First Day

Today was our first day that all teachers were required to report. We met with the whole staff (like 30 teachers) until noon, then had the afternoon to work in our rooms. And boy oh boy, is there work to be done in our rooms. We have open house on Wednesday, so the room just has to be looking nice by then, but I will not even be close to being ready for the start of the school year by then, but with some work over the weekend, when all my friends are racing at Gateway Cup, I should be ready to go for the Tuesday after Labor Day.

We met with the whole staff tonight at the principal's house for a post-first day party. So we met Jeff from Michigan (first year teacher) and rode our bikes the mile and a half up the hill. We had some wonderful BBQ and some good microbrews. It was nice to finally meet all the staff in a social situation. Then Deb (LA teacher) brought a cake and we celebrated Natalie's #31 birthday. We sang Happy Birthday to her and she received the game Cribbage as a gift. (If anybody knows how to play this, let us know please....) It was really a cool time, and I think it helped her deal with having to celebrate her birthday without any of her friends from IL. She had a huge smile as we sang Happy Birthday, and then blew out her candles. I will try to get a picture up soon. Overall, a very good night! Looks like we have plenty of people that we have things in common with and will get along great with the staff at school!