First Day

Another first day has come and gone. I asked my principal how first days affected her. She told me that she has nightmares about them. I haven't gotten to that point. My role on the first day is to be supportive, and since the first day is all about learning the rules and routines, I'm not needed as much. I spent the majority of my day working on scheduling meetings and tracking down information on new special ed students. Eleven new special ed students and I only have information on half of them. My school has so many new students, yet so many have left. There is a constant struggle with residency issues, and we suspect that there are still a few families that try to break the rules and send their children to school. The first few days are spent waiting for students to enroll because of late vacations, not being aware of when school started, or pending residency confirmations.

The day was uneventful, but my principal did pose an interesting question. As I passed by her office, she called me into her office. She asked, "What do you call those small bags that marijuana is sold in? (pause) Dime bags." She answered her own question. The odd thing was that she was busy typing something as she asked me the question. Now I'm wondering who she was typing this for. I simply remarked, "I'm not going to ask," and walked off.

BBC