house by 9 this morning to go to school and pick up my books. I me the administrator, and he was sooo nice, and then I got a load of books.
I spent time today preparing lessons; I prepared three aims this afternoon.
The eighth grade curriculum only has 12 chapters in history while the seventh grade had 18, so I feel a little less intimidated now. It's also easier because I've done this before.
My husband saw me sitting with the history book on my lap, shrugged, and said, "Looks familiar."
So we're back into the school mode. But I'm trying to make sure that my summer doesn't slip away too fast. I'm trying not to focus on school too much, and really enjoy the moment.

Finally!

I finally got in touch with the administrator of my new school! He was so nice, and took my message for the principal.
The principal called me back later that night. She told me that she hadn't contacted me because she hadn't finished making up the eighth grade curriculum. I laughed to myself at how laid back this place seems to be, but I told her that while that was up to her, I still wanted to prepare history lessons. She told me she'd call the administrator and let me know.
She called me back today, and told me that the administrator would open the building just for me on Sunday. She told me where to go to find all the books I needed.
I felt relieved as I was about to hang up, and then she quickly asked me if I was interested in taking care of the eighth grade yearbook; for more money of course.
That's a real change! More money being offered right off the bat! Wow. I'm so impressed. :)
I told her that I really had to think about it. The memories of my newspaper experiences are holding me back from saying yes.
I actually had the brainstorm of asking my sister to take the job. My sister just produced the most gorgeous yearbook for her grade, and I know she could do an excellent job for an eighth grade yearbook. Besides, she'd get to make money and I'd still do it with her. I just don't want the full responsibility.
My sister isn't sure, but my mother and everyone else thinks it's a great idea. I think if the principal will go for it, I'll manage to convince her.

Just an Update

I keep trying to call my new school but they never pick up. When they do answer, I leave a message for the principal but she has never called me back. I'm a little frustrated as I have not yet begun to prepare for school, and I have to books from which to do so. I heard the new school is laid back like this, but it bothers me. I'm the type who needs to get everything done yesterday. I don't know what I'm going to do.
In day camp meanwhile, a girl from my old school told me that my class used to tape my lessons and the lessons of their other teachers as well. She said that the girls all loved me to pieces. That's sure nice to know now. ;) They planned on playing those tapes back to me on purim. She said that they also got her to sing them my day camp song from last summer and they wanted to play that to me as well. Too bad my class was not that organized; it never happened. No surprise to anyone here that it was H.W. and G.S. who were the masterminds behind the tapings.
One of my campers ran into my office one day to ask me if I knew E.S. in class 7a. E.S. is her neighbor. I told my camper to send her regards.
Other than my school frustrations right now, I'm extremely busy with day camp. I get up at 6:45 and I'm out of the house an hour later. I don't get home until seven some nights, so my life is kind of hectic. ...And I was looking forward to summer vacation!
My teacher with heart assignment has been updated, so I'll probably post the updated version on the blog soon. Enjoy it!