Grades

Report cards went home today...


I'm always a little nervous about grades.  Mostly because I don't put a whole lot of stock in them; as long as the students are trying their best (and that's something I can tell), and as long as they're learning, I am happy.  But everyone else expects grades, so we have a grade book.   Sometimes the grades aren't what the parents think their children should be getting, and then they come asking me, "Why did my kid get this grade?"  And then the explaining... Sigh.  It stresses me out.  Anyway.  I'll just have to put on my big girl pants and deal with it.


Before school this morning was a little crazy.  Mr. E hadn't gotten me my math grades on Monday, so I had to write them all in this morning, then make copies of the report cards in case someone lost theirs, then print a separate grade percentage page that I put inside the report cards, and stick them all in the little folder each goes in.  And put them in the mailboxes.  And deal with all the missing papers students forgot to hand in (or had to fix).  But I got it all done!


With the start of the new quarter, we FINALLY got to change seats.  As soon as the kids walked in the door, "Miss H, you didn't move our desks! Don't we get new seats?"  Yep, I wasn't about to move 15 desks all by myself.  "When do we get our new spots?"  After answering that question twice, I wrote a note on the board "We will move seats AFTER religion."  We move our desks in a big circle for religion, so everyone already has to move their desks a little.  I wrote the new arrangement on the board, prefacing it with the whole don't-get-mad-and-complain spiel.  One kid in particular was not happy with this new arrangement.  His best buds get to sit by each other for the second time in a row and he's stuck by people he didn't want to be by (I know because I took a survey of the class... name three people you work well with and one you don't work well with).  But everyone has to go somewhere, and this kid likes to run his mouth, especially around his friends.  So far his new spot has been good.  There are two boys who I think might need to be moved closer to the front... time will tell.


I think my little plants are toast.  I forgot to extra water them for the long weekend... they're pretty crispy.  I doused them with water, but they might be beyond help.  Joe's doing fine though... I remembered to feed him.  Currently, he's under a bunch of his bedding, which fits tomorrow's forecast of rain.  We'll see if Joe the weather tortoise is right!