Hey everybody, school starts with students tomorrow and this year has been a little different from the other nineteen in my career. I had hernia surgery last Thursday so I have been recovering at home since then and was excused from the first two days of work. My colleagues at Hyatts have started the school year on Monday and Tuesday with time in their rooms, participating in meetings and mentally preparing for the 900 students that will start the tenth year on Wednesday. I am preparing on the couch or in bed and I’m not a fan of it. My friends at Hyatts told me to stay away, that I would set back my recovery for the surgery if I came in to school, so I listened to them.
I am ready for Wednesday. I cannot wait! I love my job! I have loved all 19 first days of school and I will love tomorrow! There is nothing like have a first day of your job, over and over again every August in preparation for a new crop of students! What other job gives you that kind of feeling at the same time every year? It’s a new beginning, a fresh start, a new hope for a better school year or a continuation of the great success from last year.
For me, the thoughts I have for the first day are similar every year. First, I look forward to meeting the new 6th grade students. They are so scared, most of them, to be in this big, brand new, shiny new school. Hyatts is such an inviting, welcoming place to go to middle school but that doesn’t take away the nervousness that comes with being a 6th grader. I look forward to helping them out as much as I can as they “learn the ropes” around Hyatts.
I think about what my new crop of Eagle News students will involve. Will I have a group of students who want to produce and direct the news in the AM? Will I have the stars that want to present the program live on camera? Will I have the commitment to the program that I have had the past six years? This makes me nervous, almost scared a little. What will happen to the program if we do not have the commitment?
My first 3 sections of Eagle News has about 100 kids in it altogether. I am sure that I will find 30 kids that want to commit to putting together a program that we all will be proud of! That is the challenge with the 8th grade and I look forward to it, albeit with some nerves! I believe in what I teach, what I present to these students to not only help them this year, but prepare them for a little bit of what they might encounter moving on towards high school and college!
I think about my own children, Adam and EmmeClaire, getting a year older. Adam starting 3rd grade, the grade I taught the first 9 years of my career. Will he do the work assigned to him? Can he participate in class like he should? We he be the model student? Is EmmeClaire ready for preschool in the PM? How tired will she be? Will this spark a seizure? Will she like having a new teacher? Each new school year brings on new questions about what they will deal with, with new grade levels! I think of my wife, starting her 20th year teaching as well. I hope that she has a successful year in the library continuing to do the great things that she started last year!
I think about my former and current and retired colleagues. I am blessed to work with the best staff in the country. The atmosphere at Hyatts could not be better, being able to work with such great people who care so much about each other! Our leadership is second to none. To work in a place where the leaders know that family is first, is a big relief, especially with all the appointments that EmmeClaire has and all the things that we need to do for her! If I were to ever become a principal, which I don’t want to, I would run my building the way that our leaders do!
The first day of school makes me think of scared students, new students, new friendships, which way is lunch, can I check out a library book, is there Eagle News tomorrow, tight schedules at home, what is for dinner, what is the lip dub theme this year, etc!!!??? I think of lockers stuck, combinations forgotten, rooms unknown, no money on the lunch card, see the lunch ladies again, the clap in for the 6th grade is AWESOME and then the 1st day slide show that I make for the first day at Hyatts.
The last thing that I think about tomorrow are my old Eagle News veterans! How is their first day in the big shiny Liberty High School going? I worry about them, but all I think about as the new Eagle News students come in is that I hope that what I was able to share with them throughout last year guides them to making the right choices in school and life. They will be ok, some will come back and visit, some will keep in touch but some will not and that’s ok. We will meet again! Good luck in ninth grade Patriots!
It is always a fun, tiring and excitement filled day, that first day of school(work) again! I look forward to seeing everyone at Hyatts! I will be at school 7:30 sharp!! Wait, what time does school start again for teachers? Ha Ha!
Mr. Meta's World 