So close I can taste it! Seniors take their exams this week. Their last full day is today. Underclassmen have 11 days of instruction left, then 4 half-days of exams! I don't remember ever being so ready!
PE testing the same week was actually our choice, surprisingly. We figured we may as well put that in there too..haha! I'm just glad it's all over!
I have to ask--what do you do for PE testing?? I've only ever heard of the Presidential Fitness, which is minor.
The physical fitness test (PFT) for all students in California schools is the FITNESSGRAM. It's administered in grades 5,7, & 9. http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/pf/
You guys were in beast mode! I noticed that when I calendared the 5th grade CAASPP/SBAC, it's only 1 section (and supposed to be given during one class session).
What YTG said. There are a few different options under the various categories, but at our school, it includes the mile run, curl ups, push ups, trunk lift, arm stretch, and measuring height and weight (the spreadsheet we enter it all into uses the two measurements to calculate BMI). It's not a huge deal, but we don't have a PE teacher, so we (the 5th grade teachers) do it ourselves. This year we got smart and did it in stations rather than each testing our own class on everything. Yep! It's pretty different from the paper and pencil test. The testing was all last week and now THIS week is our puberty curriculum! Oh, the joys of 5th grade!
34 days! I have a deadline for my National Board components coming up though, so I simultaneously want time to speed up and slow down so I can make my deadline but have summer come quicker.
We have 4 weekends left. That's how I count it, the number is much smaller. From Monday I just have to make it through Thursday, then I can be happy about Friday when I go camping for the weekend. Then when I get back, on Monday I can say it's only 3 weekends, and the numbers keep going down
This has actually been a really good year for me. No matter how well the year went, though, we're all pretty burnt out at this point. One of my teachers said, "We're runnin' on fumes right now!"
I have 4 days left until the end of my current contract. That is 3 yr 7 lessons, 3 yr 10 lessons and 6 yr 11 lessons! I might pick up some work in late June/early July but I doubt it as traditionally secondary schools don't need subs late in the Summer term. But I have 5 weeks in the US and 10 days in France to look forward to.
20 days left... this includes, 4 days of CAASPP testing, swim day, field day, international day (which is just a morning, really), and a mini-field day... Does anyone else have to turn in keys and have EVERYTHING done on the last day of school? I feel like this is CRAZY! My last school had a big clean up, turn in day the monday after last year. My current school wants EVERYTHING packed and into cupboards, cums done-- everything, by our last day. They are also making teachers take everything home this year... that's A LOT of work!
Oh, heavens yes, and it's the best thing in the world! We don't have to turn in our keys though, those we keep unless we're changing grade levels (all grade levels can open every door, closet and drawer on their grade level, so even if changing room keys don't need to be turned in). We got our checkout sheets over a month ago so we could start working on it. We have to pack up our rooms, and get everything off the floor or pushed into a corner so the carpet cleaners can come in. I'll tell you this, though, I'm always ready to go by the second to last day of school, the last day of school is just a play day, and when the bell rings I grab my purse and walk out with the kids. So it's a little hectic to get everything done, but my summer starts with the kids.
I'm glad-- I've started packing up what I'm not using. My school is notorious for not getting things done. I wasn't able to get into my classroom until the Sunday before a Monday start this year. And even then there were wires EVERYWHERE--- they were in my room Monday morning STILL working. Ultimately, they never even finished putting up all my white boards... Anyhow... 19 days left!
Thankfully, no! While they do require that we turn in the checklist of "end of the year" jobs (i.e. unplugging, desks up in corner of room, etc...), they give the option of signing your keys out for the summer, and the end-of-year jobs aren't too major. We can also come in at any time over the summer, and really are only blocked out - and only in a sense - when they do the deep clean of the rug. I would stress out so much if I had to be out on the last day. Personally, I feel as though the focus should be on the kids first and foremost through the end of the year...I know other teachers who have their students help them pack or have kids work on an assignment while they themselves are working on packing/cleaning...just can't do that myself.
This is my 5th year of teaching, and I've been out by the end of the last day every year. One of the years I was moving to a different part of the state, and my room had to be empty of all my stuff by the end of the last day. Two of the years our school was moving to a newly built campus (two different schools), so I also had to be completely packed - first time we were required to be out by the last day, second time I just did it anyway because I was used to it and wanted to get out. This year, I'm changing schools. We have the Monday after school gets out, but right now my goal is to be out by the end of the last day again. I figure I've done it before, so why not? But you have to take it home? I would not be ok with that. I live in an apartment, so it's not like I have a garage to store everything in. The summer my first school moved buildings, I had to take a bunch home because we were limited on the amount of boxes. It was super frustrating because there was just a tower of boxes in my living room all summer. Traditionally, I've done little of my packing while the kids are in the room, but I do teach 5th grade, so they can be pretty independent for awhile and still be very productive. I do most of it before and after school. I've also worked weekends in the past, but don't have that option this year. In other news, 23 days. After this week I'll be in the teens!
