First Day of School

Hello!

Well, we all survived the first day of school. Overall, I’d say it was a success.

While I’m always sad for summer break fo end, this was me by Tuesday evening:

On Monday, my district held a convocation at Rupp Arena. That meant that I had to be at school by 7:15 (earlier if I wanted the catered breakfast!) to board a yellow bus to Rupp. We were at convocation from 8:00 until about 1:00 and then we had time to work in our rooms. Then, on Tuesday, we had a faculty meeting and professional development from 8:30-1:00 with more time in our rooms in the afternoon.

Even though our county is in the “red” for Covid, we are still mask optional. The superintendent’s stance is that Covid is everchanging, and we’ll continue to navigate however we need to. The motto on wearing (or not wearing) masks is “Either way is ok.”

This summer felt so short, but it was great to finally see students on Wednesday.

Back to School Brinner:

We had our Back to School Brinner on Sunday. Hadley had dance late the two nights before school started, so I thought breakfast for dinner on Sunday would be good.

I pulled out my tub with supplies from last year (plus a couple of new additions), and set up the table.

I’ve used this same chalkboard since Kindergarten. 🙂

This year, I wrote a few things on the paper “runner” which I think the kids liked.

I picked the kids each up a book and a Bundt cake to add to their place settings. Otherwise, I used the same folder, plate, and napkins as in previous years.

Unfortunately, Travis was out of town, but I set a place for myself too!

I served fruit along with muffins and yogurt.

I also made Shay’s Bacon and Tot Casserole, and it hit the spot.

We all enjoyed dinner and chatted a bit about summer and the new school year. It’s a fun tradition that I hope the kids will let me do through high school!

First Day of School Photos:

We had a pretty easy breezy morning. I did wake the kids up a bit earlier than they will typically need to wake up, but I needed to get those first day of school photos.

This time last year, Hadley was a head taller than Hayden. He sure has caught up!

They both look like they are almost able to drive me to school.

I couldn’t resist Maddie’s (@maddiescookieco) Back to School cookies. I put them out for the kids to see in the morning.

Maddie’s Back to School “groovy” theme was so cute!

Travis got the kids off to school, and headed to school myself. Y’all, I can’t believe this is year 21 for me. Over the weekend, I cleaned out my bedside table (my final organizational task of the summer), and I found some old pictures…including this one of my first year teaching (2002-03). Check out that computer!

….and now!

Y’all, I was tired! Travis had been out of town since Saturday for work, so I was doing all the mom things + all the back to school teachers/mom things. Then, he got home home really late on Tuesday night (technically, Wednesday morning), so just didn’t get the best sleep. Truth be told, I always have trouble sleeping the night before school starts….back to school jitters, I guess.

Overall, it was a great day! It’s still weird for me not starting the year with classes full of students. Since I do intervention, teachers will start sending me students need week. That being said, I enjoyed helping students find their classes, passing out schedules, helping teachers, and whatever else needs to be done. It’s a great way to ease into the school year.

Back to School Interview:

I’m probably pressing my luck with the kids’ interviews, but here are the kids’ thoughts on heading back to school:

Hayden’s Thoughts:

• As a 7th grader, I’m most excited about...being with my friends.
• A goal I have this year is…to get all A’s.
• I think my favorite subject will be…Social Studies
• One thing I’d like to get better at this year…turning my work in on time.
• The first day of school was... fun.

Hadley’s Thoughts:

• As a 7th grader, I’m most excited about…being upstairs in the building.
• A goal I have this year is….study for every test.
• I think my favorite subject will be…math.
• One thing I’d like to get better at this year…staying on top of my school work.
• The first day of school was… chaotic and energetic.

The first day of school meant pjs as soon as I got home and an easy slow cooker dinner.

I hope everyone is having an easy transition back to school!