Another New Student

The office called again.  Another new student was coming.  When she came in, the secretary kind of just let her in.  No introduction, no anything.  I went over and introduced myself, and asked her some questions about who she was.  (The girls in my class love when the new student is a girl, as do the boys love when the new student is a boy.)

We’ll call the new girl “Maria.”  Maria seemed alright, not as with it as the other new girls I’ve received in the last few weeks.  But it’s hard to tell.  She spoke English, so that’s a big, big plus.  I don’t think she speaks Spanish, but she said her parents spoke both English and Spanish, so she probably does speak some.  She’s sitting next to Daisy (Daisy is so great!) who makes friends with everyone.  So I think she’ll be okay.

New Student, Part IV

We’ll call him “William.”

I got a call at 11:30 from our principal that I was getting a new student.  It sure is nice to get a heads up call.  She also seemed a bit…weird, like something was up.

A few minutes later she came with the new student to my class.  The boy, William, seemed nice enough.  But my principal went all Nazi on my class.  She said, in a very serious, solemn voice, “This is William.  I expect you to welcome him with open arms.  That is the expectation.”  And all the while she was looking around the room, looking very seriously.

Okay, my class doesn’t have a problem accepting new students.  We’ve had 3 new students this year, and 2 recently.  One within the last 4 days!  It was kind of weird, and a bit offensive.  I’ll need to talk to her about that.

So anyway, William seems okay.  A bit quiet, but no problem.

The problem with new kids is that all my empty desks are in the back of the room.  So the new kid either sits in back, or I have to move multiple kids to get him up towards the front.  I know it sounds stupid, but I find it difficult to screw around with where people are sitting.  It’s difficult to balance tables; good and not-so-good kids, smart and not-so-smart kids.

Report Card Resolution

I finally figured out my report card problem.  Well, that isn’t exactly true.  I figured out how to solve my report card problem without doing all that work over.  With help of our computer lady, we figured out that my report card archives that I needed are on my home computer.  So I called Julie up, and she found them for me.  Then she pushed the magic “merge” button, and voila, there they were; all my old work that I had did at home was now on my school computer (through our district’s server).  Wooo hooo!

Did a few fixes, then had them printed out.  Sent them home on Wednesday.  I’m glad that’s over with.  Now just have to do them again before the end of the year.

A Bit Skittish

I’m still keeping my eye on Johnny.  He seems to spook easily, and I think the class has figured that out.  I think.

I’ve seen a couple boys walk up towards him and say something in a rough, loud voice, while looking at him.  And twice I’ve seen him flinch, as if he thought they were going to do something to him.  I’m not sure if they were trying to do it intentionally, but that’s what I saw.  My theory is that they think it’s funny to see him jump, to scare him.

I’ve talked with him a couple of times, and will continue to do so.  I want to make sure students aren’t bugging or scaring him.

Johnny vs. Adam

I’m keeping an eye on Johnny, and a journal as well.  Just keeping track of his problems, successes, and oddities.  Got a note from  his mom today.  She said a boy, Adam,  was threatening to beat him up.  Him and his “army.”  I talked to Adam about it.  He says that sometime they play army together, and at the end of recess they ask how many people their armies killed.  Hmmmm.

Talked to Johnny about that.  I asked him if anyone was bothering him.  Right away he said, “Oh, is this because my mom gave you that note?”

He says they never play together, let alone play “army.”  I asked him if  Adam  bothers him.  He said, “Last Friday, not to day, but a week ago, on Friday, [he used hand signals to help show me], “Adam had said we were bff’s, then he said were weren’t bffs.  Then he kept saying bff, bff, bff, bff.  I told him to stop, we’re not bff’s.  Then Adam said then I’m going to beat you up.  I said you and what army.  He said me and my army.”

I asked Johnny if he was scared of Adam.  He said he wasn’t.  I asked if he likes sitting next to Adam (yes, they sit next to each other).  He said he did.  I asked Johnny if I should move Adam.  He said no.

Report Card Joys

Finished my report cards Tuesday, at home.  That was nice.  Had mostly comments to do, then had to get most of them translated on Google Translator.  Then Wednesday morning I let me principal know they were done and ready to be checked.

Got a note back today.  Among other thanks, she said I forgot to put some scores in the comments.  After getting some things done after school (I didn’t think I had many things to do) I discovered that almost all the comments I did at home did not get saved.

To make matters worse, as I was working to get them finished (for a second time) this afternoon, the report card maker program kept freezing up.  Which meant I had to control/alt/delete, go to the task manager, and end task.  Every 5 minutes or so it would do it again.

After calling a colleague, I decided that something was up, and maybe they could get the archived records from when I saved it at home.  Another possibility was that since the program was freaking out, maybe things weren’t being saved.  I’ll talk to someone at school tomorrow.

New Student, Part III

I got a new girl today.  I always worry when they come in that they won’t speak English.  So when they are fluent, I am so happy.  This girl does.  Her name is Jenny.  I put her in the smallest table, and I just happened to put Daisy there yesterday.  Daisy is new, but she is fitting in so well, and has made so many new friends already, and is such a good influence on the people around her.  Everyone likes her.  So Jenny got to sit close to Daisy, and between Daisy and the rest of the table, they really made Jenny feel at home.

Turns out Jenny’s reading comprehension is very high.  Her fluency is at grade level, and her comprehension very high.  Good for her!  Good for me!

Read Across America

Today is March 2.  Not only is that my mom’s birthday, but educationally more importantly, it is Dr. Seuss’s birthday.  So that means Read Across America.  Guest readers, stories and Dr. Seuss worksheets all day, and Pajama Day.  It’s usually a fun day, really low key.  Did some fun rhyming stuff, toured the school to see everyone’s book drawings and the sidewalk chalk drawing.  Dana came back as the Cat in the Hat.