I just had the best first week of school I could ask for...

until Friday at 3:15 pm.
So let me just tell you about the positives of this week.
-My homeroom is amazingly sweet.
-I love my team partner, Nicole. (That's not new, but it is a positive.)
-Nicole and I work like clockwork in whatever we do.
-The 4th grade team worked amazingly well together!
-Did I mention my homeroom is amazing? Well they are.
It was just a great week!!
So... I've got a little story for ya. 3:15 on Friday, I am called into a 5th grade teacher's room. I walk in and see our principal, Adam Grinage, the entire 5th grade team, and Nicole. (Now, in my head... for some reason... I thought the entire 4th grade was in the room as well. This comes into play later.) So I go and sit by Nicole as Adam does some math on the white board up front. Since math isn't my strongest subject, and I have apparently walked in late, I do what comes naturally... I start to ask my neighbor what the heck is going on. Nicole says, "I'm not sure, something about student numbers... but you realize that we are the ONLY 4th grade teachers in the room?" I took a quick look around the room to verify this information then proceed to sit up straighter and catch on to what our principal was talking about.
Then he looks right at me and Nicole and says, "There are going to be some changes in 4th grade, and it's going to effect the two of you. And Sara, it's going to effect you the most." I reply, "I'm not going to have to teach math, am I?" "Oh no! Don't worry, I would never do that," he says. My principal is a smart man.
"Basically," he explained, "we are going to dissolve your homeroom, Sara, and put them in other 4th grade classes." Do you remember how I said my homeroom is amazing? Yeah, I burst into tears. I cried, again, at school, in front of people.... I don't enjoy it, but it seems to happen at least once a year. So Adam continues and essentially puts up two choices that would affect four of us in the room: Kat, Pilar, Nicole, and me. Kat and Pilar's team before all of this was what we called a "4th/5th split." Kat and Pilar both teach bilingual kids, but Pilar's homeroom is 5th grade and Kat's is 4th grade. So, the both teacher 5th and 4th curriculum. This also means they have double planning, double team meetings, double the stuff in their room, whacked out schedules... and so forth.
So the two choices were:
Option A-- Nicole and I still team together and we would do a 4th/5th split like Kat and Pilar. My homeroom would be 5th grade, her homeroom would stay 4th grade. Kat and Pilar would remain unchanged.
Option B-- I would team with Pilar, and we would be a new 5th grade only team. Kat would then team with Nicole and be a 4th grade only team. Both Nicole and I are certified ESL teachers, so the bilingual situation wouldn't really be a problem.
After the options were put on the board and explained... Kat, being the smart lady she is, kicked all others out of the room so the four of us could chat. Seeing as no matter what was chosen, I was going to be a 5th grade teacher, a few minutes were spent encouraging me. (I know I have said this before, but God has blessed me with the best people to work with... Praise Him!) Then we all chatted about it. The decision was left up to me (which I hated) and I talked it out with them. Option A would be rougher. Nicole and I would be in the same boat as Pilar and Kat... double everything plus a new curriculum to learn and teach on top of it. Option B would be different for all 4 of us because that would force all of us to change. Change partners, grade levels, and so forth. Basically, Pilar knows what she is doing in 4th and 5th grade for her subjects because she has done the 4th/ 5th split before. So she is comfortable in both areas. Whichever option I chose, I was taking someone down with me. Nicole would go down with me in Option A, or Kat would go down with me in Option B.
In my head, the logical choice was Option B. Why go through the hassle of doubling our workload when we can all stick to one grade level and not have a question of where to be, which meeting is most important, and the like? So... I made my decision. Option B. And I started crying again... because I wouldn't be teaming with Nicole anymore, I have to say goodbye to my homeroom next week, and because I made Kat cry. I felt (and still feel) really bad, but I really feel it is the best option for the teachers and the students.
Kat is a pro 5th grade teacher and I know what I'm doing in 4th grade, so we decided to plan together. All will be okay. I'm really going to miss my team, but it's not like I am leaving the school. I'm not even changing rooms. But it's still a huge change.
So this next week, I will have my homeroom for one more week... then they will be moved to another classroom. I think I will have to wait to tell them what is going on until Tuesday, then we can let them know. Letters have to be sent out, students need to meet their new teachers, I have to change a ton of stuff, schedules change, teammates change, and a lot of other stuff that I won't go into because I'm tearing up again.
I don't know how this year will go, but I do know that God is good. All the time. He will never leave me and He will see us through this year.
I have already seen his blessings through this. I am now on the same team as one of my best friends, Molly. We can eat lunch together... you know... when we aren't tutoring kids. That's going to be awesome!! Yesterday, I went to breakfast with my roommate, took a nap at home (I haven't slept well the past two nights), went to see Macy, and spent the rest of the day and evening on the lake with Molly, Zach, Jim, and Patricia. It was a great day. Today, my best friend Megan is coming in town and I am going to get to hang out with her and Molly!! I'm so excited! This will be my last weekend where I will not go up to school, I think. So I am cramming in some quality time with my friends!
The blessings of the people God has placed in my life is sometimes overwhelming. HOORAY!
All will be well.