Report cards and other such nonsense

Our school is putting together report cards for Term 1 this week and it's a little bit stressful. There seems like a tonne to do, and very little time to do it. Sure, we have a long weekend to work on it, but really, until 3:30 Tuesday afternoon, there's only so much you can do. I'm in the process of marking a few last-minute hand-ins so my kids can improve their marks, but it's still hectic trying to keep track of who's missing what, what can be omitted due to absences, and what reasons I should be docking marks from assignments. Not to mention reporting to parents, setting up interviews, worrying about how they're going to respond.

I also had my interim report, and have already scheduled my final Term 1 report for my UVic advisor. Although my interim went really well, it takes me back to the stress related to the number of skills and things to think about and cover and master in order to be a complete/competent/decent teacher. Everyday I struggle with things and wonder about what I got myself into. Luckily, I know others have felt the same way.

I think I also need to boost my caffeine and/or fitness level. I'm not sure if the fact that volleyball season is over is hurting my energy level in a negative way, but I'm sure yawning a lot more recently. I think the (albeit limited) exercise I was getting actually helped my energy level during the day, even if it killed it during the night. But I've been much more tired as of late and have started putting less effort into my planning than I should. Not that my classes are a disaster... it's just that more energy could definitely be put into making them more meaningful and effective.

Okay, that's all for now... we'll try to do something potluck related in the next few weeks... this one was a bust. Hope all is well up and down the valley...

- T