Ahh... almost Friday!!!

So today was interesting. In the morning, feeling quite down, I told the class that I wasn't feeling good. They asked what was wrong. I lied: "I'm getting sick," I had responded. The truth was that I just didn't want to be here.

On the upside, the class had a good day with the sub yesterday (!!). That makes me very happy. I even called the school during lunch yesterday to see how the class was; I was paranoid. They were good, so they earned another day towards a PARTY!! (They have 3 of the required 20 days... at this rate, we won't have a party until March!) I realized yet again that I actually like my class. Definitely makes things nicer.

One of "the usual suspects" gave me an exceptionally hard time today. He was yelling, throwing things, out of his seat, talking constantly, etc. ALL day. I sent him with his work to the library for 30 minutes. It was- no kidding- the best 30 minutes of the day. After school, my assistant/mentor and I talked about him. He's already on an IEP, but we agreed that he needs to be reevaluated for a behavior plan. My mentor believes he should be in a self-contained classroom, not mine. Yay! He also just had his meds changed, so it'll take a few weeks to see how they work.

Of note today: was checking my school mailbox at the end of the day, and there were 2 posters on the school's front doors. The posters had the smiling faces of 2 sex offenders living in the nearby area. TWO. One guy, only 18 years old, is a Level 2 (moderate threat) offender; the other, 58, is a Level 3 (severe/immediate threat). The Level 3 lives about 10 minutes from my house. Awesome.

Finally, we have a school board meeting tonight that the new teachers are required to attend. I've learned that the reasons are part political, part publicity-related. Joy. Fortunately, the meeting's essentially across the street from my house. The other newbies and I are going to go out to eat first, which is... now! So off I go to forget the craziness of school! Yay for almost-Fridays!!