Well, I have been back at work for a few weeks and this has been the biggest reason as to why I have been negligent to tumblr…I am really trying/focusing on being a better teacher this year!  It seems kinda stupid to say (write) out loud, but I really feel like I could be better at my job and am really going to try to do what I can to get there this year!

Anyways, I was grading papers today and one student wrote an answer that I thought was funny enough to share.

I was going through my kids’ New England States Test today and found this as one of the answers:

New Hamster

Now, I consider myself quite the traveler and know the 50 states pretty well, and have never come across the great state of New Hamster!  I guess I will have to google that! ;)

This has been THE craziest week ever!!  I just wanted to take a second to express my excitement at what is going on…

• My last day with my kids was today!!  Yeah!  
• We have resurrected “Field Day” at school tomorrow, which myself and my 2 fellow Student Council moderators are responsible for (the planning and coordinating has been an incredible load to take on, especially during the last weeks of school, but I am thinking that the kids experiencing it tomorrow will make it all worth it)!!
• Tomorrow is officially the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!
• My BFFF’s Bachelorette Party Weekend kicks off tomorrow!  Tahoe here we come!!

With all this, as well as a leaving on our trip to Europe next weekend, I have not had any time to do much of anything except grade papers and try to keep all of the proverbial balls in the air!  

So to all the teachers that are out of school (or almost out)…Happy Summer!!  And to everyone else, I hope you enjoy your weekend!!

I had a student’s mom come into my classroom and start looking for her son’s desk.  I helped her find it and she told me that she was looking for a book and one of his papers for him that he had reportedly misplaced.  Normally this would have shocked me, but she is a mom  that has come into the classroom on multiple occasions this year to clean out her son’s desk for him.

It is important to note that during today’s search and the previous cleaning sessions, the son is nowhere to be found.  

This is 5th grade people!  I know that kids need help and I am not against helping them, but when it comes to doing things for them that they are completely capable of doing themselves, I cannot understand it!!

All I am hoping is that this young man does not develop serious mommy issues and go out in the world expecting a woman to do all of the hard things for him!

in-backyards:

“I want a line that is single, straight, and silent!”

Story of my teaching life!  If I could figure out a way to get kids to stay in a straight line, I would be a millionaire!!  I never realized how hard this seemingly simple task can be, and after two years, I still cannot get over it!

ohmuffins:

I could write a book about how enraged this makes me.

Instead, I’ll settle for a sarcastic giggle. Am I right, teachers? Pfft, I know I’m right.

in-backyards:

You no longer have interesting stories to share about yourself at the dinner table, instead you just want to talk about the funny things your kids said throughout the day.

This is completely me…even though I am a teacher not a student teacher, but it’s pretty much all the same!

I have some to realize, over the past few years of my life, that I handle myself well under pressure, in times of crisis, or emergency situations.  I consider this to be one of my strengths, but I also find this a tad ironic because I am a pretty very emotional person.  

This strength of mine came into play on Tuesday night during volleyball practice.  While running a few laps at practice, one of the girls clotheslined herself (across the bridge of her nose) on the rope that connects the volleyball net to the pole.  Since the momentum of her body was traveling forward and the rope stopped the motion of her head/upper body, it created this slingshot effect catapulting her into the air.  She came crashing down to the gym floor, hitting her head when she landed.  

I missed seeing most of the action, except the landing, so I had originally thought that she had tripped over her feet while running (which is a completely normal and common thing for a growing 11 year old girl to do).  

I ran and got ice for her head and for the rope burn that was forming on her nose and cheek, and we called mom.  My player was conscious the whole time, eyes very clear, and talking…which were all positive signs immediately after she fell.  

Then she started repeating herself and through talking to her she told us that she had no recollection of what had just happened or anything from earlier that day, which scared her and cause her to start freaking out and getting emotional (which we know from mom is a very common reaction for her whenever something happens…big or small).  It was then that we knew something was wrong and this was more serious than we had originally thought.  

I ended up calling 911 because with the repeating, the lack of remembering, not wanting to move her, and the fact that it was possibly a concussion, we figured this was the best thing to do.

She went to the ER, had some scans (which, thank the Lord, came back clear), and was released later that night.  

It was one of the scarier moments I have experienced and the first time that someone else’s child has been hurt on my watch.  To be sitting in the ER with an 11 year old and her mom, hearing her repeat the same questions/statements over and over (like it’s Groundhog Day), makes you feel like you have done something wrong and that there should have been something you could have done to prevent it.  

Matt told me to “stop Monday morning quarterbacking it” and that it was a simple accident.  Volleyball players have been running under the net for years.  I know that all it was was an accident and that it could have happened to anyone at anytime playing any sport.  She has recovered completely and was back at school on Thursday.  

This was really the first (and small) taste of what, I am sure, parents feel like when their children are hurt.  I feel the responsibility of keeping people safe everyday in the classroom, but this was different.  I can only imagine how it will feel when it is my own child that is injured…I just hope that at that point I will be as cool, calm, and collected as I was for this.

Since Earth Day is tomorrow I thought I would share what good, earthy deed my school did this past weekend…

Student Council sponsored our 2nd annual Free E-Waste Drop-Off.  This was what our gigantic dumpster looked like by the end of our four hour collection.  We had way more than last year, which, in my mind, makes it a complete success!!  We wont’s find out how much money we raised, but it’s free money and anything is better than nothing! Especially when it benefits the Earth at the same time!

For a week last month our student council sponsored the activity of “Penny Wars” as our monthly service project.  It was such a fun and successful activity that I thought I would share it!

So the object is for your class to get the most points in whatever time period you have decides for the war to last.  Every penny is worth a point. 

The “war” part comes in when you sabotage the other classes by putting any other from of currency into their jar besides pennies (as you can see in the picture my class’s jar has a lot of money in it that are not pennies…which is not a good thing!)!

The classes (even the younger grades) got really into the activity and loved watching the level of money rise in their jars as the week went on.  

We gave out treats for the class that had the most points and they also won the privilege of picking the charity that the money will be donated to.  We also did treats for the class that raised the most money and the class that brought in the most pennies!  Overall we raised, in one week, over $1500!!!!

Thank the heavens that a parent at school works at a bank and they graciously used their money machines to count all of our cents…because if they didn’t, the student council would be counting change into next year!!