Can you tell I got swamped??

Guess what I've been doing since the last entry? Stressing out like a true teacher! Well, here June does not mean end of the year parties, field trips, and good byes. We're not even half-way through, so it was Report Card Time! You know what that means. Hours of organizing work samples, assessments, and data. It means doing one more assessment to make sure they really read at Level 24. Does he know counting coins this week? Please? Oh, and the obligatory cold that comes with this time of year - it is winter, afterall! So, bundled up on the couch with the Kleenex box handy and a cup of tea, I filled out the reports on my laptop all through the weekend.

No, there is no report writing day allotted for this. My principal did, however, give us each half a day of professional development time to use. The reports themselves are like ours at home, but the difference lies in the comments. One is to write in detail each unit taught under each content area. We also write detailed descriptions about each child's progress in literacy and math. In addition, we write a summary paragraph for each student. Whew! It was a great process, save for the inevitable computer glitches, frustrations, panics, and near-loss-of-data episodes! But, hey, no worries, mate!

Finally, the reports are handed in on a thumb drive to our Executive staff for review. They proofread every one of the 411 reports. They print them, Glenn signs them, and they are returned to us with beautifully printed envelopes complete with Macksville's school emblem. Kinders even get a color photo of themselves on theirs. There is a large box on the front of the envelope for each child draw a picture before it is taken home. How lovely is that!

They did come to me, however, before they printed mine, and asked if I minded them changing some of my spelling. They needed to change some vowels, c's and s's, some s's and z's. "Practise/practice" and "colour/color." Whatever! You can tell I haven't switched my laptop from American to Australian. Here on this blog you might be glad for that! I love to smile at moments like that! It's so fun.