Free, but Busy
Report cards are done. Yay. You know I was thinking the other day that I've written 80 or so sets of report cards in my career, but they never really get any easier. Well, except for the fact that they are done on the computer now. Back in the mid-eighties, when I started teaching, every report card had to be written by hand, which was tiring and very time-consuming. You'd carry around these long sheaves of paper and sometimes you'd have to write out the same comment thirty times. It was like writing out a couple of dozen mini-essays. Talk about writer's cramp. It was a glorious day first time we were given computer software to do report cards and I was introduced to the concept of "cut and paste". Or the day we were given a web-based report card where with the click of a key I could give the same comment to every student with a "B" in Geometry or a "C+" in Social Studies.
Yay, free. Now I just have to keep my class engaged and busy for one more week and start packing up the classroom for the summer and do all the typical year-end admin stuff. So I have the kids doing science habitat murals and creative writing "Memories of Gr. 4" books and summer plays. Oh, and long division, 'cause we gotta do math right up to the bitter end :). I've learned my classroom is being used for summer school classes, too, so it's important to get all my stuff packed up really tight.
Tomorrow night is the School BBQ. I'll be spending most of the night scooping snowcones. I'm also helping out with the student Talent Show. We have a threat of rain, so we'll have to see what kind of an impact that has on the event. Things might get moved inside pretty quickly if the weather doesn't cooperate, though that would be a shame.
Working with a bunch of Gr. 8 girls to prep music for their official graduation ceremony next Wednesday night. I'll be playing "When The Lights All Shine", a song I first taught to this group back when I taught many of them in Gr. 5. It's cool they still like it well enough to pick it for their grad. Last year the Gr. 8's rewrote the lyrics to the song to include the names of all the students in the graduating class and this year's group decided to do the same thing. It's sounding really good. Kind of last minute they've decided they want to sing Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)", so good thing I'd already worked it up with UT (though I miss Deb's penny whistle :)). I went through it with the girls yesterday and it's coming together well, too.
Busy times, but the year is coming to an end so quickly!
Yay, free. Now I just have to keep my class engaged and busy for one more week and start packing up the classroom for the summer and do all the typical year-end admin stuff. So I have the kids doing science habitat murals and creative writing "Memories of Gr. 4" books and summer plays. Oh, and long division, 'cause we gotta do math right up to the bitter end :). I've learned my classroom is being used for summer school classes, too, so it's important to get all my stuff packed up really tight.
Tomorrow night is the School BBQ. I'll be spending most of the night scooping snowcones. I'm also helping out with the student Talent Show. We have a threat of rain, so we'll have to see what kind of an impact that has on the event. Things might get moved inside pretty quickly if the weather doesn't cooperate, though that would be a shame.
Working with a bunch of Gr. 8 girls to prep music for their official graduation ceremony next Wednesday night. I'll be playing "When The Lights All Shine", a song I first taught to this group back when I taught many of them in Gr. 5. It's cool they still like it well enough to pick it for their grad. Last year the Gr. 8's rewrote the lyrics to the song to include the names of all the students in the graduating class and this year's group decided to do the same thing. It's sounding really good. Kind of last minute they've decided they want to sing Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)", so good thing I'd already worked it up with UT (though I miss Deb's penny whistle :)). I went through it with the girls yesterday and it's coming together well, too.
Busy times, but the year is coming to an end so quickly!