Half-Day! Today was a clerical half-day for teachers. It is almost that time. I can almost see the light at the end of this dark and dreary tunnel. Of course, my students were hyper as usual. Number 1 Hyper (Yes, the one of seven with another one on the way) came in late, told me that his father told him to behave. He has told me a couple of times that he does not listen to his mother. And not even two minutes later, he grabbed a classmate's paper and wanted the classmate to chase him around the classroom. Far be it for me to expect a half day to be reasonably easy. The day also started with a last minute prep schedule changed. Notification came on the loudspeaker for 3rd grade teachers to bring their classes to the auditorium; third grade teachers would be meeting with the test prep coordinator to discuss the new materials that would be used for next (school) year.

I used the remainder of the morning for students to work on organizing their Portfolios. I also used the morning for the last few students to finish typing their personal poems. Lunch (for the students) was at 11:00; teachers had to stay with their classes during the shortened lunch period. After lunch, the students returned to class, packed and dismissed.

After lunch, teachers were supposed to arrived in the cafeteria at 1:15 to begin clerical work. Before I arrived, I went to one of the 3rd grade teacher's classrooms to ask what I needed to bring. She was not there, but her para (teacher's assistant) was. She was very eager to help (in her own way). She told me that the teacher was not there, but maybe she could be of assistance. I said okay. No sooner did I say okay, I started getting a "I've been doing this for 20 years, I know what I'm doing, let me help you speech". All that from an okay. She told me all I needed to bring was the "reorganization class list".

I arrived in the cafeteria on time, but no one was there. I thought I was in the wrong place, but people started arriving about 5 minutes after me. As soon as I got settled with the other third grade teachers, an announcement on the loudspeaker informs all teachers that their rooms must be unlocked to receive a free bookcase from a program that the school applied for a won. The announcement was repeated, so teachers had to scramble up to unlock their doors. I returned, only to then find out that I needed to bring the office cards, and my record can, so that meant another trip up 3 flights of stairs. Long story short, Ms. 20 years was not very helpful. Oh, and the bookcases? The assistant principal later came to apologize for not having enough bookcases for everyone.

I was a little annoyed with myself. I was planning to be out of the building at 3pm, but I ended up leaving about 4:45. It was like it was not even a half day. Somehow, I ended up having an incomplete set of office cards for my students, so the first clerical day was spent filling out new cards. I stayed after 3pm to finish filling out the cards, and cleaning up (as usual) my classroom from the mess the students left behind.

I returned home about 5:30pm. I did not feel like cooking, so I went to buy some Chinese take out (beef with broccoli on brown rice). I returned home (again) at 6pm. I ate dinner, and fell asleep soon after. I woke up about 1am. I did my lesson plans for tomorrow (today actually), and now I am posting this blog entry.

Before I go, I suppose I should briefly summarize my Sunday.

Late start. Hot oatmeal for breakfast. I cut my hair and then shaved my head. And showered. I decided to go to the Bronx (to my old shoebox neighborhood), to buy some flavored Cream of Wheat. For some strange reason, the store there is the only place I know that sells favored cream of wheat. I was also planning to do a little bit of shopping at the Target in the Bronx, but the lines there were unreal, so I skipped Target. After buying the cream of wheat, I went to the Staples in the Bronx. I needed to buy more plastic sheet protectors for my students portfolios. From Staples, I went to Manhattan. My plan was to visit my foster father, but there was no answer on the phone so I passed. I went to the nearby discount store to buy some window screens and a plastic black shelf unit ($22). I've been waiting about a couple of months of "we will get some more in stock next week". I finally got the shelving unit. I will now be able to pick up and get a little bit organized.

I returned home Sunday about 6:50pm. I went to the laundry in the building complex. After washing a couple of loads and completing the 30 minute drying cycle. I ended up having to hang up all of my clothes (not just my white shirts and slacks). The dryer was turning, but there was no heat.

Well, I think that is about it...Oh, I just realized some of you (readers) may be wondering why the "Post by.." and my Post Date do match. Posted by is the starting time I first begin writing the blog. Post date is the time I finished.

Post Date - Tuesday, June 5, 2007 2:56am