The Demands

Ah, the joys of middle school... 

Before school started, the teachers all had this training about connecting with their students. One of the things they learned was about social contracts. The idea being that if the kiddos listed what they felt was appropriate behavior for the classroom, then they were more likely to buy in and behave appropriately in class. 

Or, at least that's the gist I got from the brief overview from the other teachers. I, of course, did not get to attend the training. (Not that I really wanted to. Besides, I got the gig too late to be included.) 

School administration told us that we were to go over social contracts and come up with the class "rules' by the end of the second week. 

So, in my second day's classes, I introduced the concept, and I had each group come up with five things that they'd agree to in class. For the most part, they listed things like "be kind" and "be responsible". Some repeated rules I went over with them. 

And then I looked over eighth period's lists... 

Some choice entries: 

• Use phones in class
• Have more time for lunch
• Longer snack time
• No dress code
• Start school at 11:00
• Pick our own seats

I mean, I'm totally down for starting school at 11 AM. But I don't think they get that school would then end at 6:30 PM. 

Yeah, some of them didn't quite understand the assignment. 

It should be an interesting conversation when we go over the full list and narrow it down. Because, yeah, they can wish for those things, but it's not like I have the power to change those things. 

(The school has a new cell phone policy this year. No phones. And they're giving us a spot where the phones can be locked away during class, although I haven't gotten the one for my class yet. Should be fun.)

Fortuitous Mistake

Last Monday was the first day of school. 

Because I got a long term in a vacant art class, and because I got to start a day before, I had prepared a first day of school ice breaker assignment. A scavenger hunt. 

I listed a few things that I knew would be true for some kiddos. Find a student who has a first name that does not contain an A. Find a student who went away on a trip this summer. Find a student who has a family member at the school. (I often hear about kiddos with siblings at the school, so I knew someone would.) Find a student wearing black. 

First thing in the morning, I headed for the copy room to make copies of the scavenger hunt. I had four (slightly) different versions on two sheets of paper (half sheets for each kiddo). I also had a questionnaire that asked things like name they wanted to be called in class and what their favorite food was. 

I was not the only one who had things to copy to start the school year. And two of the copy machines were broken (naturally). 

When it was my turn, I first copied the questionnaire. I had taken a quick count of planned students and got something near 180. I made 180 copies of the questionnaire. Then it was time to copy the scavenger hunt. I had two sheets of those, so I'd only need half the copies. Half of 180 is 90. 

Did you catch my mistake?

I finished my copies, and then I left the machine to the next person in line. (The line kept growing. We were all kind of scrambling.) I headed for the paper cutter as the scavenger hunts were half sheets. 

As I started cutting, I realized my stupid. I was right to halve my number, but I should have halved it again as I had two sheets with two scavenger hunts each. I only needed 45 copies. 

The school opened two new art classes. The art teacher next door is new to the school, and we've been kind of leaning on each other. She's helping me with art stuff, and I'm helping her with other school stuff that new teachers don't necessarily know (like how to set up the online gradebook). 

We were comparing notes as to what we were going to do with our classes. I mentioned the scavenger hunt. She thought that was an excellent idea. And as I had double the copies I needed... 

They didn't go to waste after all. 

And the activity went surprisingly well. The kiddos got into it, but they didn't get crazy. I will totally use this again if the need arises. 

Starting from Scratch

The first day of school was last Monday. The Wednesday before that I got a call from the sub desk. Would I be interested in a vacant art class? 

(A "vacant" class is a class with no teacher assigned. This usually means they are in the process of hiring a teacher for the class.)

As I hadn't been aware of any art teachers retiring, I asked whose class it used to be. I was informed that the class was new. 

Then I asked if I could start a day early. Having had to scramble on the first day of school before, I knew the best thing I could do for my sanity was to come in early, get the lay of the land, and attempt to get some things set up so I wasn't starting ice cold. (They let me last year, and it was so very helpful.) 

The sub desk attempted to get a hold of someone at the school but could not, so she made the executive decision to start me a day early. She emailed them to let them know. 

Of course, they had not gotten the email when I arrived. I joined the beginning-of-year all-staff meeting, and when the (new) principal mentioned me, I informed her I was actually present. For which she was greatly relieved. 

Yeah, we all had the same idea. 

And it was a good thing too, for once I finally got keys to the classroom and got into the room, I found that I... had... nothing... 

The school added two new art classes. They had hired one of the teachers. (They hired someone for the position, but he ended up going elsewhere.) And the school assigned us to rooms that were used as detention rooms for the past few school years. 

I had a room with bare walls and 34 desks. There was a teacher desk that the custodians informed me they had added that week. And there was a white board. (I mean, there were doors and floors and windows. A ceiling. Lights. It used to be a science classroom, so there was a demonstration bench at the front and built in low cabinets in the back.) 

However, the air conditioning unit worked wonderfully. (Which was excellent as we're getting our late summer heat wave. The kiddos have complained that it's "too cold". So, yes, I'm well-pleased with the a/c.) 

