It smells like a skunk in here...

So, each day I greet my kids with a handshake and smile at the door and allow them to walk in and get settled. After I've shaken the last hand and said my last good morning or good afternoon, I follow my kids inside the room. As I walked in today, the stench hit me lull force and made my eyes water. At that same exsct moment, one of my sweet, innocent kiddos said "ewwwww. Ms. N, it smells like a skunk in here.". Of course, some of my kids who are a little more worldly started snickering loudly at the comment.

It seriously smelled like a student had just lit up in the classroom or had come from smoking in the bathroom (which is right next to my room). A quick phone call to our campus muscle and students were questioned, backpacks were searched and my suspicions were confirmed. Sure enough, first drug bust of the year was in my little ol' classroom. Ain't middle school grand?

He’s baaaa-aaaaaaak

In your mind, imagine the iconic music from Jaws or Pyscho and the feeling of dread those sounds bring to mind. That’s how I felt when a young man named C. strode right into the middle of my 6^th period class and announced loudly, “Hey Ms. N – I’m back! Aren’t you glad to see me?” Now, this kid is adorable; he’s tiny and got dimples.  He looks like a cherub, but his behavior is anything but cherubic. He is henceforth known as Streakerboy – due to an unfortunate incident last year where he was caught streaking in his underclothes across campus after school. He actually made it across the field and over the fence and they didn’t catch him then, but they catch up with all of his “friends” who had caught it all on their cell phone video cameras. Gotta love technology! He was promptly disciplined by admin, and I heard about it a few days later.

His behavior issues are a significant problem in class. He is a class clown, loves attention, talks back at every opportunity and rarely completes work. Working his way up through numerous levels of behavior contracts and SSTs with parents didn’t help last year. I certainly hope he has matured some this year.