Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?

Not me, I paid for mine!  I totally didn't realize that my school cafeteria account could be refunded, so what did I do?  I bought 14 cookies!  You should have seen the looks I got walking back to class with my arms loaded with individually bagged chocolate chip cookies.

The Scores Are In

The dreaded day (for me) finally came--TAKS scores arrived. There's a couple of things you have to know to understand why I was scared to see these scores:

1. Only 50% of the students passed their 3rd grade math TAKS test last year. Doesn't really bode well for fourth grade, does it?
2. This was my first year to teach math and on most days I felt like I was just winging it.

As I looked through the list to see who had passed and who had failed, I was shocked to see that some students who I knew were destined to fail had actually passed. It turns out that 73% of my students passed their 4th grade math TAKS test! Now I know 73% doesn't sound fabulous, but considering the fact that only half of them passed their 3rd grade test last year, I think it's great!

The students aren't aware that their scores have come in, but I can't wait to see the surprised look on some of their faces when they find out how they did. :)

If you want to read about the awesome scores Eric's students had, hop on over to his blog.

Apathetic and Misbehaved

Those are the two adjectives I'd use to descirbe 95% of my students this year. It is scary to look at them and think that they are "our future." I don't know how much longer I can stand to be in the classroom environment since I don't find it enjoyable or fullfilling. There's so much more I'd like to say, but can't because this is a public blog.  I guess I'll leave it at that.

Don't miss the MUCH happier post below.

Class Vote

Last Thursday my homeroom created a pie chart (or baby chart, according to them) to show what they think Baby T is going to be. I figured the vote would be split about 50-50 based on what they had been saying, but it turned out to be quite different.


Who will be right--the majority of the 4th graders or the majority of the blog voters? We'll find out tomorrow!

The Secret's Out!

On Thursday I told my students I was pregnant. I didn't have plans to tell them for a while longer, but the opportunity just presented itself. We were talking about how water expands when it freezes and before I knew it I said, "Just like Mrs. T's belly has been expanding. . ."

Absolute silence.

". . .because there's a baby in there." My homeroom erupted! They were so excited and had so many questions. They wanted to know if it was going to be a boy or a girl, and when I said I didn't know yet the boys started chanting BOY! BOY! BOY! and the girls starting chanting GIRL! GIRL! GIRL! I even had one girl call out to the others, "Girls, we better start praying to God that the baby will be a girl!" The kids wanted to take a poll right then and there on the baby's gender, but I told them we'll do that later.

There were also questions about the baby's name. One boy asked, "Aren't you supposed to name it after your father's middle name?" Huh? Another suggested that the baby be a Junior, just like him. I think once we do find out the gender I'll make it a warm-up one day for the kids to suggest a name for the baby. With my population of students, I should get some pretty interesting answers.

Once they found out the baby would be born in August, they wanted to know if I'd bring it up to school next year so they could see it. I told them I might be able to do that.

By the time we switched blocks, the "rumor" had gotten around to the next class. I won't even bother telling you about their reaction. Let's just say there is a huge maturity level difference between my homeroom and this other class. One comment that was kind of funny from that class happened right before I confirmed the rumor. I asked the class, "Do I really look like I'm pregnant?" Most of the students said no, but one brave boy spoke up, "Well, from the side. . . ."

So that's how the secret got out. I'm glad I no longer have to keep things quiet. Maybe I can use my pregnancy to my advantage with the kids. :)

A Supposed Perk of Middle School

From one fifth grader to another:

"I can't wait 'til I go to middle school. They let you kiss in the halls. That's why I like middle school."

Kids Say the Darndest Things

A small selection of stories from an elementary teacher and a middle school teacher:

The other day I asked my students if they liked the Texas Rangers baseball team. One of them raised his hand and told me that his cousin, Simon B______, plays for the Rangers. That afternoon I told Eric my super-cool news. "Simon B______?" Eric laughed, "He was one of my students last year!" Apparently my student's cousin plays for a local youth baseball team named the Texas Rangers. So much for my super-cool news!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eric's class was reviewing vocabulary dealing with the periodic table, elements, and atoms by playing the "I Have. . . Who Has" game. In this game each student gets a card with a vocabulary word and a non-matching definition. The game works its way around the room as each student reads his card aloud after hearing the definition for his vocabulary word. A card might read, "I have an electron. Who has a positively charged particle?"

