March 14, 2013

 Today was my last Groundhog's Day for testing for at least three weeks. It gets a little surreal seeing the same three classes, three days in a row, taking a test that looks the same.

I had to send out a blanket email yesterday after the sixth grade class came into the lab during a test to return iPads, creating a big distraction. One cure for this was to move the iPad cart out in the hall. The sixth grade class proved this was not sufficient by making a mad dash as per usual to get to the iPad cart and then talking really loudly right outside the computer lab. So I sent out another blanket email informing everyone that the doors and windows of the computer lab are far from soundproof and anything above a whisper in the hallway outside the computer lab can be easily heard inside the computer lab. This would mean running and loud talking would be even more of a distraction. Both emails have been passive aggressively directed at the sixth grade teacher because her class is the one causing the problem. My next move will be calling out the sixth grade directly, possibly in an email to everyone, and even though I don't have any authority to do so, I will revoke the sixth graders privileges to use the iPads until State Assessments are over. The iPads belong to the Boys & Girls Club and technically they aren't supposed to let the school use them but the head of the Boys & Girls Club at the school is nice. But she is fed up with the sixth grade always using the iPads, especially when other classes have signed up for them. So I think she would be behind my decision and the principal would probably be on board too. Hopefully it doesn't come to that because I'm not a fan of confrontation, but I am tired of the sixth grade. There are some good kids there, and they are better not in a group, but as a whole, mostly thanks to the teacher, they are becoming a thorn in my side. Moving on.

One of the fifth grade classes put on an assembly today reciting Langston Hughes poetry and music. I almost didn't get to go. There was a kid taking an assessment in the lab and he was still going when the kindergarteners came for their lab time. No more than three minutes after I sent them away, the kid finished his test, so I went down to tell the kindergarten class they could come back but they decided to color instead. This was right as everyone was headed to the assembly, which was in the gym, which is next to the kindergarten classrooms, so I went to the assembly. And it was actually pretty good. I couldn't hear a lot of the poetry but the singing was good. Much better than the middle school choir that came because they aren't going through puberty so the boys can still hit the high notes and sing along with the girls.

For awhile now, after every assembly, one of the paras and I always end up putting the folding chairs away. At the beginning of the year the custodian would do it. Then one day the principal asked me to help the custodian out. After that it was just me until the para started helping. Then for quite awhile it was just us until some of the older kids started helping us out. We still make jokes about how we always meet at the chairs and she came up to me before the last assembly to give me crap because I wasn't there in time and she had to set all the chairs up. There used to be two separate rolly things for the the chairs, one for the tan chairs and one for the brown chairs. Now they're all mixed together. Today I had one section on the rolly thing with chairs all of the same color until the para came along and put in the other color chair. But it provided an opportunity for me to make a joke about integration and her progressive ways. The joke was probably not that funny but I thought it was pretty clever.

Tonight I went and visited the new volunteer kid. He wanted to go to the hardware store to get a job application and the first challenge was finding it. But we did and then we learned that you have to come in before five o'clock because the person in charge or hiring leaves at five o'clock. Then we went to McDonald's because he wanted food and he had a gift card. He got apple pies and a drink and then had me pay for his chicken sandwiches. I also got a small order of fries and some orange juice. It is the first time I have had McDonald's fries in probably five or six years and the first time I have had orange juice in at least a couple years. It was a big night for me. I didn't really miss the fries because I was never really that into their fries, but I might need to start drinking orange juice again. I pretty much exclusively drink water except when I go to Sonic maybe once a week if I have a visit with the kid.

Anyway, there was a permanency hearing today which I was unable to attend because of assessments. The kid said it went pretty good. It sounded like they still hadn't heard from the mother or gotten her to fully relinquish her rights so they put off making a decision on that. If someone did come along and wanted to adopt the kid, however, he would just have to agree and they would be able to be adopted. There was also talk of getting him on an independent living track, which is what kids do when they will age out of the system and then be on their own. The purpose is to teach the kids basic life skills so they can survive on their own once they age out. One of my recommendations in my court report was to get him involved the independent living conferences that teach skills as well as give kids a chance to meet other kids in similar situations. So overall it sounds like it was a good hearing and I wish I had been able to attend.

Now it is way past my bedtime because I wrote way more than I thought I would tonight. Oh well. Tomorrow is an early release day so I will have time to take a nap before I go to the theater if I need to. But I'm going to go to bed now.