So much to say

So little energy to write it up with. First week of school over, check. Like my kids, well most of them, check. Can put faces to names when they're outside of class, err, half check.

Last weekend I went camping and canoeing. It was full of ups and downs, but now writing about it 3 days later, I can say it was great. I had the best night sleep out in the chilly night air all snuggly in my sleeping bag. And I can forget about the SWARMS of mosquitoes and the fact that our "guide" led us about a kilometer past the pick up point which meant about a kilometer of paddling upstream.

We had parent/teacher conferences last night. Last year I had LOADS of parents I think all anxious to meet the new math teacher. Last night I had 16 of about 70 parents show up. It was raining and many of them had been in in the morning for parent coffee, but still, having only 16 makes staying at school for 14 hours that much more painful.

In other news, I had 11 students hand in essays about why they want to travel to Thailand to do community service over February break. I spent all day on the phone confirming that their parents knew about their intentions. Part of the conversation went like this:

Me: "The trip costs $1850..."

All but two parents: "Oh, no problem"...

Me: "Your child is supposed to fund raise a minimum of $850 but we'd like a deposit of $1000 by Friday"

Parents, all but two again, "No problem."

In some ways it's nice, in others, well it feels like I've sold out. But here's a photo from last years "Pie in the Face" fundraiser: