first week and then some

so, all last week i meant to post something about my first week of school. it didn't happen. i was too busy. let me see what i can come up with.
english classes - all great! i started high energy talking about hopes and purpose. i had them write me a letter about their hopes for the year and for extra credit i said their parents could write me about their hopes. (thanks for the idea julie!) i was surprised by how many of them want to be better writers in terms of grammar and vocabulary. unfortunately that's not the most fun to teach and i don't have much material for such lessons. but i did break down and buy 20 copies of "well-lit sentences" - or some similar book. i found it by my library by chance and really enjoyed it. i will give it a shot - teaching "reading informational text" and grammar at the same time. any suggestions? help? guidance? yikes!
my reading classes were not as positive. somehow i have become a dumping ground for special ed kids whose schedules don't work so they'll just plop them in my classes. what a pain. plus the software we use has a bug and won't be fixed until next week. filler with a bunch of kids who hate school and would rather sleep is a real challenge. it's hard for ME to stay positive and enthusiastic. so far, though, i really do love my kids. i just hate my job. my fellow teachers just cause me stress.
my yearbook/journalism kids are a motley crew. we have super sharp kids and a bunch of "pass the time" sorts in there. i'm going with the attitude that if you give them responsibility they'll rise to the challenge. all fingers crossed!
anyway, one highlight last week was coming across a spider in the hallway. it was coming straight down on my coworker's head as we were complaining. (really one of my goals each day is to not complain.) i took a picture. it's blurry. you wouldn't care.
i've still been happy living alone. i love the space, the peace, the freedom. heaven.
now to look at august's finances and see how i did with my first month on a "budget" - like the official kind.