Day 59: We're Baaack!

Welcome back!

Today was our first day back after having five days off (including the weekend).  I don't know about you and your students, but my students and I were completely in a fog this morning.  Just getting my own two children moving and out the door this morning was a bit of a struggle.  I think everyone just wanted to stay nice and warm in bed.

When I got to school I really didn't have much to do except change the jobs for the week, put up the new banner for our new reading theme, and write in my LEQs (Lesson Essential Questions) on my lesson boards.  It was nice to just sit there and get myself mentally prepared for another school day after my time off.  (This of course, after I realized it was School Spirit Day.  I was supposed to be dressed in blue and white.  I wore purple and black.  Oops. Although it seems quite a few of the staff and students forgot as well so I didn't feel like such a loser.)

The bell rang at 8:45 and the students came in.  Dreary eyed.  Shuffling.  Looking a bit like deer in headlights.  You know the look I mean.  Then to top off the fact that they were back in school and seemingly functioning at a basic level, I gave them MORNING WORK!  (Enter screams here.)  I gave them two daily edits (yesterday's and today's) and a set of math boxes.  (Side note:  Our district uses the Everyday Math curriculum.  Each lesson has six problems arranged in boxes on a page.  The students do one of these pages just about every morning.  And if you're wondering about my feelings on Everyday Math, let me just say "Don't get me started!")  Once everyone was in and the announcements were made (around 9:05), the students were perking up a bit.  It was just a bit slow going at first!

We made it through the school day without anyone falling asleep or calling me "Mom.  I mean, Mrs._______!"  We finished (nearly) all of what I had planned.  (This week's story discussion was intense.  We actually have to finish tomorrow because we ran out of time!)  Ah well.  Tomorrow's another day.

Day 23: We've Got Spirit, Yes We Do!

Sorry for the delay; I was out of town over the weekend and didn't have time to catch up on my blog.

Thursday was Spirit Day.  It's celebrated the last school day of each month. The students wear our school colors (blue and white) as a show of pride in our school.  They come in decked out in shirts, bottoms (skirts, pants, or shorts), bracelets, hairbows and headbands, socks, etc.  Some of them really go all out!

The teachers wear school colors or our school T-shirts (we ordered them last year as a staff).  We also get to wear blue jeans and sneakers on those days.  (Yes!)

There is a monthly competition between classrooms for the class with the most spirit.  The office determines this by sending a little sheet in our attendance folders for us to write the percentage of students in school spirit gear.  The prize is a banner to be posted outside of the winning classroom's door, sort of like bragging rights for a month.  To make it fair because we have so many classrooms, the winners are announced by grade level at the end of the day.  It's funny because you can hear the groans and cheers resonating through the hallways throughout the announcements.

My class didn't win this month, but maybe next time...