It's Friday!

The first week of school has come and gone and we all survived!

I have to tell you, I was really aprehensive about this year because I heard nothing but horror stories from most of the sixth grade teachers. That's exactly the kind of thing that causes me to wake up in a cold sweat during a long summer night. Am I going to get a class of hyperactive, unmotived, mentally unstable 12-year olds ready to crawl the walls??? After all this is public school, where we teach everyone. And everyone means you do see everything.

But these kids aren't bad. In fact, they have started off a lot better than my group did last year. I have a higher percentage of papers getting turned in (the beginning of the year paperwork is absolutely mind-boggling). They're sitting. They're listening. They're following directions a lot better. In fact, it's going so well I'm getting nervous. It's almost like they're laying in wait and plotting something. But then they wait for me to dismiss them after the bell rings, they say goodbye politely, and off they go to their next class. They've acted like really nice, well-mannered kids. Most of them.

I hope it lasts.

And on to the air conditioning saga...finally someone from maintenance showed up. Apparently there is something MAJOR wrong with it (ya think?) and it will be "well over a week" before it's repaired. My thought was why in the bloody heck didn't they get out here to look at it two weeks ago so it would be fixed by now? Sigh. I called Super Secretary and asked her if the theater (which is like a freezer) was scheduled for next week. It wasn't. It's mine now! So, we'll be using the theater again next week. Which is kind of fun because all the kids want to sit and work on the stage. It's the drama queen in all of them I suspect.

And I have my first observation by an administrator next week. At least I work for a great administration that appreciates and knows the challenges I'm facing this year.

I want my new room. Now.