They're baaaack

It's really amazing how much different you feel when you are well rested and de-stressed. I have to say that the first week back to school was not horrible, as far as students are concerned. They were well rested or something and they behaved. By the end of the week, my stress level was only at a 9.7.

As I already posted, my principal is leaving at the end of the year. Not by choice, which is almost even more frustrating than if she wanted to go. It could end up being a great opportunity for change, but it is massively stressful. I am so extremely glad that Tony, Tom, and Michelle are there to step up and do what needs done with me. Of course, right after I found out about all this I had a mental breakdown and drove to the store to buy ice cream and cranberry juice. The next day I had to leave school early because of a stomach ache - the kind I usually only get due to impending and immediate stressful situations.

We also did our second full-blown lab of the year on Wednesday. It was with salt and flour and water, but the kids handled it well. They were so starved for hands-on activities that they were super excited for even this opportunity. They mostly already knew how to use a triple beam balance, a fact which impressed me greatly. On Friday I did a cool acid rain demo for them. Now that I FINALLY have access to chemicals (a nice addition to our classroom for the last 8 weeks), class will be more fun. I've got 2 planned for the upcoming week, and they'll be even more exciting.

I finally figured out how to get Nygee to behave in class too. Nygee is this totally psychotic kid who is really smart but has severe AD/HD and is unmedicated.    When you can get his attention (sometimes you literally have to say his name 8 times) he is right on point, but it is hard to keep him settled that long. He tries really hard...but just can't keep it together most of the time. In a stroke of genius I wish I'd had at the beginning of the year, I decided to put him on the computer. Now he sits in class and runs the computer if we're using the projector. If we're not, I let him keep a game pulled up so that while he's not engaged in something else, he has a quiet distraction. It's worked wonders, and he's learning a lot more now than ever before.

COUNTDOWN:
Weeks of school remaining - 7.4
Days of school remaining - 35
Instructional days remaining - 19