Year 2, cont...

I'm not sure where to start about Day 1. Let me put it this way--Hayden is already in bed at 6:00 (he's teething and isn't feeling well; we couldn't keep him awake if we tried. And we did try!) so I'm going to bed as well. His new favorite wake up time is 4 am, maybe 4:30. And I have to be up at 5; this morning I found myself begging for just one more hour. No such luck. My poor baby needed to eat! In his defense he hadn't eaten since 11 PM, so I sucked it up. I was so keyed up thinking last night that I didn't fall asleep til after 10, fed him at 11, went back to sleep by 11:30, and I think I was able to sleep from then til 4:30. I honestly can't remember.

So back to school. We were in the Gold Gym by 6:45. 8th grade then traipsed to our building for breakfast and the kids to get called for their 1st blocks, where they then got their schedules. Class that was supposed to begin at 7:15 found us leaving the cafeteria at 7:45. We are not on a bell schedule as the 8th grade, so we have to peek into the hall when it's time to change, get the nod from everyone on our team, then tell our kids to switch. MASS CHAOS. Oh, and we have 2 9th grade classrooms who are on block schedule (not 7 periods like us) on our hall. Have you ever tried to keep somewhere in the ballpark of 400 students quiet!? in the hallway? Doesn't happen.

Okay, so the other hiccup. 4-7 grades are still in trailers. Remember Katrina? Yeah. Since we're considered middle school now, and the middle school is located on the other side of the high school, students are being bussed to the trailers for choir, gym, and band. REALLY? Do you realize how long it takes to bus 150 kids at a time during a 55 minute period? Sigh. Here's a visual: our building is the Blue Building, then there's the Gold Building, and across the parking lot is the middle school. Not an easy walk, and that's where we'll have to go for all our mtgs.

I'm really trying to be positive, but I'm tired, my niceness quotient is dwindling, and there's no way to get much done during my planning period. Oh yeah, on top of that I have to pump at some time. My planning block is at 8 AM; I'm so not ready to pump by then and I can't make it from 6 AM til 2:45! So another teacher has to take my kiddos to lunch while I pump, then I have to bust it to the cafeteria (yes, we have to walk our students to lunch). What else? I then have 5 periods back to back and there's no way I can bring too much home. Until Hayden starts sleeping through the night, I'm not getting much done. And I can't get to work any earlier. I have to get myself ready and nurse him before I leave. I've even been having to wake him in order to feed him, poor baby. I'll be so glad when I find a medium; I would say happy medium, but I don't know if that's possible.

I'm sorry this is a complaining post, but I just don't think this is working out the way it was intended, but we'll see. Quite a few things are different than they were "supposed" to be. My last complaint (I hope) is our IST students-- in-school tutorial kids. They're having to pass whatever subject they failed to get caught up with the grade they should be in. So I have 9th graders come in for not my entire period, then they get up and leave. It's so awkward. I don't mind helping these students pass 8th grade, but how do you really expect to run 2 grades in one building when one follows the bells, the other doesn't; one is on 4 blocks, the other 7 periods; and the 8th grade is completely separated from the rest of our faculty?

I've got to get some rest. Who ever thought I'd be in bed before 7!? If I bite your head off this year over nothing, I'm sorry. I have one period I really, really like, and 2 that I see us going round and round. I'll keep you posted!

ps. No pictures yet. Sorry! But I did get kudos on my room!