2 Down, 178 More to Go!

The first 2 days of the 08-09 school year are in the books and we've had a good start to the year. The good news is that after 10 classes on the first day, my student teacher came back for more today! We have some added challenges at our school this year, mostly due to the fact that our large gym had been condemned by the State Ed department last June and work is still going on to re-build the walls that were allegedly poorly constructed 5 years ago when the new gym was built. Because of this current construction, my 2 PE colleagues have to teach outside or in the hall or classrooms and the number of buses that can load and unload students at one time has been reduced by 10. In addition, one of the main entrances for students getting off the buses is closed so all 800 of our younguns go in and out 2 smaller doors. The construction project is supposed to be completed by the end of September. 

The weather guys say that today was the last 90 degree day for the year. It has been glorious weather all week, but now we expect some rain from one of the tropical storms coming up the coast. The temps are supposed to moderate to the 70's too.

I'm hoping to get a good night's sleep tonight. The section of Ridge Road near our house is getting a complete makeover and much of the paving work is being done at night. Well, 2 nights ago I think all the paving trucks were driving in reverse because the freakin' beepin' nearly drove us mad! Of course, the weather was such that we wanted the windows opened but even with them closed, the beepin' infiltrated our dreams. And then last night, the pavers took the night off so it was quiet, but at 3 AM I awoke with a cramp in my calf that brought tears to my eyes. I had to wake up Jim to help me flex my foot so I could get rid of it! I think the cramp hurt my calf muscle because today it is sore to the touch and very tight if I try to stretch it. So, I am hoping for a better nights' sleep tonight. Plus, I don't have to set an alarm for the morning-all of which means, I'll be up at 5 AM!!!

Jim will spend this weekend getting ready for his trip to see Tucker on Tuesday. He has a new backpack and new laces in his hiking boots so I guess he is almost ready to go. I think he is going to do some meal planning and make a trip to Wegmans to get some provisions. I will try to make some camping cookies for them to enjoy on their backpacking days. 

I had signed up for a dying workshop (wool dying, not the other kind!), but it got cancelled for lack of enrollment. The same workshop is being offered on October 5th, but we will be in Tennessee that weekend for Michal's wedding. Speaking of Michal's wedding, Corey found out that he won't be able to go because he has a SU cross-country commitment that weekend. He is pretty sad that he will miss the celebration and the chance to be with the extended family, but we will take our laptop along with us and hopefully be able to set up some video chats between him and his cousins. 

So I will leave you with a photo of one of my lovely first grade classes. I have taken photos of each of my classes so that I can have the classroom teacher write the kids' names next to their faces on the print. This helps me to learn all 400 of my students' names. I usually take 2 photos, one of the kids smiling nicely and the second with them making funny faces. Guess which photo this is!!

Hope all is well.