Top O' the Mornin' To Ya!

Or bottom of the morning, as the case may be, if you slept in because it's been a freakin' long week...by the way, it's a non-student day, which is why I don't have to go in. : )

Today's blog update comes to you entirely in green writing, as it is, of course, that famous Irish holiday that even the Irish barely celebrate anymore. I am well aware that green clashes horribly with my Little Pink Blog, but I don't care.

It has been a hell of a week, to say the least. Monday started with a morning sub job and a hyper-active choir rehearsal in the auditorium. I went home that afternoon and crashed for three hours.

Tuesday dawned bright and early with a rather startling headline in the newspaper that I've told most of you about, and culminated in a long, crazy day.

For starters, I had to sub for an 8th grade science teacher in the morning. I got the "honor" of reading an email from the principal to his first period class regarding the shocking headline from the newspaper. In other words, I got to answer the question, "what's voyeurism?"

Yeah.

Anyway, I made it through that, rehearsed my choir, which was pretty hyper and nervous, then subbed the last to periods for a math teacher.

I was home that afternoon by 3:00, and spent two-and-a-half hours eating lunch, and working on the computer. Then it was back to school for the middle school music concert.

My group was first. Of course, when they started arriving at 6:15, all the way up to 7:00 when they walked on stage, they were noisy, active and I couldn't say more than two words to them at a time. And I was NERVOUS! My mouth was dry, my heart was pounding...it was not a fun feeling.

They did great, though. Our program was "From Bach to Rock," and included the following:

1. Hey Guitar Teacher (a Bach piece with funny lyrics made up for a great CD)

2. Just For Elise (another from the above CD)

3. Yankee Doodle

4. New York, New York

5. Hound Dog

6. Johnny B. Goode

I had different kids give short readings before each song, and a group of girls dancing during Hound Dog. The parents seemed pleased, and the teachers and Mrs. Principal were all very complimentary. The kids seemed better pleased with this performance than our December performance, and I was, too.

So that was a huge relief--getting the concert out of the way. My week settled down only a tiny bit, though.

Wednesday morning I subbed again, this time for a 6th grade teacher. That was easy-peasy. First period watched a video, 2nd period had library time, and 3rd period had a study hall. I know most of the kids pretty well, and they were beautifully behaved. Choir was pretty easy that day, as well. We talked about the concert and I praised them for staying cool during a couple of technical glitches that occured with our CDs.

Then I passed out a worksheet and got busy myself going through their folders. Grades are due on Monday for the second trimester, and I was a bit behind where I wanted to be.

Wednesday evening I helped with the 5th grade music concert (as the 5th grade choir teacher had done sound for me the night before). That was easy and quite fun, actually. I've never worked sound before. It wasn't a very big job, as most of his songs were piano-accompaniment only, so all I had to do was mute the microphones when they were setting up, unmute them, then press Play on Bob's iPod at the appropriate time!

Thursday I went to work a couple of hours early. I didn't have to sub in the morning, which was nice. I sat down and got through a lot of student folders. The high school secretary called to ask me to sub 6th period only for a PE teacher who had to leave for a track meet. Every hour helps the ole paycheck, so I agreed.

By the time it was time to get over there, I had about 15 student folders I hadn't finished, so I got a box to haul them home. I could have gone in today, but the thought of grading in my pajamas with a pot of tea in front of me sounded much better!

The subbing was easy--I spent an hour dribbling a basketball and watching the kids play basketball. Another PE teacher was nearby and had told the kids he'd be watching them, too. No one gave me any trouble.

After school I drove down to Silverdale. I needed a couple of mundane things at Target and I wanted to get some books. I picked up a couple of pithy romances and the war memoirs of Major Dick Winters of Band of Brothers. Can't wait to read that, though it will wait 'till I've finished my current read, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. Then I came home and relaxed.

So here I am, on Friday. It's the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow--all this work, and now I can relax a bit. Of course, I need to finish my grading, but I'm confident that I can get that done today.

The rest of the weekend is for relaxing! I've got a bunch of extras to watch on my new Harry Potter DVD, and a scrapbook to work on.

I am sorry that Summer couldn't come visit. She was supposed to come to my neck of the woods today, but hasn't been feeling well. Another time!

In other news, I get to help out on an upcoming 6th grade field trip to Victoria, British Columbia. I'm excited. Mrs. Principal said I can go along as a chaperone. The alternative would be to sit in my office for an hour-and-a-half, twiddling my thumbs with no class to teach.

So that's my week. Crazy headlines that made school a bit surreal, choir concerts, big-time hours in subbing, and hyper kids. Not to mention a lot of paperwork to see to today. I guess I'd better get on it. I allowed myself to stay up late chatting with Heather last night (oh, the things we come up with on AIM) and therefore did not get a very early start today.



Have a great day!

Cheers,

Meg