School!

The day after Labor Day was the day our lives got ridiculously busy. I started teaching fifth grade, and Madeline started her year in third grade. Madeline and I are at the same school for the first time ever! It's quite convenient not having an additional drop off or pick up, but it does make being super productive before and after school more difficult, and it makes for a pretty boring morning and afternoon for Madeline. I've been working some fairly long hours adjusting to a new school and new curriculum, but hopefully, that will change as I get use to everything.

Sophie really likes her new school, and Madeline goes over there on Monday afternoons when school dismisses early for teacher meetings. I may look into Madeline going over there an additional day a week or check into the after school program at work. Luckily, I was able to get Madeline into the jumprope club which meets twice a week before school, and I am hoping she'll enjoy it while giving me some uninterrupted time to prepare for the school day.

Here is some good stuff about my new job: My students are bright and very polite. They like to read and work! Some of them are very talented athletes and musicians. They have very involved parents. We don't start our school day until 8:45. I love when Madeline walks through my classroom door at 3:45. It surprises me every day even though I am expecting it. We have fairly unlimited resources and can pretty much order the teaching supplies we need. Our copy machine staples!!! My students have art, music, PE, band, strings, chorus, library, technology, and Spanish during the school day. We have already had one day off due to inclement weather (flooding). The other fifth grade teachers are all very nice. I was told at a training not to worry about test scores as 99% of my students could pass the state test on the first day of school. What?!?!

And here are the things I am getting used to: Dismissing students until 4:00 means I am not likely to get home until 5:30 most days. My work laptop is a Dell, and I hate it. I miss my Mac. I get 20 emails a day, and have to remember to check frequently throughout the day for important school information like announced fire drills and stuff. The parents of my students also correspond with me through email, and I am just not in the habit of reading through/responding to email during the school day. The kids have so many special activities that it is hard to squeeze in curriculum. I miss not having my good friend Jodi next door to me all day.

That about sums things up so far!