I always tell my teachers (with love), "When that final bell rings (at noon) for dismissal, y'all need to be outta here!"
I wish we could leave with the kids on the last day! We have a workday the day after the last student day. My admin doesn't make us wait until 3:30 that day, but she does say that it "looks bad" if the parking lot is empty by 10:00 AM, so we have to at least stay for awhile. Many of us are usually completely done and just sitting around waiting until we feel like we can get away with leaving. My school is not very strict about how the room has to be packed up, so it doesn't take long at all, and you can definitely start with students still there (they mostly just ask us to put paper over bookshelves, and then stack the chairs up at the very end). I'd much rather have that workday during the school year when I'd actually use it! My current P locks the building over the summer until 1-2 weeks before teachers return. I actually like it that way because there is no pressure to be spending the entire summer working or judgements about who is and isn't there. Apparently some teachers figured out we're the only building in the district that does that and complained, so now we're open all summer. I know it shouldn't matter because I shouldn't care what other people think, but it's still annoying. 13 more days for me (including the workday).
They start summer cleaning of the building the day after the last day of school, so we have to be out the same day as the kids. Personally, I put in about two weeks of free labor before school starts getting my room ready and organizing for the new year, so I don't feel like giving any more free labor once the year is over. I teach 5th, so we always have graduation about three days before the official end of school, so most students don't come back after that. It's super hard to make the ones who do return do any substantial work, since they've "graduated" middle school, so we do a combination of cleaning, a movie (one--I only show 1 movie the entire school year), and class combining (usually, we have enough kids to make one class from all of our classes, so one teacher will take all the kids for a while so the others can close down and then we switch).
I pack everything up by the last day. All of my items are moved into the hall when the room is cleaned, so I do want to make sure they are secured. I will be out of there as soon as we are able to leave on the last day - 23 days from now!
We have to pack up everything as we're moving to a new school, once again. Last year we moved here and now we're moving back (they expanded the campus). The year before I had to pack up because I was getting a new classroom. So this will be my 3rd year in a row when I have to pack up everything, put everything in boxes and label if I want them to be taken to my new classroom (furniture included). The good news is that it can be done in one day. Last year (and the year before) I took one day, and told the kids in each class to break everything down, put the books in boxes, take posters off the wall, etc. Told them if they didn't want to help, just sit down and not interfere or get in the way. 90% of them were working hard. I packed up my own things from desks at the same time ad I was done. The hard work is putting everything up, which will be on my own time, before school starts. We might get a few hours paid, but we need 2 days.
28 days! All of my stuff I plan on taking with me is basically still in their boxes because I never got the opportunity to use any of it. I am also leaving my room in a much better state than I received in it: with trash and dust in every nook and crevice, everything organized in illogical order with broken furniture lying around, and TERRIBLE yellow lighting. I tossed out all of the trash, dusted everything, organized the old teachers personal items into two cabinets (there was a possibility she was coming back next year, but she's taking a second year of maternity leave--I personally don't think she's ever coming back). Organized everything into logical places, labeled all cabinets and shelves with the items they contained, removed the yellowing fluorescent light covers which threw a yellow pall onto everything, and replaced it with white and colored clothes to improve the lighting in the room. Added more light in the form of lamps (from Dollar Tree). Got and modified tables to replace the broken desks which were all shapes and sizes, and guilted the admin into giving me some of their nice chairs from the lunch room, and then added air freshener in multiple different places. Even though I only used this room for a year, it was worth it to not have to teach a year in something that would be soul-crushing (which the school already is). Kids appreciated it, and the next teacher to use this room can keep it all, if it saves me time from having to pack anything. I'm only taking my "toys": a huge K'nex set I planned to use for engineering challenges (we did one), my LittleBits kits, the kits I made for learning electronics and other electronics components I brought, and that's about it.
19 days. We're in the teens!! Today is a big milestone for me because we just had our super intense, exhausting, and labor intensive overnight field trip. It was fun, but I'm wiped. Anyway, now that it's over, I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel!
Contract finished Friday. I have 2 weeks available in June when I could sub but won't be heartbroken if there is no work. Beginning of September is next chance.
18 days! Also now in teens! Just submitted my last two National Board components yesterday too! That's my last major obligation before the end of the year (besides you know, teaching)!
It feels like we only have 5 days. I'm taking off tomorrow to have a long weekend of camping. Then next week we have 1 full week (5 days), Monday is a minimum day. The following week is our last week, Monday is Memorial day, Tuesday - Wednesday finals, Thursday and Friday are non-instructional days. That last week almost doesn't count, especially that it is a minimum day every day. This is going very fast
I'm giving my last exam today. Hoping to get all of my paperwork done today so tomorrow I can just work on cleaning and packing my classroom.
I think we have 25 days after today. Tomorrow, and then the next 5 full weeks (less Memorial Day). We tested on Monday, and then today/tomorrow/Monday/Wednesday, and of course the last few days are light on instruction, so it's about 3.5 weeks more of heavy instruction (hooray for finally being able to focus on SS/Science more wholeheartedly soon!)
