The First Day of School

Today, September 01, was the first day of the 2009-2010 school year. I was super excited to start working again because I love being in front of a class full of eager students who are ready to learn and are actually excited to be there. Luckily, I have 17 students who seemed happy to be sitting in my classroom today.

The day began with an introductory Chapel service and Prayer Walk. Before the Prayer Walk started, I was responsible for hoisting the new American flag that was flown above the Capitol in Washington, D.C. and graciously donated to the school by Congressman Allen Boyd. Being that I took my class to Washington, D.C. last year, this responsibility fell to me. I recruited two former students to assist me this morning.

I was a nervous wreck of sorts... I found out recently an American flag needs to be burned if it touches the ground. This, of course, caused my uncontrollable nervousness. I could just imagine this happening while the entire school and lots of parents are standing around watching us. (Just the fact that all of those people's eyes were on me was frightening enough!)

In short, the American flag raising/hoisting went extremely well! My former students helped a ton, and I was so glad to be apart of that experience. It really meant a lot!

The Prayer Walk began after the Pledge of Allegiance. You may be asking what a Prayer Walk is... At the beginning of each school year, the entire school walks around the campus and prays for each building/center and the faculty and staff that are housed in each. It's a neat way to start the year; however, it was so incredibly hot today that I could've had a heat stroke...

After the Prayer Walk, we headed back to the Church to conclude our Chapel service. Once we got back to the classroom, I spent the day going through the routines and procedures that are used in Fifth Grade. (What can I say? I'm extremely anal and organized, and I expect my students to follow in my footsteps. HaHa!)

Rather than go through my entire day, I'll summarize and say that it went so good! My students seem fantastic, and I look forward to a wonderful year. Each year, as I'm learning, is full of challenges and obstacles to overcome. I gladly welcome these because they all help me become a better teacher.

By the way, I took pictures of my classroom this morning and will post them in a future entry. I'm just too tired to upload them from my digital camera to my computer...

I'm not lazy; I'm just exhausted! Those of you who aren't teachers may not understand how tiring this profession can be... :-)