The Last Friday in April!! :)

So I'm excited! In addition to having only 21 days left of school, this is also our last Friday in April. After that, it's all May, which is when school gets out! I feel bad for being excited, but I don't feel bad at the same time.

Anyway, some things of note today:

1.) It's finally warm out!! Today's high is 85, and it feels that it's about hit it presently (at 4pm). The kids were complaining today, "It's too hot! We shouldn't be outside!" (I thought to myself: "You wusses; you're Arizonans, for crying out loud!)

2.) We got to watch "Madagascar" today, which I lovelovelove. However, I was about to lose it at the screening. We had grades 4-8 in the gym, watching the movie on a screen, shown from a laptop and projector. The kids were antsy, and at least 2 students were up every few minutes, asking to go to the bathroom or get a drink or go to the office or do any other of 8 million things that DIDN'T involve sitting quietly and enjoying the movie. Bleh!! The other 5th grade teacher said that she thinks we've sort of conditioned the kids (as a society) to have only 30-minute attention spans. From what I've seen this year, that seems to be a pretty accurate statement.

3.) I met with another newbie & a sub after school to discuss our upcoming fundraiser. Our "playground benefit," as we now call it, will be held 3 weeks from today. I'm a little frightened! There is SO much to do: contacting local newspapers & radio stations, making flyers, coordinating volunteers, collecting donations, writing thank you letters, etc. I'm a bit stressed, especially with our Grand Canyon trip only 2 weeks away (IF we even go!). I will be SOOOO happy 3 weeks from this Sunday, when everything is essentially over.

4.) We teachers received hilarious letters from the principal in our mailboxes this afternoon. The letter reads as follows (errors remain intact):

"4/27/07

TEACHERS,

We are rapidly approaching the end of the year. I realize that both the students and teachers are anticipating this. I am attempting to make sure that students understand that they will be learning and working rigut up to the last day of school... It is important that you stress this to your students so that they do not get the attitude that school is over from now until May 30th. We are already experiencing difficulty with classrooms being unruly for substitutes. I don't wish to cancel fieldtrips but this will happen if they cannot demonstrate control and good behavior in the classroom.

"I would also like to ask that you keep your absences down to a minimum. I realize that you all have things that you need to do and places you would like to go in the nice weather. Please think of your students and consider them in your decisions to be absent. In addition, it is becoming harder and harder to get subs. They too have places they wish to go and things to do. [Our librarian] does a wonderful job of covering your absences but even she cannot pull rabbits out of a hat. If you absolutely must be gone for medical reasons so be it. Please keep all other appointments after school hours.

THANK YOU,

[Our principal]"

Hehe. I laughed aloud when I read it. This week, we've had an immense amount of teachers call off (myself included- twice!). I can't help but empathize with the teachers who are taking time off; if we don't use the time, we essentially lose it. (The district offers to pay us half a sub's pay- $42.50- for each day we don't use, but I'd much rather take the day off and still make my usual $110.) I'm also taking off next Friday to go to my little sister's college graduation. I'm sort of morbidly hoping that the class will have a REALLY bad day next week with the sub, so that I can cancel the Grand Canyon trip. Is that horrible? Actually, if the trip *does* happen (it's still uncertain at this point), it'll only be with about 12 or 13 kids who deserve to be there, so it'd be pretty nice after all. We'll see!

Anyway, that's about it for the time being. I'm actually sick at the moment (go figure!), so I've been hopped-up on DayQuil for the past 2 days. Now it's time to go home, rest up, and spend the week backpacking in Southern Arizona! Peace.