Well it has been another whirlwind start to the year! I moved from the high school to the middle school in the middle of construction. None of the grade 8 rooms were really ready for the beginning of school so decorating and all that stuff didn’t happen very much. It is neat but somewhat boring! Our double room is still not finished, there is only a temporary wall in the back of the room and it is way smaller than it is going to be when actually finished. This is cramping my (and my colleagues) style! We are making due with the physical limitations of our space but it will be nice to have it actually finished. The time line for completion is Christmas this year, but I think it is more likely for about a week after never!

This has had a profound effect on the students. This is the first year that grade 8 has stayed at the middle school, so they have a chip on their shoulder about that. The noise and disruption of the construction is setting them off. The fact that their new classrooms are actually in a wing of the High School that has, on paper, been transferred to the middle school but in reality looks like it is still part of the High School is causing more disruption.  Needless to say, the student’s have been a handful to try to keep focussed so far this year. The grade eight team, along with the administrators in the school, have had to go to extreme lengths to try and reign in the grade eight students. We appear to be making progress but it is incremental.

What are some ways that you have used to try to refocus and reign in your “out of this world” classes? We are looking for help and ideas, because we are running out of our own. Lend us a hand and feel good about helping other teachers to keep (or regain :)) their sanity!