Vomit

The very next day I went into the school at the start of my shift and I come in down by the gym door. There on the floor right outside the gym door was a pile of vomit on the floor. I said out loud as I walked in and saw it, "Oh my, there is throw-up on the floor." Me walking step, step step. Boy lying on floor, "And you must be the person who threw up."

He was as white as a ghost.

I helped him up, took him to nurses room, got an orange cone and took it back to the throw up, found a janitor and then came in and took off my coat.

Hello new day!

"Shitty Day"

I got to work today and the office smelled like poop.
Yes, sure enough a boy standing in the nurses office, messed his pants.

Two other poop issues during the day.

End of Track A a boy comes in and says there is a pair of poopy underwear on the boy's bathroom floor.

I go and get the janitor to get them and clean it up. (Then we wonder...who is going commando?)

Tears in her Eyes

Our ALL teacher who teaches the talented and gifted students for 6th grade, (they don't call them that anymore but you all sure know who I am talking about when I say that!), came in today to tell me a story. With tears in her eyes she told me this story about one of her students:
.
Her story was that she asked them to do a math assignment about exponents. A boy forgot what one was and looked at a neighbors paper.
He then came up to her and with tears in his eyes he "confessed".
She said it was really tender.

My story was that yesterday 3 brothers who were new students got off at the wrong bus stop. They could not find their house and walked through a rural area without houses and down a path and over a bridge. They found the church building and then got their bearings. Finally they got home and burst in the door and the mom was not all concerned because it was "early out Monday" and she had forgot and was not even expecting them yet. They told her that when they were lost they stopped and knelt and prayed.

The 6th grade ALL teacher loved that story too and left with tears in her eyes.

PS I gave the bus driver their names and addressee's. He said that they could not recognize which stop was theirs and he drove them up and down the street. Finally he said they acted like they knew and they got off. Today they got off at the right stop.

18 years

We have a new worker helping with recess and 2 hours of aide time.
Yesterday was her first day. She was supposed to leave but got busy and stayed later.
I enrolled 11 new students yesterday. Near the end of the day I was entering a student in the computer and his mother came in. I said, "Oh look, I am just putting your child in the computer." (Frankly I am surprised I remembered her!) The new student, her child, was supposed to wait at the school, it was his first day but he was not out front. She wondered if he rode the bus home, so I went into the media center where the teachers were meeting to ask his teacher if he rode the bus and he had.
Meantime our new employee was leaving and filling out her time card and guess what? They knew other but it had been since 1992 since they have seen each other.
They had lived by each other in Provo back in 1992 and had been walking partners. They stood there and caught up on each others lives and exchanged phone numbers. They both live in the Saratoga Springs neighborhood and are both new to the area. They live in different wards so it might have been awhile or never until their paths crossed. One said to the other, "Here I'll walk you out" and the other said, "OK, I have to get my coat."
I listened to their conversation a little as I worked there, putting new students in the computer and then thought about it after they left and really it was amazing....18 years!
And if she had not stayed later.....

I don't know what to title this post.......perhaps amazing?

We closed the office for the "sing-in". (On Friday the "sing-in" was held twice for parents.)

Our principal had all grades sit together in a circle around the gym. The little kindergartners were on the steps to the stage. (That's a cute sight.)

He had a piano in the middle and 2 6th grade boys with the CD's using the sound system. (they were perfect)

Each grade stood and sang their song which they have been working on for about a month. Some had hand motions. (2nd grade always sings "All I Want for Christmas" and trust me they all have toothless grins!)

Santa came in during one of the songs. The kids yelled and held up their hands for high 5's and he ran the circle. He listened to the songs while the teachers came up and got bagged candy canes that we had already counted out per class to pass out to their students later.

Then, this was the best part all, the 1st grade teachers (5of them) stood in a circle around the gym and they lead the whole school as they all sang the first grade song, "Hippopotamus for Christmas" So many kids have been at our school for their school lifetime and they knew it!

They were then dismissed and Santa visited each of their class rooms.





Before I moved to Utah, I lived in Washington and I worked in an office in Southcenter. They were very generous at Christmas and I always got great bonuses. I was telling Kim that I was going to miss that this year. Little did I know what kind of "bonus" I would get this year. I was overwhelmed with gifts from teachers, co-workers and PTA staff and even parents who I have become friends with. Then, yesterday it was party day in the classes I was overwhelmed with the sheer amount of people who came in the school to help with class parties carrying armloads of things to make the parties fun. Just tons of happy families!

At the end of the day after all the children had gone home I was out in the halls and the teachers were leaving. They all left with a box of gifts from their students. I have always been on the parent/teacher gift end of things and have never seen it from the other way around. As I was leaving, finally at the end of the day there was a red bow laying in the hall, fallen from a box, I bent to pick it up and thought about what a great day it had been. A real bonus for me.

Goose egg!

A 3rd grader comes into the office around 12. He has his hand over his eye and up on his forehead. I ask what is wrong and he says I fell and I hit my head. I think, fell outside on the ice, so I am surprised when he says he fell in the class room and hit his head on the desk.
By now he is coming around to where I am sitting and he takes his hand off his head and it is the biggest, purple raised goose egg. I say as my eyes fill with tears I am not supposed to hug you but you need one. He is and has been crying during this.
I get him an ice bag and have him sit by me so I can watch him while I try and find a parent.
His sister sees him in there and comes in to comfort him. She was a 6th grader. It's amazing to me how many times brothers and sisters are handy to comfort each other.
We find a parent, fill out an accident report and then he tells us how it happened. It should not be funny but it is.
He has decided when he walks through the door after lunch recess that he will pull in knee up inside into his zipped blue puffy coat. (The one he is still wearing when I hugged him so I know how puffy it is.) While his knee is up in his coat he will hop around on one foot. Yep, that is when he falls forward and hits his head on the corner of the desk. And yes, he was afraid to tell me that.
He will be ok, maybe a black eye and it makes for a good Monday story.

what a surprise!

Got home tonight
Saw presents under the tree
For me, dad and sister
Purchased and wrapped by all 3 boys together on a fun afternoon outing
They said they looked crappy
I thought they looked like something I have never seen before
Love, thinking of others, Christmas spirit, joy
Seen through the tears of a mom

(this has never happened before from one of my children which makes it so much sweeter)