Dawn Felagund (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dawn_felagund) wrote2011-08-29 09:12 pm
dawn_felagund) wrote2011-08-29 09:12 pm
Entry tags:
First Day of School / First Day Off from School
Today was supposed to be the first day of the actual school year. It was staff-only; the darlings are supposed to come back tomorrow. However, schools were closed today and tomorrow due to persistent power outages after Irene. (Baltimore Gas & Electric is now telling some people it may take two weeks to get their power restored. Ouch.) I think Bobby said that 45 Baltimore County schools were without power as of this afternoon; although we are a non-public school, we follow Baltimore County and so were closed as well. Also, as of yesterday, our school didn't have power either.
I didn't mind the day off; I had plenty to do. Planning and creating materials for four grades is quite a job, and I want to get as ahead as possible. I have my first two weeks of lessons planned out but still had some handouts and presentations to finish making, and multimedia to find. So I spent my day creating an intro slideshow for British Literature (I'm not even sure some of my students can find the UK on a map, so discovering and activating prior knowledge and filling in gaps where necessary was essential) and a slideshow about the history of early English. The 12th-grade curriculum is missing, so I'm winging it quite happily in British literature; I'm fairly sure the curriculum does not include the history of English. But it should, imo, so since I get to do my own thing until the curriculum is located, then I'm including it.
The only thing that will suck is that I suspect we're going to lose our staff-only day, which means the first day will be chaotic, making copies and getting ready. To say nothing of the fact that I hoped to have my room decorated, and I need to fiddle with my new projector to figure out how to work it with my laptop. (My laptop's sound card is busted. Does that mean that the projector won't make sound either, if it's showing something from the laptop? I have no idea how these things work.)
Tomorrow, I'm hoping to make more materials and also get started making outlines for the special ed PRAXIS that I'm taking in November. Next year, I hope that I can use these impromptu days off for ... well, an actual day off! But that means working my butt off now to get all of my classes completely planned and ready.
I didn't mind the day off; I had plenty to do. Planning and creating materials for four grades is quite a job, and I want to get as ahead as possible. I have my first two weeks of lessons planned out but still had some handouts and presentations to finish making, and multimedia to find. So I spent my day creating an intro slideshow for British Literature (I'm not even sure some of my students can find the UK on a map, so discovering and activating prior knowledge and filling in gaps where necessary was essential) and a slideshow about the history of early English. The 12th-grade curriculum is missing, so I'm winging it quite happily in British literature; I'm fairly sure the curriculum does not include the history of English. But it should, imo, so since I get to do my own thing until the curriculum is located, then I'm including it.
The only thing that will suck is that I suspect we're going to lose our staff-only day, which means the first day will be chaotic, making copies and getting ready. To say nothing of the fact that I hoped to have my room decorated, and I need to fiddle with my new projector to figure out how to work it with my laptop. (My laptop's sound card is busted. Does that mean that the projector won't make sound either, if it's showing something from the laptop? I have no idea how these things work.)
Tomorrow, I'm hoping to make more materials and also get started making outlines for the special ed PRAXIS that I'm taking in November. Next year, I hope that I can use these impromptu days off for ... well, an actual day off! But that means working my butt off now to get all of my classes completely planned and ready.