back to the grind.

I put off this post because I didn't know what to write.  School was back with a vengeance on Monday the 9th.  My kids were a little bit nuts, as were the teachers, as we all tried to readjust our sleeping schedules after vacation.  It's amazing how two weeks off can really throw you off.  I had been going to bed later (despite me telling myself I would stick to my routine...ha) and eating lunch whenever I was hungry.  Not anymore!  By the time we were all getting back into the swing of things, we had a 3-day weekend last weekend (not that I'm complaining).  It was nice, really...a sort of easing back into school.

Like I said, though, school came back with a vengeance.  We immediately had to plow into reviewing everything they had learned prior to break and forgotten in those 2 weeks off.  After squeezing in as much review as possible, I had to give Winter Benchmarks.  Which I was nervous about.  Because, at the school I'm at, test scores are King.  One of the first things I heard was "Don't let your high kids drop."  Oh, great, no problem...and no pressure.  As I'm looking through the tests prior to being scored, my hopes weren't terribly high.  I'm not really a "teach for the test" kind of person, but am being forced to be to some degree.  I guess you pick your battles depending on the school you teach at.  On top of all that, I had round one of my BTSA stuff due this week.  Oh, and I also had my first evaluation with my principal.  Tomorrow evening and much of Saturday I have 10 hours worth of a math curriculum training.  And Monday and Tuesday evenings I have 6 hours worth of Classroom Management Seminar.  Awesome.  Let's do everything in one week!  (Sidenote: I'm definitely going to need something fun Saturday night and/or Sunday to recover from my training.)

On a positive note, my birthday is 6 weeks from tomorrow.  I was just telling my mom that it seems like not that long ago I was teasing my sister about hitting the "quarter century" mark.  Now it's my turn.  It doesn't really make me feel that old, especially with how often reminded how "young" I am and hear, "oh, you're still a baby."  In every circle, I'm always the youngest...I guess that just means I'm mature. 

Alright, I have work to do, so I must go.  Until next time...