First Week of School

I have survived my first week back at school, and I am being pretty honest when I use the word "survived".  It was not an easy week for me, and I already feel exhasted and stressed.

First, the day before students returned, I checked my computer, projector, audio, everything. I wanted to ensure that I would have no technical difficulties when presenting my first lesson. Well, the next day rolls around, and in the middle of my 1st period class I realize that the audio is not working. It was so frustrating since I had planned to show some fun videos to counterbalance the boring rules and procedures we needed to learn. Luckily, I got it fixed later that day, but still I felt flustered for the rest of the day. 

Also, there are a few students who already caught my eye and are on my radar. I guess this is true every year; I always will find students trying to press the boundaries to see how far they can go before they get reprimanded. Still, it makes classes not as enjoyable.

Finally, I just feel kinda "off". I don't really know how to explain it other than to say: I think I am getting burnt out of this teaching thing :(  I might need to take a break from this profession after this year.... (more on this later).

But, all that being said, I do already love my students.

They are funny!

• One student in my honor's class came up to me and admitted, "You know how you told us to write an essay on grit and growth mindset? Well, what happens if I wrote my essay on grit....like the sand?" (I laughed, I couldn't help myself) 
• Another student asked, "Mrs. Macey, I am reading a great book and I wanted to see if you have the sequel."  Me: "What book?"  Student: "Silence of the Lambs."  Me: "Haha. No! I definitely don't have that book, and I doubt the school library carries it either." 

They are smart!

• We took a grammar pretest and there were quite a few people who only missed a few questions. I will definitely have to figure out how to stretch them while other students are learning some of the more basic concepts.
• I have a student who has already read 4 books in less than a week. Wow! I love that many of these students are already big readers :)

So I am sure that this year at Sunset Ridge Middle School will be just fine. I just need to breathe and make sure I spend a little time for me each day.