It's been quite a week! Where to start, where to start...Well, after the dramatic childcare experience of a couple weeks ago, I'm pleased to share that Charley has been happy as can be at her new school. She's busy running around all day, and every day, when I pick her up she tells me how much she loves her school and her teachers. It's such a relief! I mean, there's really nothing better for a parent than knowing your child is happy. And BOY is she happy. Which makes me happy. Doesn't get much better than that!
Last week, I found out my contract has been renewed for another school year. As a child, I remember clearly, that teachers at my elementary school were there when I started in 1st grade, and still there when I moved onto middle school in 6th grade. Everyone seemed to stay in pretty much the same position. What I didn't realize as a child is that for teachers, every year can be a new adventure, ESPECIALLY before they reach tenure status. With that said, last week was a very stressful week at work. All of us who aren't tenured weren't just curious about whether or not we would be teaching in the same area...but we were wondering about whether or not we would have jobs! Thankfully, I'll be working for the district again next year, and I'm excited to actually have the opportunity to work with a class for an entire school year, instead of taking a position in the middle of the year. I feel very fortunate.
Although it was kind of a stressful week, it was fun, too. I'm taking part in a little variety show, with some of my fellow teachers, and last week we held a dress rehearsal. Charley tagged along as we went to dinner and practiced our performance. It was really fun. I had a chance to get to know a whole group of people at the school who I hadn't really known that well, and it was nice! I genuinely enjoyed the conversation, and practicing our little skit. We were supposed to perform last Friday night, but was rescheduled due to the snow day. That's right, I said SNOW DAY. There was so much snow on Friday, many people couldn't get out of their homes until 10 or 11 in the morning. I was lucky, and got plowed out early. So, even though it was a snow day, I decided to get some work done. It's so nice to have some time to do paperwork, without kids in the classroom. It was relaxing, and productive. It was great!
Over the weekend, I took Charley to ClubKid and got together with a couple of girlfriends for a couple of hours. It's so rare for me to have Charley-free time, but it was nice to have some uninterrupted adult conversation. It was a really great weekend for me, overall. Even though I worked quite a bit, I got a little bit of time to myself, had two playdates with one of Charley's girlfriends, and had an unexpectedly deep conversation with an old friend. I love when conversations delve deeper than the superficial nonsense. It shows a real level of trust and friendship, and I appreciate that. I love that I have friends who I can be that way with.
This week at the school has been interesting so far. Yesterday, one of my students mentioned that he couldn't get the songs from Frozen out of his head. My response? "Just let it go. Let it go." He laughed hysterically, and said, "You're giving me a hard time, Ms. P!" I mentioned this conversation to one of the paras who works with the student, because I really enjoy celebrating the fun, positive moments I have with my students in the classroom. I was working with the same student later in the day, and when the para walked in, the student turned to her and said, "Ms. P is teasing me!" His comment was followed by a snicker. The whole room erupted in laughter, though, when the para turned to him and said, "Sometimes, you have to just LET IT GO!" I laughed so hard, I cried, because he had NO IDEA that she knew about our prior conversation. I share a lot of great moments with my students, but when everyone is happy and laughing together... I can't beat that! The week has also had it's difficult moments, but somehow, my kiddos have seemed to turn their lows and their difficulties around for the most part, and for me, that's success!
Sidenote: This week I started walking around the school, for exercise, with several of my co-workers. Two of us were walking on Monday, and within 5 minutes, there were four of us. It was great! We had a chance to talk about our days, while getting a few minutes of exercise in. On Tuesday, there were 8 or 9 of us walking laps around the building. All of the kids who stayed after for extended day classes, were asking if all of the teachers walk around the school every night! It was probably amusing to watch. One teacher wanted to stop walking early, but another teacher went ahead of her and locked her classroom door, so she couldn't leave early. I loved it! It's just really nice to have that time to get to know my co-workers a little bit better. Many of them live in the Forest Lake area, and I'm enjoying building those connections, considering I'm planning to move that direction in the next couple of months. Speaking of which, I'm looking for a townhome or rental home in the Forest Lake area...not necessarily right in the city (I'm not looking to be neighbors with my students), but in the vicinity. My next step? Finding a place! That's the goal for this weekend. Alright, back to my night. Have a good week!
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