Happy Friday, Mr. Awesome

Life in Apple Valley
So, up here in the High Desert, I have learned a few things. First, all the stereotypes are true. All of them. But.. I do not have any ELD kids. ZERO. The school I work for is awesome, however I have noticed the need for flexibility.
My class is pretty good. 24 kids, all English speakers. And then, there's my Fantastic 4. One Downs, 1 with Cognitive Delay, 2 with some strange illusion that they don't have to follow any rules. Not terrors, just... special.
Fab Four Member #1 has been through 4 aides. 1 cps report, and could be removed soon.
Member 2.. apparently had an accident on the 2nd day of school and decided she needed to remove the dirty laundry. Given her condition, she "forgot" where she put them. Turns out, they were on my floor.

OK so today we had the first major event of the year. No, not a carnival. (Although, there happened to be a carnival at the other campus.. besides the point.) Every other week, I have drop off duty in the parking lot. No biggie. Also, regularly, one of my students and her mom come in to practice reading before school. That could be the reason way she is the about 5 levels higher than the rest of the class. Involved parents, imagine the possibilities. Back to the story...

Everything was going as usual this morning. Drop off duty, kid in class reading. Then, the walkie goes off. "We are evacuating the kids from near the portables. That would be my classroom row. SO... I sprinted. I thought it was a fire or something. NOPE.

Everyday this school year, it has averaged about 95 degrees after noon. It's the High Desert, what do you expect. The problem is, the city is in septic, and the school tank is pretty full. The tank is also located 6 feet outside my classroom door. The near full poop pit, and the high temperature make for a disgusting stench. the second problem was the source of today's evacuation.

The septic tank, or maybe one of the pipes burst creating a sink hole, 35 feet down. The hole was about 2 feet in diameter. This is now fenced off, blocking my whole row of classrooms. I spent the day with my students in the library. Lucky for us, today was rotation day, and our ice cream party. However, even with the planned activities, was the longest day of the school year.

Another adventure for Mr. Awesome. I know there are many more to come. The next chapter may be, "Court Battle to save Fantastic Four Member "The Downs Cowgirl".