Firsts

So my past week has not been very exciting. Or at least not exciting enough to post about it.  I have spent a good portion of the time getting grades ready for report cards.  They have trimesters down here and the first report card comes out right after Thanksgiving so they want grades done before the break.  Amidst all this last week, my third graders and I were starting to butt heads again.  As much as I enjoy their silly questions and responses like, "Ms. Halstead, when are you going to get a boyfriend?" and then the response of another student, "I'm psychic so...27.", we still were having a few problems with their behavior and attitude.  It apparently escalated to more than what I thought or anticipated on Friday when one of my 3rd grade boys at the end of the day handed me a note that read, "F*** you Ms. Halstead." (My name was misspelled but you clearly get the point.)  I read it and then it was time to go home for the weekend.  I showed no emotion towards what I had read until I finally had a chance to show Julissa.  Her face was as shocked as I was feeling.  I kept telling myself not to take it personally and that lasted about 5-10 minutes until I was alone and lost it for a little bit.  My heart was sad on so many levels.   First, it upset me that whoever (I had my suspicions.) wrote this knew the meaning of the word or at least enough that they were able to put it in the correct context.  Then I was sad that they chose to use the word on me.  I couldn't help but think about what I had done wrong to bring so much anger and frustration out of a student and onto myself nonetheless.  Finally, it was a third grader! 3rd grade! I just could not wrap my mind around it.  Julissa and I talked about it for a bit after school but our principals were gone so I had to wait until today to talk with Sr. Stephanie.   Needless to say, I came back from school upset about it and then tried to work off my frustration extra hard during my workout that evening.   I was able to put it out of my head for a little bit over the weekend until Mass on Sunday morning when I was praying about the whole situation.

Luckily, Amanda's boss was having a barbeque that we were invited to that afternoon to distract me.  Patricia and I were able to meet all her co-workers and then play with her boss's dog and children.  I held their 5 month old for quite some time! After the barbeque was over though, it was back to school mode.  I stayed up late last night thinking about what the next day would bring.  I'm a master at over-analyzing situations even like this.  After some sleep, I woke up ready for whatever today would bring.  I was almost positive I knew who wrote the note which happened to be the student that handed it to me.  I met with Sister Stephanie about it and she said not to worry and relax.   We talked about the student and I was able to relax more after she said she would talk to him.  I had expected to encounter something like this if I was teaching middle school but not with my elementary students! I was finally able to feel better after talking with her.  Sadly, that student got in huge trouble for something else today so he spent a good portion of time in the office today. 

The rest of my school days have been pretty normal.  My parents come tomorrow!! I have been getting more and more anxious--wishing the hours would go faster.  I will probably blend right in with my students tomorrow and get super stir-crazy by 1:30.  My parents plan on arriving around 2 PM to meet my class and hand them their pen pal letters.  I can't wait to see them! I hope you are all enjoying the fall weather wherever you are.  I am now understanding why people come down here for the winter but I do miss the cooler fall weather.  Anyway, I have to finish some last minute cleaning and getting ready for my parents! Happy week of Thanksgiving!