Today was my last day of pre-planning - I had SEVEN days of in-service (yes, seven, count 'em, seven!) and still did not have enough time to get everything done that I needed to. Students return on Monday - my summer break is over. It definitely went by too fast, and it is not like I did a whole lot during that time. I attended two CI conferences: CI Iowa in mid-June, and CI Summit towards the end of July. The rest of the time I was basically a bum hanging out.
However, as unprepared as I feel for Monday (does anyone ever feel 100% prepared for the first day of school?), I will admit that I do feel a sense of joy about it. Weird, huh? As much as I am still wanting my summer break to continue and as exhausted as I am at the moment from pre-planning, I am excited to be back in the classroom. I am excited to implement so many new strategies which I learned this summer. I am excited to further my journey into purposeful communication. I am excited to meet my students (of which I probably only know about 20% of them from last year) and to see them acquire Latin this year.
I am certain that I will get no sleep on Sunday night and that on Monday morning before the 1st period bell rings, I will be an absolute nervous wreck. But after 28 years of teaching, I also know that once that bell rings and I open my mouth to welcome my students, I will instantly be back in teacher mode and ready to start.
So for those of you who are starting school or have already started, I wish you joy too. And for those of you who do not start until Labor Day and still have a month left, enjoy your time away from students, and when my school year is finished before Memorial Day, I will think of you as you labor until mid-June haha!