As the game made its way around the room today, one student read out the following definition,"Who has the name for the rows in the periodic table?" A boy, who realized his card had the vocabulary word on it, unwittingly called out "I have a period!" Haha! Needless to say the game came to a screeching halt while the students AND teacher had a much needed laugh.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Each of my students has a planner to write down their homework and whatever other nonsensical things they feel like jotting down. This morning I noticed one of my girls had written the following as her plan for Friday: Watch Smallville and South Park. Pet the cat. :) I schedule a time to give attention to my pet, don't you?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's all I've got for now. I hope those weren't the kind of stories that are only funny if you were there. Oh well!

Parent Conference Day--UPDATED

Today is Parent Conference Day.

Have I ever mentioned how much I detest Parent Conference Day?

I feel like such a rambling idiot and I hate delivering bad news to some of the parents.

Can we please just fast forward through the next 5 1/2 hours?

Update #1: The day is going better. After stumbling through the first few conferences I feel like I am sounding a little more intelligent.

Update #2: So much for feeling more intelligent. While I was showing a parent the student's test grades I realized I recorded one grade as a 50 when the student actually made a 75. Oops! I had to re-average her grade and make a request for her report card to be reprinted.

Update #3: I survived! Now it's time to get ready for tomorrow.

A Downer

I so don’t want to be here at school today. This isn’t like my usual complaint of just not wanting to come because I don’t feel like it. I mean I REALLY don’t want to be here. I feel completely drained. I don’t know if it’s because of these longer hours they have us working this year or the fact that I don’t feel like I’m teaching these kids very much. Having a headache behind my right eye doesn’t help either.

I’m not in the mood to correct behavior, because I don’t feel up to the argument that typically comes along with it. I had to tell a student twice to start a new line in the gym this morning and then he began crawling up to the front on his knees. I told him, “_______, get up and walk” 10 times, slowly, and calmly. He never once stood up on his feet. What do you do then? The parent would think it’s ridiculous if I called, the office would kick the referral back, and I looked like a push-over in front of all of my students. I’m not in the mood to deal with this. Sorry for being such a downer.

Oh and by the way, I STILL haven't had my white trousers hemmed. Thanks for all of the advice though. I think I'm like you Janet. I'm not going to judge if someone else wears white pants after Labor Day, but I don't know that I want to take the risk and do it myself.

Snake farm – It just sounds nasty!

Have you heard the song "Snake Farm?"

Today our AP brought his son's snake to school. He had promised the students that if they got so many AR points he would give it a kiss. I am not a fan of snakes. It's not that I have a phobia; I just don't like them too much. In fact, when our AP pulled the snake out of the box I moved to the back of the room.

After he kissed the snake, much to their pleasure, he allowed the students to "pet" it. When almost all of the kids had had their chance to touch the snake, I decided I'd put on my brave face and touch its scaly skin. Then out of nowhere I hear myself asking, "Can I hold the snake?" I didn't have time to regret the question. Suddenly I found myself standing there holding a boa constrictor (if I remember correctly). Once our AP passed the snake over to me, it really wasn't too bad! Take a look; I don't think I look nervous at all!

What would I do if you weren't here?

A student left the following letter on my desk:

Dear Mrs. Thornal,
Thank you for cheering me up when I was crying the other day. You are always there for me. Thats why you and Mrs. _________ are my favorite teachers. What would I do if you weren't here? I'd probably throw up thats what I'd do. God Bless you.
Love,
____________

Haha. . . Isn't that too cute?! I love that girl!

A Fourth Grader's Reasoning Skills

Today I was teaching my class how to fold and cut paper to make a book that does not require staples. While I was in the middle of explaining the instructions one of my students called out (with an attitude):

"Mrs. Thornal! Can't you please just be quiet so I can think!"

WHOA! If I had been quick on my feet I could have responded to the usually chatty girl with, "Can't you please just be quiet while I try to teach?" Good grief! When I talked to her about this later, she responded with, "Well at least I said please."

Looking back on the situation I can laugh, but at the time I didn't find it so funny.

