All hail, Kleenex!

The obligatory first-of-the-year cold has settled into its familiar spot in my sinuses. Kid germs are voracious and fast--and unilaterally inescapable. But I still managed to put in over 13 hours today!

*sniff*

And of course, to steal a quote from George Burns "I can't die now, I'm booked!"

*cough, cough*

My calendar for next week is SOLIDLY booked with meetings. I might see my kids for about a day and a half.

Right now, I have to go to bed. (Of course, to do that I must cut out all of the things that I laminated today so they will no longer be piled on my bed!)

Hours

I have decided, on a lark, to record the actual hours that I spend in my classroom each day. I'm sure lots of people have done this, but hey, I'll add a hit to anyone who might google "teacher hours" in a vain effort to prove us all wrong.

I actually began this journal in July, when I first went to my new school to pick up the keys to my room and fill out some housekeeping-type paperwork--what username did I want for the Intranet, Health Card and the like. On July 31st, therefore, I began the school year with an hour on campus. Couldn't get into my room yet, however, because the previous teacher still needed to move out so the maintenance staff could shampoo the carpets. (Anyone who wants to survive in a middle school MUST be interested in the yearly shampooing of carpets--this is a necessity!)

It must be noted here, I think, that I have just moved back to my hometown after five years in Boise, ID. So, this beginning is twofold: a "new" town and a new job!

So, the countdown begins. Five weeks out: First contact! Get keys. Four weeks out: First full truckload of boxes is unloaded into my classroom. Three weeks out: 16 hours spent in my classroom plus 6 hours of training in something called "Direct Interactive Instruction." Met the Special Education staff from the district, as well as my own, brand-new building Special Education team. (We're all new to the building. The E/BD teacher has a year of experience in the district, I have 5 years' experience in Boise--so basically, on a whole different plane of existence--and the other two Resource teachers are fresh, new, "baby" teachers. Don't let the nickname disillusion you--they are ALL highly qualified young women!) A total of 23.5 hours spent working on my program so far.

Two weeks out: Two full days of "Algebraic Thinking" training, and four hours of caseload review and management with the department co-chair, a highly educated and extremely talented paraeducator who is an eight-year veteran of our school and our primary link to "how things work" at this middle school. Ten more hours spent reviewing IEP's and setting up my classroom for a total of 27 hours, bringing the grand total to 50.5.

One week out: One more full day of "Algebraic Thinking," a full day of "Welcome to Our District, an Orientation," a trip to the District Office for fingerprinting, signing my contract and getting my badge, and a full-day staff "Retreat" at the middle school. At this time, I still don't have a class list or a finalized schedule--my planning hour seems to flip-flop between fifth period and sixth, and I have no idea which of the 25 kids on my caseload will actually show up at my door next week. Throw in one parent meeting, a two-hour cram of how-to-use-the-IEP-program, and three informal parent meetings during 6th grade registration, and the grand total of hours is now 89.25. Mind you, only about 37 of those hours are considered "contract" and will eventually be added to my paycheck.

And so school finally begins!!