3 days!

I am a terrible blogger! Things keep happening so fast and I work too late and I can't seem to find the time to write. I can't believe it is already the end of October. I am feeling frustrated and sad because I can't seem to catch up, and I can't get all the materials I think I need. My teaching assistant comes only one or two days each week, so I never know what my day will look like. The last few days have been tough. I don't think I'm alone in this. Other teachers and staff seem pretty frustrated as well. I think much prayer is in order here.

Enough complaining. Some good things are going on. Last week I added time in the computer lab and the science lab to our classroom schedule. The kids seemed pretty excited. The computer lesson was just introductory, but the kids will have more time to explore this week. The science lab was so nice and clean when we arrived. We dissected some plants from our school garden and taped specimens of plant parts in our science journals, then labeled them. My students all wanted a bathroom break while we were there. I think this was mostly due to being near new bathrooms. However, one of my children was found crying in the bathroom after an "accident." The science lab looked like a tornado had blown through, and we have a school nurse who refuses to help with accidents. It was a crazy afternoon.

My students would happily tell you the countdown to Halloween. They have been certain that it is any day now since October began. We are having Mathoween at my school. This means that we will be doing Halloween-themed mathematics-focused activities all day long. It is also the end of red ribbon week when we emphasize the "say no to drugs" message. It is a nice change and Friday should be fun. I'll let you know.

Wow!

This has been a crazy six weeks. I think that I have now officially lost my second teaching assistant. I believe she has been let go, although I am not exactly sure of the reason. Nobody tells me anything! So, I've had some more substitutes. Also, this week we had an Instructional Planning Meeting (IPM). I'm including the acronym to emphasize it's importance. This is a meeting that low-performing schools must have to determine what interventions are being put in place to correct the previous shortfalls. It lasts for the entire school day. Many high-level school district personnel and curriculum specialists meet with teachers in various content areas - literacy, math, and science in our case. The meeting is recorded by someone sitting at a computer - kind of like a court reporter. We answered questions about our assessment data and our Campus Improvement Plan (CIP). We gave brief descriptions of what goes on in our classrooms in each of the content areas and specifically what we are doing to reach our subgroups and those students who are performing below grade level. We were all pretty nervous about it, but it actually went pretty well. The district administrative team was very helpful and concerned that we had everything necessary to perform the task at hand. At one point, a huge grasshopper-type beast flew from one of the potted plants, across the room, fluttered around the heads of squealing, squirming teachers and administrators, and landed on the science curriculum specialist. This brought much laughter and lightened the mood considerably. I left the meeting feeling empowered and encouraged.