So, that Friday afternoon, I had a mad scramble. What could I cobble together? I got class counts and learned my largest class would have 39 students. That meant I needed five more desks. Oh, and that teacher desk? Desk, but no chair. But custodial was around specifically for this purpose, so I talked to the lead guy. 

I also did not have technology. I needed one of the big TVs that we use now in class. There was no Chromecart for computers for the kiddos. And I'd need a teacher computer. 

Long story short (too late): those in charge were on top of things, and I had everything except the teacher computer before I left for the day. The teacher computer took a few days, for reasons. (Don't even ask about the tech issues they were having all week.) 

By the time I left, I was exhausted. (I was so exhausted I developed a migraine the next day.) But I had the desks configured in a way I thought might work. I had made sure my ViewBoard was working (so I could create slides to show the class to get through some sort of lesson). And I made sure I could use one of the student Chromebooks until I could get a teacher computer. 

So, now I'm diving into a new school year with a temp gig. With nothing. Sigh. The things I do to work the first day of school. 

Building Partnerships and Coalitions

Watching the political news has become quite painful of late. We're watching us losing our freedoms in real time. And those who have the power to do something, to stop it, aren't. Well, not all, but many. 

So, now we're going to lose mail from Europe. The tariff thing. I'm glad I got that yarn that I ordered back in July. (It came from the U.K.) 

I don't have anything new to say. Last week was a lot for me. School started. My focus was there. 

So, I'll link the part 2 video from Indivisible (I linked the part 1 video a month ago). It's about building and working within coalitions. 

Getting to the Back

I did absolutely no knitting this past week. School started, and all of my energy and focus was on getting things set up and keeping ahead of what I needed to do for work. 

Luckily, last Monday I posted a link to my new YouTube video, so I did not post on the progress I made on eldest nephew's sweater. And I had made progress. 

It's just about five inches away from being done with the back. Yay. If I wasn't working and it wasn't so blazingly hot, I'd believe I'd make my self-imposed deadline of having this back done by the end of August. 

At least I'll be close. Hopefully I'll get some knitting time in as I settle into my long term subbing gig. But I'm not counting on that. 

I hope everyone's back-to-school (or whatever you're up to at this time of year) is going smoothly. 

Sweater Tracking:

• Starting the Sweater

Are You a Latte, Bubble Tea, Smoothie, or Espresso?

For my last quiz of the summer... 

Are You a Latte, Bubble Tea, Smoothie, or Espresso?

(School started on Monday. I have a gig. I'll talk about it next week.) 

I got Latte: 

You're calm, comforting, and quietly powerful. People feel at ease around you, and you bring a sense of balance to chaos. You may not shout the loudest, but your energy speaks volumes. Like a latte, you're warm, steady, and low-key luxurious.

Eh, I don't think so. But, there were a lot of things in the quiz that weren't ideal for me to choose, so of course it'd be off. 

Which one did you get? Do you agree with the findings?  

13 Memes/Blog Hops

I've been doing Thursday 13 for a while now. There are a bunch of other blog hops and memes floating around the blogosphere, too. I thought I'd see if I could find 13. I did. Some of these you might be familiar with, some of these you might not. 

1. A to Z Challenge: When April rolls around, the blogosphere seems to wake up (at least for a week or two) while everyone blogs along to the alphabet, a letter a day (excluding Sundays). 

2. Insecure Writer's Support Group: The first Wednesday of every month, writers are encouraged to write about their insecurities so that they can get support from their fellow writers. A monthly question is provided for a launching off point, but it is optional. 

3. Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: On the 15th of the month, gardeners are encouraged to post pictures of the blooms in their gardens, or inside, because winter (hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens).

4. Shadow Shot Sunday: On Sundays, post a picture of a shadow. So many creative ways to see the shadows around us (hosted by Lisa at This and That). 

5. Sunday Stealing: From the blog: "we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions."

6. Sunday Stamps: Weekly themes for those that collect stamps (or just have a large collection). 

7. Music Moves Me: On Mondays bloggers are encouraged to post music on their blogs. The link is to the themes for each Monday, although bloggers aren't required to post to the theme of the day. 

8. Wordless Wednesday: From the blog: "a simple blog post featuring a photo which conveys a message that speaks for itself without using words." 

9. Wednesday Words: For this one, you are given a prompt of a list of words. The challenge is to use them in a story or post of some kind. It was started by one blogger, but now the prompts are farmed out to several bloggers. It appears that Elephant's Child has the current links, although the most recent prompt appears to be here. 

10. Thursday Postcard Hunt: Same link as for Sunday Stamps as the monthly theme for this one is in the same sidebar. Same idea as the stamps--postcards with the theme of the day. 

11. Skywatch Friday: Take a picture of your local skies, share it with people from all over the world. 

12. Friday 5: Five questions each Friday. Answer the questions on your own blog. 

13. Saturday 9: This is similar to Friday 5, only the 9 questions have to do with a song. (It appears that the questions are posted on Thursdays, giving you plenty of time to have the post ready for Saturday.) 

What other blog hops or memes are there? I know there are way more than these.