Back to School

Yeah.

So this happened today.  

At the end of our Monthly Morning Assembly.  

A leap with ALL 405 of my students (even a few parents in the back).  

For a leaping librarian, it doesn’t get much better than that.

Backtrack 24 hours and life is a blur.  No rest for the weary when you are “Teacher of the Year.”  My day began, as it always does, with first graders checking out books before my coffee has totally permeated my system.  Soon after, cheery fourth grade “Dewey Duty” helpers came in to check in books.  That day, the books just happened to be from a cart that always carries books already checked in. “Why does it keep saying ‘Used in Library’, Ms. Rattner?’”   Hmmm. Was I upset?  Nah, because just before, I received a surprise phone call from an author in Texas.  Although it only lasted long enough for her to say, “Congratulations” before we got disconnected, it was still a daymaker.  And this was all before 9:30.

What about the rest of the time?  

Lead three fifth grade Mock Newbery book groups.  Submitted an order to Junior Library Guild. Sent four  IT emails requesting four different websites to be unblocked.  When access is granted, I scanned and created three digital books.   Finalized my Mock Geisel book list and tested a Skype with an author.  Smelled the fourth grade Thanksgiving Feast from the hallway, but never made it down there to even grab a morsel of stuffing.  After school got out, three teachers and a librarian visited from another district to talk Caldecott and author visits.  Finally, I was bowled over again when flowers were delivered from a very special author friend with a message almost cryptic enough to fool the government (but fortunately, not me).

I came home last night and should have crashed.  But instead I read, graded papers and reflected.  My students, my books, reading, authors, illustrators, they are constantly on my mind. I’m always searching for new books and debut authors to get excited about or I’m on the lookout to discover a creative project we can do that will introduce my students to a world beyond Schodack.  The ticket to the world is in our library and I have all the boarding passes to hand out.  But in the end really, all I want is for my students to be just as happy as I am to come to school.  Never does going to sleep early help that cause.  However, now that it is nearly midnight, it might and so I bid you bon soir. See me in the morning for your boarding pass.