of birthday cake ice cream

The madness of the first few weeks of school are winding down, but not without taking a toll on my health. First week of school was mad. I got very sick and was completely sure that I would have to take a sick day, but I thank the stars about the fact that I survived and I made it through the week, the dance, and the weekend without getting worse. I am still a little sniffly, but one is never 100% when teaching.
We had back to school night last week - on Wednesday. It's a rough day, because it goes until 9 pm, even later than parent/teacher conferences. I begged my kids to send their parents, and most of them apparently did so. I had better attendance than ever, and on top of that it was also one of the best B2S Nights so far. The parents were warm, kind, open, and even clapped for me at the end of my presentations. No one had ever clapped before.
One of my brand new students told me on Friday that her parents thought I "was by far the coolest" because I was so in tune with technology and doing so much extra stuff to make sure they succeeded. That warmed my heart up.
My kids so far have been amazing. My personality-less lower level classes have begun to shed a little bit of their shyness and have begun to get more involved. I am loving my 1st and 7th periods... still deciding on my 3rd hour. They aren't bad, just not quite where I want them.
AP has been a riot. I sat down to plan last weekend and had a nervous breakdown. I suddenly felt so incomplete, lacking, unprepared to teach them. I had a come to jesus meeting with my mentor, and she really helped me. The week went much much much better, and so did my planning. It's a lot more work than I am used to, but it has also been a fun adventure. I really am trying to get my kids to stop thinking about the test and start thinking about what it is they love about Spanish. No use to focus on a standardized test if you don't appreciate what you're learning.
For the first time ever, I sat down with a financial planner. I went to WFargo to do a deposit and I must look very desperate to organize my finances, because God sent me a man who was not trying to sell me anything - just wanted me to organize my numbers. We sat down and in about 45 minutes I had a brand new setup that allows me to save up for school, save up for fun stuff, and have savings that are enough to not ever worry about making my bills ever again. I have played around with my accounts today and for the first time in a long time I don't feel worried about money. Life is good, and hopefully by the end of the year I will have a good chunk of savings to get ready for grad school in the summer and also money to spend while on my trip to Panama.
Tomorrow we have the second-year assembly of Rachel's Challenge at school. I am looking forward to the presentation, and to hearing what my kids have to say.

xoxo,

Bee