At school, I unpacked my bag in my class, grabbed my lunch and the printed papers and went to sign in and make copies. I only had to wait a few minutes for the copier. I copied what I was going to use with my 8th grade classes. After making copies, I went in search of the two class sets of books I was planning to use for my seventh graders. I found one set, but only one copy of the other set. Another teacher has already checked out that set. (We are doing a common assignment that we planned together before vacation. I was just hoping that I would get to the books first.) So now I proceeded to go back to the copy room and copy the chapter from book that my seventh graders would need for class. I had another short wait for the copier. Once it was my turn the copier jammed. Grrrr. The second copier became available and I jumped in to make my copies there and proceeded to unjam the other machine. Black toner smudged my hands. Luckily no one else was waiting to copy.
The warning bell rang at 7:58 am. I ran back to my room with the stack of the copied chapter and quickly put my objectives up for my classes. 8:00 am and the bell rings for the students to enter the building. Now the fun begins.
8:00 am- I am standing in the hallway next to my door greeting my 8th graders as they enter the room. I reminded them to turn in their cell phones, sign in on the smart board and sit down. Someone asks to use the bathroom already.
8:15 am- Morning announcements begin. National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance and announcements.
8:20ish I review the classroom rules and expectations for homeroom as some seem to have forgotten over vacation.
8:25 am - I ask students to share out what they did over vacation. Most said video games. I notice an 8th grader sticking stickers of cent signs all over his face. Really...this is 8th grade. So I asked what he was doing. I should know better. His response, "This just makes "cents" to me." Ha, Ha, Ha. Ok, moving on. It is advisory period. For the months of April and May we are supposed to be doing some kind of community service. Before vacation my class wanted to plan to sell popsicles next week to raise and donate the money to the cancer walk that student council is participating in on May 18. I thought that was a great idea, so we pitched it to the principal to get approval. Today we were supposed to begin organizing and planning. Schedule who is selling when and at which lunch, make posters to advertise our event, and work on securing donations from a local grocery store. That was the plan. We did not get approval to do this activity. So now I have nothing. The kids sat and talked the rest of the advisory period. A few girls help me change a bulletin board. We rearranged the desks into a u-shape configuration.
9:07 - I line the kids up for their allied arts classes, music, gym, art. They all go to different ones. Now is my prep period. I post my attendance. I only have one absent. Twenty-eight out of twenty-nine are present. Amazingly the girl who usually misses Mondays is in! I check and respond to emails. A few of my seventh graders walk in with the Grecian Urns I assigned for extra credit. Four out of fifty-five students took the time to do it. I made sure everything was set for my classes. Objectives...check. Materials...check. Warm-up activity...check. Up to the library to sign out the computer cart for next week. I return to my room and go to my desk to finish the plans for this week. I started them last night, but did not finish. After finishing my plans, I made sure the materials for tomorrow were all set, then I reread the chapter from the book my teacher leadership group is reading. We are meeting this afternoon. A quick glance at the clock tells me I have time for a quick trip to the bathroom before the students return.