Dead Week

At our school, the week before finals is affectionately known as "Dead Week". Officially, that is the name because all after school activities die down, giving teachers and students more time to prepare for finals. Unofficially, we all know that Dead Week really refers to how everyone feels on the inside.

Here are some things I've been busy with this week.

1. Dress code. Teachers are sick of enforcing it, so we are having uniform shirts made for next year. We decided this would be much easier than trying to enforce a strict dress code (currently students are to wear a solid colored collared shirt, but that is apparently way too ambiguous for most students). There are three people on the dress code committee - myself and two other teachers. I am the most fluent in Indonesian of the three, and I am also the only one who will be staying in country over the summer. So I am kind of in charge of this whole thing. The first step is customizing our sizing. An Indonesian size L is very different from a Western size L. So we have to provide the garment factory with a sample size for every type of shirt we want. So my main task this week has been to consider the entire secondary student body and decide who is a good representative of each size: S, M, L, and XL for their gender. Then, I have to borrow a polo shirt and an oxford shirt from each representative student to be sent off to the factory for measurements on Monday. I met with the people there for 2 hours earlier this week, and this is what they requested. It's more work for me now, but it will streamline the process later on. Then I also have to decide on style. How many buttons should each shirt have? Should the oxford shirts be long sleeved or short sleeved? How big should the school logo embroidered on the chest be? Should there be a pocket or not? How thick/thin should the material be? What color should it be? Should the tag be inside the collar or sewn into the left seam? What should be written on the tag? I tell you what - making 1000 shirts from scratch is HARD WORK.

2. Writing recommendation letters. I have ELEVEN recommendation letters to write this week. I really hate writing recommendation letters.

3. Preparing for next year's student retreat. We do this at the beginning of each school year, so preparations need to be finalized now so that we're not scrambling to get things ready at the beginning of next year. I somehow ended up on a committee that I did not volunteer for. And I'm the only female teacher on the committee. So anytime we need to e-mail someone, research something, look something up, or communicate with someone, I am volunteered for the job. This week, we have been trying to find a speaker for the retreat.

4. Killing ants. Dry season is starting (a big hooray for this!), which means ants are moving indoors to find food and water. I have found two ant nests in my kitchen so far this week. I bought an industrial sized bottle of bug killer, and I have been spraying it indiscriminately all over my house. It's probably going to kill me.

5. Battling a cold and possibly a mild case of the flu. I've had a headache, low grade fever, and a runny nose, and I've been sneezing and running back and forth to the bathroom for the past few days.

6. Writing finals. Thankfully, I only have three to write instead of four. But writing finals takes a LOT of time and thought. Because of everything going on this week, I haven't yet finished writing my finals. I should be doing that now, but I needed a distraction, so I decided to write this instead.

7. Purchasing textbooks for next year. I have new Pre-Calculus books for next year (for the first time since 2000!), but no teacher edition. This book is very difficult to find online for less than $300, but I have a solid lead. I also got approval to buy new AP Calculus textbooks! The book our school has been using is actually a college calculus text. In fact, it's the same textbook I used in college - but it's an OLDER edition. I'm trying to purchase the textbooks through the publisher (who will remain unnamed), but it has been hellish. Ordering books internationally generally is. I won't go into all the ridiculous details, but their customer service is a nightmare, and two weeks into the process, I have made no headway. Fingers crossed that I can order the books in time for them to arrive before school starts!

8. Grading final unit tests and projects. Fourth quarter pretty much wraps up during dead week, so all final things are due. I try not to make too many things due this week for the sake of my own sanity.

9. Dealing with students begging for extra credit. Oh, really? Your grade is a B? And you think you deserve extra credit now, even though you didn't turn in four assignments last month or do either of the two extra credit opportunities I already gave the class? REALLY?

10. Helping students prepare for AP exams and final exams. This is the most stressful time of year for students, and I try to be sensitive to that by giving them lots of review time and materials. It's extra work for me, but it helps reduce their stress level. And happy students make a happy teacher.

11. Calculating and entering final grades. #teacherlife

12. And if all that busy-ness isn't enough, I am also celebrating a wonderful influx of hormones this week. Thankfully I've only had two stress induced cries this week. Unfortunately, both were in front of male coworkers.

In case it's not obvious, I'm REALLY looking forward to summer vacation. I have a long list of things to work on then too, but at least I can do it on my own schedule at a more relaxed pace. One more week!!