MCAStic week

So, the big week of MCAS testing has arrived! We're almost done!! The kids have been wild, moody, tired, annoying, and everything you could expect from kids who are testing.  It's been a crazy week.

Yesterday, we had the MCAS breakfast for the fourth and seventh graders who have to write the "long comp" which is the seven paragraph essay. The team got to school at six thirty and made enough pancakes, eggs, and sliced fruit for eighty some kids.  It was a blast.  I was in the seventh grade room serving food, which was good because I know a lot of them.  Ms. Roberts, the seventh grade English teacher, had pushed the desks together, the lights were off, and there were inspirational quotes on the tables.  The students had assigned seats and there was quiet jazz music playing to get them in the mood. I had written notes to my Course Coaching and Morning Reading girls, so I left them at their seats.  All of the students loved the breakfast! Mr. SD, the principal of the middle school, came in and gave them a pep talk and then they spent the entire day testing.  Poor JR started at nine and didn't finish until almost five.  That's EIGHT HOURS OF WRITING AND TESTING!!  I saw her at four and she looked like she was about to cry, but she finally finished and went home.

Today was the sixth grade test, which I think was just reading comprehension, and they were all done by lunch time (thank goodness!).  JA came into course coaching with her attitude, got two sign ins and then refused to do work.  It was just great. They say they try not to sign kids in during MCAS testing, but when you refuse to do work and have a bad attitude, you get signed in.  She'll survive. She's used to it.

My first graders were pretty rough today too.  Ms. Moulton had a SERIOUS  talk/yelling at them.  They were being bossy, mean to each other, not following directions, acting on impulse, the whole shebang.  At one point, IR told KC "You're mean. That's why no one likes you." and earlier, when I asked her what bossy means (it was a word in a book), she replied "It means you tell people what to do, like what KS does" in front of KS. I mean, it was true, KS is extremely bossy, but still. IR wasn't the only one though.  TC and LP were yelling at each other, JG was just doing what he wanted and not really following directions. It was a mess.  The one nice thing was that by the time it got to our story time after lunch, which is normally a madhouse, the kids were so scared they just sat still and listened.

What a wild and crazy day. It was a little out of control, but all in a days work.  I blame it on the weather...oh and that little thing called the MCAS.

Happy testing everyone!

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
- Confucius