Two Weeks Down


Week two of school finished up today.  The past few weeks have definitely had their ups and downs…but on a whole, I’m loving it.

Some Ups:
-My homeroom is an amazing group of 8th graders.  I’ve already got a great rapport with them, and when I have them for English, it’s my easiest and favorite class of the day.
-Our new class friend, Peter.  (Made for me out of paper by one of my 8th graders.  He now watches over every class and entertains the students). 
-Seeing my students outside of class and getting smiles and high-fives all the time.
-Getting into the routine and swing of things so that I don’t feel like I have endless work ahead of me each and every weeknight.
-Parents night for 7th grade this past week went well, and I think (I hope!) I made a good impression on all of the parents there.
-Spending time with friends on weekends (and sometimes weeknights)—enjoying our own happy hour, “Mexican miercoles,” grilling out, and a trip to the beach or two.

Some Downs:
-A few classes that left me wanting to pull my hair out after trying unsuccessfully to convince my 7th graders that when I’m talking it would be a good time to stop chatting with a friend and start paying attention.  (Hopefully this is on its way toward getting better as I have implemented a rewards system that they seem to be buying into). 
-The power at the school goes out just about every time it rains.  It’s only happened once when I’ve had students so far.  Twice when school has just ended…which makes it very hard to get work done in my room, since I have very little natural light that comes in.

No post should end on a low note…so I’ll end with this picture of the sunset over the mountains, as viewed from my front door.  


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