One Week Later

Posted on

20140616_081319Last Monday we had an odd half day of school, bringing my first year of teaching to a close. The morning was spent cleaning out our auxiliary bookroom, dealing with dust bunnies the size of rats and tossing paraphernalia or outdated text books, finding we had plenty of space after all. The few students who turned up were given chores to do and having hosted many throughout the previous Friday, we shooed them away. Many wound up watching Mulan in a social studies classroom.Once the cleanup was done, teachers began our own scavenger hunt, collecting various department signatures confirming we filed paperwork, posted grades, returned keys, filled out repair requests, and duty requests. Around noon, an hour or so after the kids were dismissed; we filed into the Main Office, dropped off the paperwork, shook hands or gave out hugs and just like that, things wound down.20140612_065244Ryan, our long-term sub, also took advantage of the final day to repay us for the good-natured pranks played on him the previous weeks. We arrived in the morning and found all of our desk items atop other desks. Slowly it dawned on us, not only were the surface objects different but he actually rearranged our desks. In the process of restoring order, we took advantage and swept out the room, so that was actually a benefit. We got him back, though, as window markers were used to decorate his car with farewell messages.And so began the summer break. While kids have close to ten weeks off, we have exactly 62 days, just over eight weeks. For six of those days, I will be attending professional development workshops, reducing that number to 56. But, during those eight weeks, I will be curriculum and lesson planning, as I bend Creative Writing to my will and come up to speed on 10th Grade. I have books to read for school and am checking the school email daily just in case. Sure enough, parents and students have been in touch with questions.Last week was odd in that Monday was school and Thursday-Friday were professional development. This is my first full week at home, ensconced in the home office and devoting many hours to getting my Sherlock Holmes novel well underway. Quickly, Deb and I have reverted to previous routines regarding dog walking, meal prep, errands, and the like. It feels good and I find myself contented. Another part of me, though, misses my teaching peers and my mind continues to drift back to planning. We’ll see if that continues as the summer progresses.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to Blog Listing