Another Month Bites the Dust

I have had all the greatest intentions of being a better blogger once school was over for the summer. And yet, June is almost over, and I'm just barely getting around to it. I blame road trips. They are just too darn appealing once the kiddies return to their homes for an entirely blissful summer. As a result of my slackerness, I present a summary of the highs and lows of the month of June.

1. New Coworkers

Near the end of May, one of my particularly memorable (and not always in a good way) coworkers informed me that she would be changing schools next year. With the other "memorable" coworker retiring, that left me and my favorite coworker (and that title isn't assigned sarcastically like the other two!). I was surprisingly not excited about the prospect of her leaving as well . . . it was more of a relieved feeling than anything. And yet, certain events had to occur to allow both of them to get their last jabs in before they left. Whatever. It's all been below the belt for months, so what's a few more weeks when the end is in sight?

In addition to enduring the "unrestrained" version of aforementioned coworker, interviews for potential new teachers began. Because this particular team member failed to inform our fearless leader of her departure in a timely manner, the entire interview schedule was stretched out until the last day of school and we were unable to hire our first choice for her position. Despite the frustration I'm sure all three of us (myself, my favorite team member, and my principal) felt, I must confess the interviews were highly entertaining. Some of the candidates that did not make the cut included a clown and a "dude" (according to my principal . . . she said he was too much of a "dude" for her liking). Fortunately, there were a few good grapes in the bunch, and we were able to hire someone on the last day of school. This next year will be his first year of teaching and we all have a good feeling about the contributions he can bring to our team. I suppose it's our version of "out with the old and in with the new!"

2. The Insanity of New Responsibilities

Several years ago I wrote a grant to get ukuleles in my classroom. I've had all these great plans to integrate music into my teaching, but it has yet to happen. Next year, I'll be jumping into the musical realm with both feet . . . and hope I don't fall off the bottom of the staff. Our school has an after school chorus, which to this point has been the "baby" of my now retired coworker. As insane as it is, I have volunteered to attempt the role of chorus master . . . along with one of my coworkers that took my eMINTS classes with me. I am no musical prodigy . . . far from it. I know that if the notes go up, you sing higher. If the notes go down, you sing lower. That would be about the extent of it! I'm thinking 9 months of "Row, Row, Row, Your Boat" on the ukulele won't be too exciting for the kids. Hopefully my co-chorus leader is more proficient than I am, otherwise this will be a very interesting year for the chorus students.