Kontan.

Today started out like any other, a rush to school and ready to start the day. I was well planned and ready, but still had one more thing to copy before students came in. At ten minutes before 7 AM we find out that our classes will not be in our rooms due to the icy walkway and we will meet all classes of my subject in the auditorium. Oh. Joy. Crap. I have a cut/paste foldable activity planned and we were on the second day. Mad dash to neighbor’s room and ask for whatever he had that would serve as a back up if my foldable attempt crashed and burned. Gather, copy for us both, grab 5 textbooks b/c we do not have enough to issue all students their own, and rush to my new destination. I really need to provide breakfast for my 1st period. They gathered in the same location that we used last time and every one of them was seated and waiting for instruction. This was a TOTALLY different class from Monday. Monday I could have throttled all of them and not felt bad about it. I asked them to make the best of a bad situation and accomplish as much as possible. I gave them their materials from yesterday and we managed to at least look like something was being accomplished. They spread into what would normally be the sound area and some stayed in their seats, all exchanging information and asking me when they couldn’t come up with anything from their peers. All this while six other classes were conducting class in the same auditorium. I’m really proud of them. Tomorrow we will see how much information they retained, but I am very happy that they were so cooperative and at least looked busy while me department chair was in and out. He even commented on it. I must say, of the six classes, his AP students were the worst and least busy, probably b/c he wasn’t in there much…just sayin’.

Fortunately we were able to return to our rooms for the rest of the day. I didn’t have anything that my last two classes could have done.

It seems to me that it would have made sense to prepare for the ice situation since we have known this winter storm was on its way and the prediction was for 4-5 inches of snow. Granted, we didn’t receive even a good dusting of snow, but the ice on the boardwalk was still slushy from the day before when snow did fall hard. All the snow on the ground melted, but the boardwalk is elevated enough that it was colder…I guess.

Whatever. I’ve learned to just go with it.