Berkelium

So much for posting more over my Spring Break...today is the last day before the 4:30 a.m. wake up onslaught begins 5 days a week (it was 4 previously) and I am dreading my final few hours before having to go to bed. It's not so much that I dread going back to school, I am definitely excited to see my kids, but the monotony of waking up, commuting there, teaching, commuting back, and school work just gets so tiresome and boring. Only two more months until I feel like a human again :)

This break was a nice reminder that school is not my life. While I still had university classes to attend and meetings to go to, I got to spend some quality time with some friends - I can't explain to you how rejuvenating it was to see friendly faces that didn't want to hear about school. Maybe I should have done more lesson planning, or write that 20 page paper looming over my head, or write a cover letter and apply for jobs, but there is something about the word "break" that makes you resistant toward being proactive with school work. Instead I cleaned my apartment, got back to baking, and high tailed it to New York to just get away from Michigan. No complaints...until tomorrow...

So here's to the end of break and the start of teaching 5 days a week with my self-made lesson plans. We'll see if I have any hair left in two months!

Fun Fact: Berkelium was named for the University of California - Berkeley. The scientists who discovered berkelium also discovered the next element californium. When asked why they didn't name the elements with californium first and berkelium second, the scientists mentioned that they were worried another University of California school would discover the next element!

Manganesium

Teachers tell you that if you can survive February, you've weathered the storm. Teachers should also tell you that teaching is a walk in the park to add on to the lies they've just told you...

March was probably the most difficult month for me to get through, as you might have expected from my absence in blogging. I took on more responsibilities, slept less, and forgot that I was Ms. Labbate not Megan once or twice. But all is well in Michigan and I could not be more grateful for SPRING BREAK!

In my "March Madness" here were some highlights:

I now realize why teachers feel so compelled to squeal when given reams of paper. My school went through a phase where the administration announced that there would be no more paper bought this year and I felt like all of the teachers turned into hoarders, taking and hiding whatever paper they could get. The good news - the administration relinquished and ordered more paper.

People were not kidding about spring fever. The second the sun comes out, your kids go crazy. I felt like a vampire with the shades constantly down to keep my kids from looking out the windows. However keeping the window shades down does not keep your students from sitting in the sinks...yeah, that one still boggles my mind too. 

Anyway, look for more posts this week. With break and the NY Times posting the most amazing articles when I couldn't blog, I have been re-inspired to write a bit!!

Fun Fact: Manganesium is not an element on the periodic table. Happy April Fools Day!!