With that being said, let's move on to the first day of school. So, Tuesday night I was a bit anxious because we still had not received clearance for our background checks with Round Rock Independent School District. However, I fully intended to visit my school on Wednesday afternoon, so I went to bed praying that we would somehow be cleared within the next 12 hours. I kept my phone close to me all morning, and around 8:15am I received an email saying we had gotten the all clear, and that we were good to begin our internships.
I went to my 9:00am class feeling like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, because, if you know me at all, you know that I hate looking at a long-term calendar, seeing all that I will have to do throughout that time, and not being able to start any of it. Plus, it's hard hearing that other people had begun their observations, knowing that I hadn't had the opportunity go to yet. After class I biked home and started getting ready to go to the school for the first time, and I also stumbled upon this sweet note and first day present on my bed. Sarah is the best!
Going back to my high school ways, I had picked out my outfit the night before, as well as gathered all of my papers and supplies together - I was clearly hopeful about being cleared before I needed to leave! I finished getting ready relatively quickly, and it was nowhere near time to leave, so I sat down and tried to work on a short essay assignment. My head was clearly not with me, so I didn't get too much of it done before deciding that it was an acceptable time to leave. You have probably gathered that I am a very timely person, so I did not want to even come close to being late, especially since I didn't know exactly where I would park, nor did I know how the check-in procedure worked.
I ended up leaving my house around 11:50am (but not before making one of my roommates take a "first day of school" picture for the blog), and made it over to Westwood in surprisingly excellent time. I hit absolutely no traffic, so I sat in my car eating the lunch I had packed, waiting until I thought it was acceptable to go inside the school.
I checked in at the office, got directions to my cooperating teacher's room - this school is HUGE, by the way - and I was finally able to introduce myself to my teacher. My first impressions of both her and her classroom were great. Her classroom is warm, welcoming, and motivational, and I think my teacher and I are going to get along really well. She is young, knowledgeable, and as this is both her first time teaching sophomore English and having a student intern, it's going to be a learning experience for the both of us. She seems to be very open in regards to having me there in her classroom, which is a very good feeling. I will be with two Pre-AP/IB classes, and two on-level classes, and I'm really excited about both of them. Westwood is on the block schedule, meaning I will have Pre-AP classes one week, and the on-level classes the most. Her Pre-AP class is currently reading William Golding's Lord of The Flies, and her on-level class is currently reading John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Though I have read both of those novels previously, it has been quite some time, and I will admit that I didn't really care for either novel the first time, so it might be worth my while to re-read them (in all of my spare time).
To begin with, I will be going to the school on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons, though that will probably be reduced to just Mondays and Wednesdays. I feel as though it's better to get as many hours up front as possible, than to be stressed and scrambling at the end of the semester.
After I left school, I went home and changed into Nike shorts and a tanktop and drove over to Mt. Bonnell for a little incline training. I am leaving for San Francisco four weeks from today, and the San Francisco hills still have me a little bit nervous. I think I accomplished what I went to do, because my calves are certainly feeling it today. I ran up and (walked) down the 100-something steps ten times before returning to the Clubhouse so Sarah and I could drive over to Town Lake for our first Wednesday Walk of the year.
If you have to do incline training, this isn't a bad view to have while doing it |
The rest of the evening was dedicated to the ever-present homework and reading assignments, but I managed to get to bed early enough so that waking up early before class to swim didn't make me want to crawl right back into bed. I swam a mile and a half before returning to the Clubhouse, sending out a few emails, and eating a delicious and filling breakfast of scrambled egg whites with spinach, a side of sliced strawberries, as well as an unpictured plumcot.
That breakfast was followed by a full day of class, which will be followed by some serious reading and another Thursday night new restaurant adventure with Dylan. Not a bad Thursday!
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