I'm Pretty Sure It's a Bad Omen

When you start the school year with a cancellation, I'm fairly certain it can't be a good thing. After hearing about Hurricane Irene and the impending "the world is ending . . . buy more white bread" mentality, I was pretty certain it would lead to an interesting school year. Hurricane Irene arrived in our neck of the woods as a tropical storm, but she left her mark with flooding and massive power outages. So, we're starting off the 2011-2012 school year in the hole. Hopefully, our district will apply for forgiveness; if not, I'm pretty sure I'll forget about it come June anyway.

My artsy beginning of the school year

So, the school year is now 36 hours away. What am I looking forward to? A schedule - I do shitty without one. New students - I can't wait to meet my new kiddos. New challenges - but not the kind that make me want to tear my hair out . . . the kind that expand my teaching. Trying something new for organization - working with 7th graders is like herding cats some days, so I'm hoping that a new organizational model will help.

It has a certain elegance . . . but it's a bitch to dry with

But for tomorrow, I'll sleep late one last time. Drink two cups of coffee instead of one. Perhaps knit a little more on a scarf. Read a few more pages in my book. Plan further for my first two weeks of school*. Call the insurance company about the two cracked windshields. And get ready to welcome some new kiddos to English class because school will come eventually.

Hope you all stayed safe and dry this weekend! The Girls officially survived a Category One hurricane without a parent . . . not that we would have been any help, but they did it in style - with Uno and Doctor Who at the ready.

- Jill

* I was supposed to have a student teacher starting with me on Tuesday, but he will be two weeks late. Seems he's a little preoccupied being a volunteer for the Red Cross and was shipped to North Carolina as of Friday. Seems promising already . . .  here's hoping I don't eat those words.