Thursday, while sitting in the teacher's lounge/workroom in the main office, a job popped up on the subbing app. A job I was kind of shocked to see.
The previous Friday, Mr. K at the continuation high school had texted me to see if I was available to sub for him the following Friday. I said no as I didn't know how long the vacant success class would go, and so I was booked through the week.
I had assumed that Mr. K had put in the request that day. Apparently not.
I don't look too closely when jobs pop up, because if I don't grab it quickly enough, I miss it. (I'll click "accept" and then be told that another sub was already assigned to the job.) It wasn't until I got the "successfully booked" message that I looked to see what I had snagged.
I was surprised to see the assignment for the next day. But there was a problem. It showed as a half day, afternoon. This I knew to be wrong as the continuation high school only has morning classes on Fridays.
So, I called the school.
I knew the secretary could fix the assignment, and I knew which secretary to call. When the system picked up, it asked me to dial the extension of the person I wanted. And then it told me that extension didn't exist. Deep sigh.
The phone list I had for the school was from the 2023-24 school year.
Well, I knew the front office staff. I dialed O for someone to pick up, and I recognized the voice. "Hi, Shelly. Could you please transfer me to Sabrina?"
And when Sabrina picked up, I identified myself and told her what had happened.
She was hesitant to touch the assignment as she didn't want me to be booted from it. I assured her that I get "absence modified" notifications all the time. So, she fixed it, and I retained the assignment.
Of course, part of me just wondered if something went wonky and put in a job that didn't exist. But no. Mr. K just put in his absence the day before. (He is out a lot. I think he's trying to fly under the radar sometimes with his sub requests.)
Fridays are pretty mellow at the continuation high school. Not much happened. But at least I had the sweet, sweet air conditioning. (The kiddos complained it was too cold in the room. I. Did. Not. Care. It's been icky hot here.)
Hi Liz - I always enjoy reading about the ramifications of the work you do ... and how you get there! Glad you enjoyed the air-con - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteToday is Teaccher's Day in India. Happy Teacher's Day!
ReplyDeleteThanks.
DeleteOnce again, knowledge is power. Knowing staff made things so much easier during this incident. Side note: None of the schools I attended in my New York City childhood were air conditioned, but it is needed more and more with the climate changing.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in high school, about half my classes were. So, I loved to go to math and science, as those rooms were nice and cool. And band. Oh, the band room had wonderful a/c. But French, English, and history were not air conditioned. Those classes were miserable on hot days.
DeleteWhen it's hot, the AC is really nice.
ReplyDeleteIt is good to have a relationship with the powers in the office. Hot. How can kids not appreciate the chill of a/c.?
ReplyDeleteThey do not. I don't know why.
DeleteIt’s good you know who to call
ReplyDeleteI’m so done with hot, humid weather. Let’s hope we get to enjoy cooler temperatures. Best wishes!
ReplyDeleteWell, it's raining right now, so that's a plus. But it's supposed to get hot next week again. Sigh.
DeleteSmart move calling the office -- connections matter. And I’m with you, cold air beats hot classrooms any day.
ReplyDeleteThat's great that you knew the hack. Funny that the frequently absent Mr. K tried texting first. I get it!
ReplyDeleteHe texts me all the time. I don't know why he feels like he needs to line up a sub before he books a day off, but he does.
DeleteHow hot is it where you are? It's been pouring here.
ReplyDeleteThat day it was in the 90s.
DeleteWhen I went to school (I will be 70 in October), a very long time ago, (LOL), we started school in September, just after Labour Day. We finished school around June 23rd. By the time we went back to school, the temperatures were comfortable and there was no need for air conditioning. Nowadays, schools are saying that it is very hot when the children (and teachers) return to school after the summer but thus far there is no air conditioning.
ReplyDeleteI feel sorry for everyone having to work in an environment that is hot like that.
You need to check out my blog post of August 26th. There's a meme for that. (I graduated on June 19th. I know all about the change in school schedule. I got to live the change in real time.)
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