School...

Today was my first sub job at the Jr High. I admit, I was pretty worried, but it turned out great. The class was gym and a great introduction to Jr high. The 9th graders were a little mouthy, but I have noticed that any age older than my own kids I struggle at first to deal with. So I am sure over time this too will get easier. I decided to open myself up to the Jr high and the High school to be more available for jobs. With the economy a lot more people have signed up to sub and the online jobs are gone fast.. so getting "in" with the teachers and the school administrators makes getting jobs a little easier. It doesn't pay much, but its nice to have a full day and I get to see first hand the kids environment and who they are hanging out with. I have also found that I get a much better prospective with the girls and where they are. T1 doesn't seem quite so mouthy or moody when I see that every kid her age acts the same way.
Today is also the last day of first quarter. T1 (from what has been updated as of right now) did fantastic.. we might have to buy sushi! She set a goal for all A's, we hope for all A's, but even more that she is really trying, she has adjusted to Jr high well, and I couldn't be more proud of her! T2.. she is doing great, I am hearing that she loves math and she has never said that before.. the new 6th grade teacher is making a great difference for her. I wish I could explain more about her grades, but I HATE (and I don't use that word lightly) the new grading system. They are now getting numbers 1-4 and it correlates with the standardized testing.. So if she does a writing assignment.. it is put under many areas like: clear point, following instructions, spelling and maybe one or two more areas.. if she bombs.. she could bomb in all the areas.. there is not just a grade. They changed to this so the teachers, staff, school, and district could see if the testing took place about where the kids would be. Well.. guess what.. I don't care about the districts scores, I want to know where my kid is.. give me a grade!!! So... honestly.. I really don't get where she is, but I know she is a good kid, who doesn't try as hard as she could, because she doesn't really care to and she likes to talk. This leaves us in a weird spot and I don't know how to reward her this year. But we will work it out.
Lets see.. what else. I got my school photo.. cuz' I am a teacher and all.. hehe.. I don't like it! I dislike head shots, maybe I will post it later. Ohh, I put in a pumpkin for the staff contest and I won first place.. yeah for me! I love feeling part of the team, I like working at the schools and getting to spend so much time with kids.. esp mine! I feel like I am finally good at mob control at the elementary and now I have a new challenge to learn the Jr high.. I like goal setting.