What a crazy month. What a crazy WEEK, even. So far this week, I have had a meeting before school every day AND a meeting after school every day, as well as a sub for the second half of one day (and I'll have a sub in the morning tomorrow). Mr. Chandler has similar issues this week -- basketball supervision after school, a 3-hour class with a giant project due, etc. On top of everything, he has a sister who flew in from Africa and subsequently went into labor (long story), causing the whole family to gather at the hospital. I'm hoping he doesn't expect to be visiting her today, as I have a meeting in 15 minutes.
Winter break is fast approaching, and in spite of all the crazy, my students are holding up well. They are calm and focused, which is rare during normal weeks and downright miraculous this week. This is good because we have a LOT to finish before they leave for two weeks. Originally, I had grand plans of wrapping up a compare/contrast essay with them by the end of this week, but we're just not going to be ready. I could rush it by skipping the practice round we're doing in social studies... but it would be at the expense of their mastery of this particular writing skill, and I don't think that's wise. Fortunately, it occurred to me that it would not be such a bad thing for me psychologically (or schedule-wise) if I had to give them the first two days in January to finish up their essays. Hm... No lecturing, no activities, very little explanation, even... just students writing. I think I can handle that. That means I will be assigning their rough drafts as homework over winter break, which suits me just fine and makes their lives slightly easier.
In other news, I have once again been invited to go to the dance on Friday with one of my students. (And, again, I said no, although I managed not to laugh this time.) The other bit of seasonal middle school mischief this week is the "winter gram" sale at the student store. Students pay $1 to send a small card and a candy bar to another student. The winter grams are delivered every day during 7th period, so I get to read all the cards before I give them to the students. (I've substituted fake names on these examples to protect student identities.) Yesterday, there was one in my class that said, "To Jane. Here's some candy. From Jane." It's probably easier to send one to yourself than to get someone else to send it to you, right? I also saw one that said, "You're awesome. Love, Mom." That's sweet! Perhaps the most memorable card, although slightly depressing, was the one that said, "To Jim. I just want to be friends, sorry. From Jane." Dumped by winter gram... I don't know how a kid gets over that.
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