Wow. This has been an emotionally draining week, starting on Tuesday with the news that a 32 year old mean, who seems to be schizophrenic, opened fire on kids at a middle school close to Columbine HS. Thank Goodness, both kids are going to be okay... however, starting the week off with news of a shooting is never pleasant in the teaching world. My kids on Wednesday were shook up, and asked me more than once to please explain what had happened. I am willing to bet the Rumor Mill was out of control.
With all of the shooting stuff being said and done, this week was also the first round of cuts at my high school. 2 full points were going to be cut... a "Full point" is a person that teaches a full load, but you can cut half points here and there too. No one knew where the administration was going to cut. Yesterday the staff got the answers... contrary to popular belief, our administration decided that cutting from their own department would be more beneficial to students:
We lost an administrator. She will go back to teaching English and our school will function with 3 Assistant Principals and the Principal only.
We lost a secretary - she will now be a receptionist.
We lost 1.5 counselors - now our school of over 1600 kids will function with just four counselors. The full point that was cut was also one of my closest friends in the counseling department, and very well loved among the kids.
We also lost an instructional coach.
... and along with all of those cuts, we are already losing a .3 of Spanish, because that was a number added to us due to our increased enrollment at the beginning of the year... and a number taken away from us because it was from limbo and should have never existed in the first place (even though our classes are already of 34 kids).
We are foreseeing classes of about 40 students for next year.
The only good thing for me (because I am selfish) was the fact that I made it through the first (and smallest) cut. It adds to my hopes of being employed next year, but also makes the second cut (potentially 15 probationary positions) much scarier.
To keep in line with the gun situation on Tuesday... here's what happened at LPS yesterday:
I was sitting at my desk during first period, as one of the administrators walks in and says "are you off? we have a lock-down situation in our district and kids are being bussed here. we need you in the theater." I ran downstairs, and helped count kids, and pass around pads where they were to write their names, ages and grades. We also helped to keep them contained within the theater, so they did not wander around the school. To this hour (9 am the following day) NO ONE knows what the hell happened at Options High School... because our superintendent decided to say it was "police activity."
One of my administrators told me there was a student with a gun, and in order to keep the kids in the middle school safe, they sent the buses that had not arrived to their destination yet into our school. That is all unconfirmed though.
You know, just another average day in the average life of an average Spanish teacher!
I went out to dinner last night with Safko and Shiloh. We celebrated the fact that I made it through the first cut, laughed and ate AMAZING food (no matter what their opinion was!). I got home, and went to bed - emotionally drained from all of the events from the week.
This morning I awoke to the news of an 8.8 earthquake in Chile, and potential for a Tsunami all over the Pacific Coast. Damn. So much for an emotionally relaxed weekend. I am now plugged into the computer, and watching as many news as I possibly can, which is exactly what I did when the earthquake hit Haiti. I am praying for all the people in Chile, but also selfishly hoping no Tsunamis hit in Panama, where my grandparents' backyard is the Pacific coast.
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