My Kids Made the News

Today my fourth graders participated in a video conference with a local weatherman. In their eyes he's a celebrity. One of my students told me how nervous he was about meeting someone so famous. :)

The video conference went surprisingly well and the kids seemed to really enjoy it. After all, who doesn't like to learn about tornadoes and thunderstorms? The weatherman even spent 20 minutes answering questions that the students had prepared for him. One of the questions that the kids thought was most important to ask was "What do you do if a tornado is coming towards the news station?"

About ten minutes into the conference, the weatherman asked us to wait just a second while he listened to the information that was coming to him through his earpiece. He then announced that our county was just put under a tornado watch. It was serious, not just a part of his show, and the wide-eyed look on some of the kids' faces was priceless. How appropriate for a conference named Project Tornado!

At the end of the video conference a group picture was taken so it could be aired on the evening news tonight. Let me tell you, that's a pretty cool thing when you're in elementary school.

Here's a picture of the group, all 60 of them, holding up their weather booklets during the conference. Below the picture is a statement the weatherman put on his website in regards to our group. I must say that I am quite proud of them!

Super job! This was a well-prepared group of 4th graders. I am always impressed with students who come to the session so well prepared. Thank you so much for sharing these students with me. I have to get to the studio now and check on the latest updates on the weather system that is moving into our area. Kudos!

No biggie, there's just ice on the road.

Issued by The National Weather Service
Bell County, TX
5:31 am CST, Wed., Jan. 28, 2009

... SLICK AND ICY ROADS AND WALKWAYS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH LATE MORNING...

Did TISD delay school?

No.

I was counting on the ice for a couple extra hours of sleep. :(

Update:

Eric just went outside to see how much ice was on his truck. He can't even get his truck door open. Haha! I told him he should call his principal and tell her he'll be late. :)

Praying for Patience

It's been the same prayer every morning for quite some time:

"Lord, please give me patience with these kids!"

Apparently I should have been more specific like:

"Lord, please give me patience with the students I already have. Please do not add a wild one to the mix in order to teach me what patience really is."

A couple of weeks ago Jemerril* joined my homeroom. Prior to him my biggest problems were a few chatty students, one disrespectful girl, and a couple of unmotivated boys. My, my how things have changed! God must be trying to teach me patience with Jemerril.

Jemerril seems to think that he does not have to follow our school's expectations or any teachers' instructions. This means that it is okay for him to leave the room (or the building for that matter!), walk around the classroom calling out student answers on a quiz, talk when no one else is supposed to, and be generally disrespectful.

In moments when Jemerril is out of the room, I realize that I have much more patience with the students that used to get on my last nerve. I suppose that's the patience I was praying for.

Listen! I think God is laughing. . . . Not really, but I do think I've had about all the patience training I can take!

*Name changed to protect privacy. :)

You're Fired.

Those really weren't the words used, but they may as well have been.

My assistant principal came into my room saying, "Sometimes we've got to do these things." Things like what, I wondered.

Then the assistant superintendent of student services came in and asked what my lesson plans are like. I happened to have a copy of last week's plans nearby, so I handed them to him. He looked them over and was full of praise. "I like how you caught their interest by first showing a video clip. . . Wow! Look at all of the detail you put into your plans." Truly I don't believe my plans look any more or less wonderful than anyone else's.

Our small meeting soon grew to include our new superintendent as well as my principal. The superintendent asked me how I felt about teaching lower grades. I asked her what she meant and she said, "Well really I mean how do you feel about subbing or being an aide?" She said this like these were two wonderful options to teaching.

I understood what she was getting at. I asked her if she was demoting me. The answer was yes. WHAT?! I asked her if I could speak to her in the hall. She obliged.

Once we were in the hall I loudly asked her why she was doing this to me. She asked me if I understood that students could hear me and I told her I didn't care. She went on to say that the district had told her they needed to cut the budget by $7/hour. She decided that could be done by getting rid of me. I was beside myself. I didn't know what to say or what to do.

Then I woke up. It was time to get ready for school.

Ewww. . . .

I just got a note from one of my students. She drew a big heart with a banner across the middle of it that reads:

"Blood is the love of your heart."

Umm. . . thanks, but I'll pass on the love.

By the way this is the second post today; go me! You can check out the other loveless post below.

SERIOUSLY?!?!

