So ready!

It's 11:20 and I've been at home for 30 minutes!  Viva Labor Day!!!! :)  Mayra picked me up at 8:30 and we went to my school.  The grounds are large and trashy, but there are only 7 classrooms, one each of grades 2-6 and two of grade 1.  That means a lot of prep for me, but that's okay.  My schedule starts every day at 8:50 with the exception of Tuesdays when I must be there at 8.  Life just keeps getting better!  When we got the the school, Maribel (my enlace, or supervisor) was there and we met the principal and the teachers.  The fourth grade teacher was sick today, so there was no class!  Viva Mexico!  I had heard this, but now I've seen it. :) 

We all sat in the computer lab and gave introductions.  The principal is a bit weird.  Not really, but he has the Spanish equivalent of a lisp and this is his second year as principal.  He wasn't warm and fuzzy and I had a hard time understanding him, but he was definitely nice.  The other teachers, namely the PE teacher and support teacher (I'm not sure if that's special ed or if it's support personnel or if it's something totally different) were very helpful in making my schedule.  There are three class meetings a week of English for 50 minutes a piece.  There are 7 classes.  It's quite a puzzle and not as pretty as my set schedule at home where everything looks the same.  But this is how many language teaches in the States teach.  I'll get used to it. Especially as I'm getting to work at 8:45!

After I met the teachers and made my schedule, Mayra left.  She has lots of work since she works in the Public Education Office.  English in Primary Schools is only part of her work.  So, she left us and Maribel and I went around classroom to classroom with the principal (The word is director in Spanish.  I'm sure I'll slip up with that soon.) to introduce me.  The 6th grade understood everything I said.  The fifth grade caught most.  Then I had to get pretty basic.  Maribel did the introduction in first grade since they're new to the school (Kindergarten is a totally different sector so to speak).  The teacher that was there last year, Teacher Gris (her name is Grisela and they call the English teachers "Teacher" and then their name) is now working in the office of IeP (English in Primary School).  She has been there since the 6th graders started, so there were some sad faces. :)  I can relate because I had some students sad to see me go.  But for the most part they were very excited!  They were adorable in their uniforms and their faces were so sweet.  Some of the fifth grade boys are going to be trouble.  big surprise there!

After I had seen all of the classes, I got the phone number for the school and for the Director (told you I would slip) and Maribel took me to the office because I was missing the 6th grade materials.

We got there and as we were parking, Mabel was walking in!  She was finished at her school,  too.  Maribel brought me the 6th grade CD because everything else was still at the hotel from the training.  The CD said 5.  Therein lay the confusion.  4th and 5th grade are in the same book because there was a year that they didn't take English.  So they're at least one prep that's the same.  So basically I'll be planning for 5 grades.  YIKES!  It'll be like my first year at Lockeland.

I'm so excited!

Tomorrow, I plan on doing basic greetings, maybe even what's your name.  Then if there's time (50 minutes is such a long time in my world!), I'll show them my photo album of family pictures.

Thanks for checking in.  Look for pictures of my school and my students coming very soon!