Subsitute teacher = second class citizen

This week is teacher appreciation week.

If you can read this, thank a teacher. :)

Any way, the school that I am working at this month is doing all sorts of stuff this week for the teachers.

Yesterday was breakfast. Which was nice, there was a ton of food, fruits, doughnuts, bagels, juice, coffee, tea.

Today was an hour long Italian lunch, brought in. The classes were supervised by aides and non-homeroom teachers so that the homeroom teacher could have an hour to eat and socialize. The classes were at lunch for 30 minutes of that hour, so it wasn't too much for the others to do (plus they all got lunch the hour that they were not in a class, so either from 11-12, or 12-1).

The original schedule for lunch came out, and every class was covered.

Then yesterday afternoon (when I had a migraine), a new schedule came out. This time for the two of us that are long term substitutes finishing out the year for other teachers, both have N/A next to our names for who is to cover our classes so we can eat.

Huh, guess we don't count.

So I went and warmed up my Lean Cuisine that I had taken yesterday and didn't eat, then walked back to the cafeteria and got a lemonade. One of the cafeteria ladies asked why I was eating that, when they had real Italian food down the hall.

I told her that I wasn't on the list, so I didn't want to think that I had the right to go and eat, since I was just a sub.

I did walk down to where they were having lunch, because I didn't feel like eating alone.

Where a couple of the teachers made a big deal out of the fact that I had a microwave meal, when there was plenty of food.

Which made the principal run next door to get the other long term sub to come eat. (with 5 minutes left in lunch time, before she and I had to get our students, because there was no one to watch our classes).

I think if I hadn't gone down there to eat, the other long term sub wouldn't have been invited over. Well then again, she does have a certain attribute that I do not. Oops I did not go there.

Any way, dessert was good, because thats all I ate.

I don't remember what tomorrow is, nothing with food, I don't think, which is a good thing. LOL

I have decided that this principal loves doing drop in observations. Yesterday before my migraine hit she came in and observed the poetry writing session that we were doing.

The lesson was on finding poetry in hidden places.

The county has this entire poetry unit done up for you, scripted even, so that all you have to do is read the script and go along if you wish.

I vary from the script on almost a daily basis, and yesterday was no exception. The script says for you to list your hidden things as: swimming, dog, cat, etc.
Then to "write" the scripted poem on swimming.

One of the students saw my script, and asked me if I was just reading. So I winged it for the rest of the lesson. I still went over everything, but I didn't do the swimming poem (which was cheesy and I wouldn't have done anyway.)

The concept behind the lesson is great, and I think the students did well with it.

I have no idea what the principal thought, because she has not said anything, even though she has had plenty of opportunity to since then.

I did learn later on that she spent time in the team leader for the grade level's room after she was in my room.

So who knows.

I have two parent teacher conferences this week. One requested by the parent so that she can meet me face to face (as recommended by the principal in her letter home), and the other due to a possible retention.

How I am supposed to run that conference when I just met the child 9 days before, is beyond me.

I did write a note letting the principal know that I had set up the conference, and when it was, because she has to be there for the retention meeting. I hope she knows more about why they are recommending it than I do. I also asked that the team leader of the grade invite the EIP teacher to come as well (since I do not have email to do the inviting myself.)

I spent 90% of my planning today on the phone calling parents about the progress reports that were sent home late last week. Setting up the two conferences, plus....

I had a parent who refused to write a note to me about the lost progress report, because her daughter lost it between getting it back from her mom, and putting it in her backpack.

I had a parent basically tell me that I never check planners because I didn't get her child's field day money, the money that she found yesterday at the bottom of his book bag, instead of in his planner where she put it. The planner that by the way I have been putting behavior notes in since day one of being in the class.



I never posted my slim down Friday results last week, because the internet was down on Friday night when I got home.

I am not sure what I did last week, other than a lot of walking in my classroom. I know that each day in my classroom, and at school I am probably averaging 4 to 5 miles, because adding in the walk to and from the school has put me at 7.3 and 7.75 miles yesterday and today (I wore my pedometer both days). It is about 0.8 miles to school from the house if I don't cut through the park, and about 0.7 if I cut through the park (which I did with my migraine yesterday). So overall, I am getting a work out by walking.

Now that the pool is open, I want to start going every day that I can. Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday for sure (providing that my hours at Lowes allow for it on the weekends).