***CBA-a test given at the end of a grading period in each subject area to determine if the teacher taught the mandated objectives***

Our morning announcements came on and I heard, “This is an important announcement for teachers.”

Okay. . .

“All CBAs MUST be given today. They are due at the end of the day.”

WHAT?!

Special Ed has no modified tests and isn’t sure how they will test all of their students in all of the subjects. The dyslexia teacher is having to test all of the dyslexic students.

I looked at my science test and it looks okay, with the exception of 2 questions. My social studies test is going to be awful. I was planning on having today and Monday to teach social studies and Wednesday to review. Out of the 17 problems, we have covered 9. Those last problems are concentrated on a small section at the end of the unit we were supposed to have studied.

The students are stressed/mad that they have to take 4 CBAs today. The teachers are stressed/mad that they are having to give CBAs to unprepared students. Supposedly this was on the “calendar” since the beginning of the year. My question is, “What calendar??” Another teacher and I looked at the district calendar AND our school calendar and there is no mention of CBAs anywhere.

To top it off, this totally ruined my circuits test that I reviewed them for yesterday and it blows my plans for next week. My plans for next week? To give CBAs.

I AM NOT HAPPY.

Hmmm. . . .

I saw a girl writing in my class the other day while she was supposed to be reading. Fourth grade girls have been known to write malicious notes, so curiosity got the best of me and I walked over to her desk so I could read what she was writing. My eye caught the following sentence that the she had written about herself:

"Cheryl has facial hair."

Hmmm. . . . I hadn't noticed, but I suppose it's a possibility.

Turns out Cheryl was working on a spelling assignment where she had to write sentences for each of the words and the spelling word for this sentence happened to be facial. I decided not to tell her that putting a man's name in place of hers would make more sense. I thought I'd let her unknowingly give her ELA teacher a laugh. I am such a cruel teacher.

A Life Cut Short

Today I was really hoping to write about the fact that I turned in my transfer letter last week. This means that I have a chance of switching to another school in the district, which as you may or may not know, would be a blessing. I have spent so much of my first year dealing with discipline problems that I haven't actually had the opportunity to focus on planning AND implementing the kind of lessons that I would like to teach. Sadly, my good news seems so irrelevant in comparison to what happened today. . . .

I was in the copy room this morning when I heard my name called over the intercom. My first thought was, "Great, as if I don't have anything better to do." My name was quickly followed by the name of one of the other fourth grade teachers. Seeing as how we have discipline issues all the time, I assumed it had something to do with that. When I got into the office I could tell something didn't seem right.

The assistant principal proceeded to tell us that one of our fourth graders had drowned on Sunday night. He apparently dove into a pond to retrieve a pair of glasses, despite the fact that he could not swim. His body was not found until midnight and the family does not have the money to pay for a funeral. I went numb and began to tear up as the AP explained that we were not to discuss this with anyone (students or teachers) until a plan was put into place. Of course being the rumor mill that fourth grade is, word had already gotten around before I picked my kids up from the gym that morning. All I was allowed to tell them was, "I don't know. I can't discuss it right now."

During my planning period (which is early in the school day) the fourth grade team met with several administrative officials from the district. A statement was devised to be read in the classrooms in order to let the students know what had happened. Counselors were brought in from all over the district to deal with the potential out pour of grief.

As the statement was read in my class I had several students break down, while many sat there in shock. My room had never been so quiet. Throughout the day, students had the opportunity to seek counseling where many of them made cards to give to the deceased student's family.

One of the toughest issues for me was knowing that so many of these kids had never been nice to the boy. It was apparent that some of them were regretful as you read their cards. "I'm sorry for being a mean friend. I hope you can forgive me now." But by the end of the day, their regular disrespectful behaviors had returned. It was as though they didn't even remember the lesson they had learned that morning.

This evening one of the other fourth grade teachers and I took food over to the student's house. I've never been in a situation where I had to deal so directly with someone else's grief. I learned that at a time like this, most people just want someone to listen to them. While we were there we were told that there is a trust fund in the works so the family can afford to have a funeral.

Well if you've actually read to this point, all I have to say is wow. I didn't know that I would write so much, although I suppose writing is theraputic. In the end all I have to ask is that you please keep this family and my school in your prayers. I have a feeling it's going to be a tough week.