Winter Break

I'm pretty much perplexed by the lack of issues that I am having at school lately. Besides random chattiness in class (which I can handle...it means the students are more or less engaged), the biggest issue I've had to face was the arrival of a fluent French speaker in my French III class. She's been utterly bored because we are reviewing the past tense, directions, and other random things that are good to know. If this class were taught in English, it would probably be like being 14 years old in a 4th grade class. The other French teacher and I somewhat made the executive decision to put her in the AP French class, that way she could have some semblance of a challenge. The highest level she could officially be in is III, because II is the highest level offered for credit by exam. So right now, she's not struggling, but at least she's not in a class with 8 year olds. I had my Professional Development Assessment recently, and I was pretty I was worried because this year our department got a new head and principal over foreign languages. I wasn't sure how the principal rated her evaluations, so I wasn't sure what to be in store for. Luckily, she came to one of my French III classes, and I spoke French for just about the whole time, so she had no idea what was going on (a fact relayed to me later). I felt really good about the evaluation, and knew that my kids were speaking back to me in French and asking questions, so it was a waiting game. I pulled out the typed evaluation form from my box, and I almost fell over. I had rated exceeds expectations in every category! The rating system is Doesn't Meet, Meets, Proficient, and Exceeds. Proficient is a bit of a misnomer, as it actually translates to an A. Things are falling into place and looking good. Hopefully, getting his marks these last 3 years will help me on my grad school apps. Who knows? Christmas Winter break begins Thursday afternoon after the Faculty Talent Show. The kids are ready, and I am right there with them. I'm hitting the road running with some eggnog. Only 11 days until I leave for Montreal!