Nine and Counting...

Days of school, that is ... with kids..... during which time we will have an end-of-grade field test in science, field day, class field trip, trip to Wheels for all the kids who passed EOGs, awards day, class party, and clean up and pack up day (because we have to move all the furniture in the room to a corner) so it looks like I'll have to teach three days . . . what's the point? Then I have a couple more days after that which are workdays.

Three classes left in the current grad class. Last week we spent a whole class period watching the movie "A Day Without A Mexican" - I can't believe anyone ever actually paid money to watch that, and I can't believe she made us watch the whole thing. Ever heard of "clip"?

End of week four and still no carpet after the flood. Supposedly it is being ordered Tuesday and will arrive Wednesday. That means I'll probably have carpet in another month or so - if what has come previously is any indication.

Reading end-of-grade tests results came back and my class was 90% proficient. (only 2 failed and one of them was a point from passing.) Math results won't be back until October. I was very happy with my students because they used every bit of time checking over their work (like they had been instructed to do) and they just all worked really hard. I bought them all "Winner" medals and we did a craft project (designing foam door hangers) the next day. They are now currently allowed to sit with their friends in class as long as they keep the behavior in check ... we'll see how that goes.

Otherwise, nothing new going on .... cokes are on sale at Food Lion - LOL. (four 12-packs for $10.00 and then you get a free 8-pack of 12 oz bottles for free - not quite 18 cents each after all that - so it's worth noting!)

Benchmark Hooha

So I guess after my last rant on testing in public schools, I should at least post some good news. Last week we got the results from the most recent benchmark test our students took ... another EOG test prep. Scores were up, principal was pleased and so now we can all take a deep breath and hope the success lasts through the "real" test.

Surprisingly enough my students scored high on the reading portion of the test. My class usually does fair on the reading test, but always better on the math - I'm better at teaching that subject. (a little more concrete subject matter) Anyway, my class came out 90% proficient in reading (highest in the school) and 82% proficient in math (pretty much in the same ballpark as everyone else). Not sure what happened on that test, but I'm grateful to have a little breathing room.

Still, we are working hard - trying to cram in any last minute things we can and review some things we may be fuzzy on. We have 7 days before end-of-grade testing begins. Afterwards, we are finally going to get to do some fun projects! (that's the only thing kids really remember from school)

With any luck I'll still be around after the scores come back.