First Day Hiccups

Today was the big day! My first official day at my new international school. I couldn't wait to finally meet all my kids and put faces to the names that I'd been looking at for almost a week. But as all of us teachers know, this glorious day can never come without it's hiccups and that was absolutely the case for me today. Luckily, all great teachers can laugh and roll with the punches and at the end of the day, those little hiccups always make for funny stories. (Insert Friends quote here, Krisitn. "Funny 'ha-ha' or....") So here we go...

Hiccup #1: Remember all of those lovely names I'd been looking at and wanting for? Well about 30 hours before the first day of school, I was informed about a struggling student I'd have in my class. As I was talking with the guidence counselor about her, I kept thinking, "Hmmm, that name doesn't sound familiar." But I figured I just wasn't remembering correctly. I figured wrong. Upon checking, I realized she wasn't on my class list and that when I was moved 3 weeks ago from a 3-person team to a 2-person team, the class lists didn't move along with me. So my list and another teacher's were swapped by mistake. These kids were placed in my class for specific reasons so it had to be corrected. (After, I might add, MANY people told me how sweet and great all the kids in the original class were!) Thank goodness I don't have to label a bunch of stuff like I did when I taught 3rd grade or I may have cried! I threw the old list away, printed out new names for the bulletin board, and formed new "team" signs for my classroom. Of course, the kids today were amazing and I already feel like they're my "kids" for the year. Ahhhh the joys of teaching!

Hiccup #2: So it's about 7:45 and I'm outside my door, greeting the kids, greeting the parents,---it's all going really well. One particular set of parents came in with their son, talked with me for a while, looked around, and went on their way. All would have been fine, but then they came back. Apparently, their son had some issues with other boy in his class last year and his parents had requested that they be separated. They weren't. And to top it all off, in my completely random way of putting kids into teams, these two boys ended up at the same table as well! A fact (among others) that his mother and father felt the need to point out to me as they got more and more worked up. At the point of being livid (as well as along the way to becoming livid), they informed me many times that they didn't blame me at all. I appreciated that cuz why would I think it's my fault when the dad kept pointing out that the boys are at the same table, not just the same class, while Dad's literally red-faced, slightly shaking, and a whole three inches from my face? Gee, I have no idea. (Personal bubble, people!) Mind you, at this point my day hasn't even technically started yet. Ahhhh the joys of teaching!

Aaaannd finally Hiccup #3: We've made it through the first ten minutes of class, through all the craziness of "Where do I put my folders?" and "I need to sharpen my pencil." (Pencil sharpening: the freakin bain of my teaching exhistence. Side note: found out at that precise moment that my $60 pencil sharpener isn't working.), I get around to showing the powerpoint I put together for my students. To my parents, siblings (& spouses), best friends, niece and nephew, you all made the cut! The kids are loving it, Drew and Paige are a huge hit, and I'm about halfway through when I hear a sound resembling coughing/clearing of the throat. I look over and one of my students who's new to ASD has his head down. It pops right back up, he looks at me, and we're good. Back to the powerpoint. About two slides later, I hear the same sound...only this time it's a tad bit jucier. About two seconds after that, the kid next to him shoots his chair away from the table and stands up cuz THAT'S RIGHT: new kid just blew chunks. He did a great job of pretty much keeping the mess in his lap, the kids were really nice about it, and he actually seemed a little "hey man, whatever" about the whole situation so I gotta give him props. I do find it ironic, however, that I made it through over four years of teaching both preschool and third grade before I had a puker in my room...and even then, it only happened once. But the FIRST FREAKIN DAY of 5th grade? BAM! Chunks. Ahhhh the joys of teaching! 

Despite all the hiccups, it really was a great first day. There will definitely be some challenges with a few of the struggling kids, but it a way, I'm glad to have them. It was a bit intimidating going to a school with such high academic standards and after my last job, I have really grown a heart for the kids who ones it doesn't all come easy to. This way, I get the best of both worlds. 

Thanks, Jen for literally kicking me out of work today and ordering me to go home cuz I was exhausted! Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings :) G'night all!