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A Crazy Day

Today was “one of those days”. The morning started off exceptionally well. The kids were great and we cruised right along in our reviewing and reading of The Most Dangerous Game. The Yearbook students are making a world of progress in their work selling yearbooks – this week is the cheapest time to purchase a Governor Yearbook so check out CBAYearbook.com.

Then fourth block rolled around and the planets must have been in perfect alignment for everything to happen at once. A young lady cut her finger on her binder. This was not your normal paper cut. Another young lady with a low tolerance for this type issue was upset and got sick. While all this was going on, the class worked on their vocabulary so it wouldn’t be homework. The housekeepers came in to clean up. Mrs. Overby came in to help out as a first responder. And 30 minutes into the process we had just about gotten everything ready to move forward. Then we had a fire drill. So when we get back we have a couple of administrators stop in to check and make sure everything was ok and a phone call or two to make to keep the parents informed. Then as we began again to get underway several of the students left for an orientation at the Media Center. And then the sneezing started. Being a person who has some allergy issues I feel for the kids when they begin the sneezing. They can’t help it and some of us are louder than others in that department.

I can say for the most part the kids handled it all very well today. They were helpful and very kind to each other and along with their flexibility this attribute will serve them well in life.

The thing I still love most about my job besides watching the students grow up and become positive and enthusiastic individuals is that no day is ever just a routine. Tomorrow will present even greater opportunities...

Posted by hlperson at 03:57 PM | Comments (0)

Back to School...

Our status is back to school and progressing well. We have worked on getting our materials organized and setting up our routines as well as our structure in order to increase effectiveness throughout the semester. Our notebooks are put together and we are doing our daily journaling. Tomorrow we will begin our first reading of The Most Dangerous Game and start our first Vocabulary unit.

We have discussed some of the issues the freshmen are having and they seem most bothered by the overcrowding they are experiencing in the hallways and across campus. The transition from an outdoor campus to interior hallways packs the students in tightly but as people get adjusted to the routine the paths will be more direct and the passageways will open up. The anxieties of the move to high school are slowly falling away as the students become more accustomed to the campus, their teachers, and the coursework.

I encourage you to check back often and see all the things going on in class and check out the homework on the classroom calendar. Being in the know is a sure way of ensuring success.

Posted by hlperson at 02:08 PM | Comments (0)

Beginning Anew

This school year has started off very well in my opinion. The enforcement of the student dress code was met by some trepidation by many of the students but it really has been a positive. The young gentlemen look different but gone are the super long t-shirts that looked a lot like dresses to me. It will take some getting used to for the students but all in all it has been a very positive change.

The students in my English 9 classes have been learning how I like things done in class. We have organized our notebooks and learned how to work our classroom server and computers. Tomorrow we will be taking some photographs for our autobiographical poems. These short poems should be completed this evening so that we can get them typed up and printed out before this week is over. This assignment allows me to better get to know the students and allows them to use the available classroom technology first hand.

We also began our Introduction of the Vocabulary we will be working on this semester. Being able to break down words into their individual pieces and parts as well as from the context of how they are written will serve the students well on standardized testing and with numerous informational reading challenges in life.

To say I am pleased with the beginning of the year is an understatement. Being out of the classroom last year makes returning to the “trenches” even more exciting. I look forward to a great year!

Posted by hlperson at 01:22 PM | Comments (0)