Back to School

Is it Friday yet? No? Darn.

I was right - the school is fabulously organized. However, the multitude of teachers that have had my classroom previously were not. I have spent about 10 hours in the past 2 days clearing out the junk. Everything from student work and old worksheets dating back to the 1990s to beaker trays (who knows how these got into a computer lab) to broken filing cabinets to scarves to running shoes to countless old, useless binders to.. well, you get the idea. I have also had several other people come to help me off and on, one for about 6 hours today. I am so filthy from all the dust and dirt. The school has arranged for special cleaners to come tomorrow morning because once all the junk was removed, what was underneath hasn't been cleaned in years. I even found a scanner that nobody has probably seen for quite some time! One more filing cabinet to go through and then I should be able to cope. I still have to take down the wall displays and put new stuff up, but that is a par for the course (although it doesn't seem like any of the four teachers who held my position last year thought that it was important).

Tomorrow the students come in! Then the real fun begins. I have a year 8 form (like a homeroom in Canada, only 10 times the parenting - or pastoral care as they call it here). I do their register, monitor their student planners, make sure they are wearing correct uniform, teach them PSHE (Personal, Social, and Health Education), set and monitor targets with them, keep track of their merits (given for good behaviour), take them to assemblies, follow up if they are giving teachers grief, etc. In other words, a role that adds an additional 10 hours of work to your week!

The morning starts off with two hours with my form, then regular classes begin. As I only got my computer logon and password at 4:30 today and my laptop at about 5:00, I haven't had the chance to do any planning. Should make for an interesting day tomorrow!