End of My First Quarter

I just realized that it has been almost a MONTH since I have last posted to my blog... I guess it is about time. Well, to get a picture about what has been happening, grades for the first quarter closed on Friday and I stupidly gave my classes a test last week.  This past weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon and Tues) were spent grading all 145 of these exams and then entering the grades into my computer. 

The fun did not stop there, because we then have to enter the grades into the report card system along with our comments for each student. Now, under normal circumstances this would not be that big of a deal since I already have grades on my computer. However, this grading program/system I speak of is a collection of binders, one for each section of students for each grade in the conference room. 

I have to hand write the student's grade into their report card, then I put a comment in the designated spot. I did, thank goodness, have the warning from fellow teachers and thus the foresight to make up labels with all my comments, so I was not hand writing all 145... This technology, the "Ticonderoga 2" as my Dad so accurately put it, is a completely inefficient use of all of our time, and I was SO happy yesterday when I finally stuck my last sticker comment into the comment spot on the last student's report card.  Supposedly, we are supposed to get a new system up and running this 2nd quarter, which will allow us to enter grades and grade reports, which I think will be the first time it will ever be digital for them... The program was supposed to be functional at the beginning of first quarter, so I will be happy to see if it actually works this time around. 

Anyways, that is a brief update of the past weekend. 

Up until that point, we took a weekend trip to a heritage village called Kaprivstitsa the weekend after Halloween.  I had started a blog entry about that weekend, but then got caught up in school work, so my apologies for my negligence!  I will post some photos of the trip soon, so you can see some of the town, and the beautiful traditional architecture.  It was a great trip, with good company :)

Well, I am off to continue working on my planning for today! Happy Wednesday, and happy end to the first grading period, for all you teachers out there. I now understand the meaning of the word stressed... hahaha. Ciao!