We need a ship

I have started teaching after school tutoring 3 days a week to help a few of my students make more progress in reading and math before they have to take their Standards of Learning or SOL tests in May.  This has been going pretty well since I only have 4 students currently due to the tutoring program through SES funding.  Last week apparently my students thought they would have a little fun.  We had our normal session on Thursday and left to load the buses at 4:30 like every day.  This particular day I stopped in the library with my grade level colleagues to pick out some books for read aloud the following week and books for my students to read during centers.  So I did come back to my classroom for almost 45 minutes since girls always get to talking.  When I opened my door I heard a sound and as I turned on the light I found there was WATER EVERYWHERE!!  I immediately screamed for my colleagues who came running.  We discovered the sink in the room had been left running and overflowed onto the floor.  We found that one of my students had stuffed a paper towel down into the drain of the sink and flipped it on as we left for the buses.  Since the water had been running for 45 minutes it was literally everywhere.

Due to the uneven floor from settling over time and dirt on the floor due to 3rd graders who can't stay out of it, the water ran in a few weird patterns but it was spread throughout most of the floor.  As we were cleaning up we also discovered the drawers next to the sink were completely full of water as the water ran down the front of the sink, it first filled the drawers and then flowed onto the floor.  We called for maintenance and our assistant principal to see what had happened and then began cleaning up as well as we could with only paper towels.  Of course no student will confess and what one says against another is only hearsay.  Luckily all that was lost was some construction paper and foam and some papers that students left laying on the floor.

Since the incident I have had the sink and attached water fountain turned off in my classroom.  Students can use the sinks in the restroom to wash hands and fill water bottles, they can also get drinks when using the restroom.  I will not risk having my room flooded again because you never know what could be ruined next time.  Has anyone ever experienced this before?  If so how did you handle the situation?

Some pictures to enjoy

                                               This is all the way up front in the room and the sink is in the opposite back                                          corner

                                                              Front carpet was soaked

                                                     Mailboxes were on the same counter so they are a little warped

Wow! How time has flown!!

What a struggle this year has been!  This class of third grade is one of the most challenging in years past as it has moved through the school.  I have had several problem students.  The largest problem I have is the fact that a large percentage of my students have no respect, especially for a young small town white girl.  Already this school year I have had furniture thrown,  been called names and sworn at by students and it's only Christmas!

Luckily, slowly things in my classroom have started to turn around.  One of my particularly troublesome students, who was receiving discipline referrals several times a week, has started to turn his behavior around.  It has taken a lot of hard work but this student has not received a referral since before Thanksgiving Break and has even earned a Gold Paw badge.  This badge is a big deal and only given to students without behavioral problems and trustworthy.

I will not describe all the incidents throughout this year but all I ask is please pray for me as I embark on the second half of this school year.  I feel it may very well be rough due to the fact that students will be cooped up if and when bad weather hits.  I will try harder to update more frequently.

In other news Copper is doing great and is great company after a long day at school.  I am ready to enjoy this week long Christmas Break!!  Happy Holidays and New Year to everyone!!

Arrival and set-up

What a crazy few weeks.  I just moved to the Eastern Shore of Virginia to begin my first year of full time teaching.  I am a 3rd grade  teacher in Accomack County at Pungoteague Elementary.  The area is very rural but not really that much different than home.  I accepted the job at the end of June and was flying high the rest of the summer.

I arrived here in the beginning of August ready to set up and meet my kiddos.  First I had to make it through a week and a half of new teacher training and a week and a half of school inservice.  Little did I know Mother Nature was going to add a few surprises of her own along with all that.

After arriving and a furry of unpacking over the first weekend I had a full week to myself to continue settling in and get to know the area.  During this week I continued to set up my new place, took stuff to my classroom at school and adopted a puppy named Copper!

Starting the new teacher academy was fun but scary as well.  I met many new teachers and learned a lot of great new information to help me through this upcoming year.  At the end of new teacher training we experienced an earthquake.  At first I thought someone was shaking the table hard with their leg since at the time I was sitting at a cafeteria table but then all of a sudden I became very sea sick.  As I talked with the other new teachers many experienced the same feelings.  At the end of the day I turned my phone back on to several texts of are you ok?  Luckily there wasn't any damage nearby just some shook up and confused people.  The end of that week brought the beginning of teacher in-service with my school staff and the entire district staff.  Along with it came the threat of Hurricane Irene.  I was under a mandatory eviction notice the morning before the storm since I live in a mobile home and with a dog I was not able to go to a local shelter so the only choice I had was to drive home to PA!  So Copper and I loaded up and that Friday we drove north.  Copper did great with her first long car ride and after 10 hours of traveling we finally reached Centre Hall where we were staying so I could at least get to enjoy the Grange Fair after being forced out of my new home.  On Monday morning we returned home.

Luckily when I got home the only damage I found was quite a few downed pine needles and pine cones and a few small branches.  It was an easy clean-up!  Mother Nature tested me twice within my first month on the Eastern Shore but I managed to survive.

As I finished up Inservice and setting up my classroom, time to meet my students drew near.  Finally today was the day.  We had our Open House.  Parents and students could come all day to meet their teacher and see their classroom.  Unlike back home students do not find our their teacher until Open House.  It is like a close guarded secret, when given our class lists the other day we were instructed to keep them closely guarded because parents were not to find out before Open House.

Today I was able to meet most of the 22 students I will teach this year.  I couldn't be more excited for this amazing opportunity.  I am now ready to enjoy my final long weekend of summer with my family before the daily grind of school starts next Tuesday!  Stay tuned for updates throughout the year!!