Day 1 of Inservice

Well yesterday started our week of inservice. They fed us breakfast at nine o'clock and then we listened to the mayor, police chief, social services, and someone from the clinic talk to us. The we broke off, the certified staff met with their building principals and the classified met with the superintendent and the business manager. I think I'm th only one who has two building principals so it was sort of a coin toss to where I went. Sunday morning the high school principal had called me to see if I was ready to start and if I was getting settled. He also asked if I needed anything. Everyone here is very friendly and pretty helpful. I asked him about the building principal meeting and he told me to go with the elementary school and that I could just meet with him later. Works for me. After our meeting, we broke for lunch on our own. Yesterday and Thursday are the only days they are not providing lunch for us. After lunch the certified staff met with the superintendent and business manager. We received two packets of information, one was the negotiated agreement and the other was mostly policies but there were several forms to fill out and turn in. Then we were dismissed to our classrooms. Before going to my classroom, the new spanish teacher stopped me and asked me if I wanted the instruments out of her classroom at the high school. I had heard there were instruments over there but I didn't know where. I went over there to find 3 electric keyboards, a sousaphone, 3 guitars, a general music book from 1989, and three upright pianos. What a random assortment of things. None of the electric keyboards worked well or at all so we pitched those. The general music book was thrown out. So the sousaphone and guitars were taken back to my room. I have no idea what we're going to do with the pianos. One of them is falling apart so I think we can get rid of it along with the one in my classroom. The other two seem to be in decent shape but aren't in tune. I don't know what the school wants to do with them since we ordered a digital piano. Today I'll go find out. I got another surprise while at the high school. I had mail. There was a packet containing the information about the meeting in Juneau that I need to attend and about honor band and honor choir, including audition material. I also had two boxes. I got those back to my classroom and found that they contained my drum heads. Yay another thing to do.
I had a parent who works at the school stop me yesterday and ask if the kids were going to play instruments this year. I asked what grade. She has a pair of high schoolers and they're in the band. Well duh we're going to play instruments (that's not what I said to her). I told her that probably the first couple days we wouldn't play because I need to hand out instruments and things like that but after that we'd play pretty much every day. I guess last year they didn't play the whole time. I found this interesting. I don't know why you wouldn't play in band.
When I left school yesterday I brought home what I have in the general music department as far as teacher books. Those books are kinda heavy. I have been working on writing my curriculum since I don't have much there. I will probably try to use some of the Making Music books that I have but I'm going to have to come up with more to do since I don't have any of the music that goes with them and my classroom lacks audio music. I worked on some of that for a little while but didn't really get anything written down, partially because I still don't have my laptop. I was pretty tired at about 9 PM so I went to bed and was probably asleep by 9:30. I woke up at about 5:45 this morning.
On to day two of inservice.

Oh and I finally got most of my schedule. I don't have the elementary music finalized from the elementary principal but I know at least what block of time I see them. Basically it's band from 8-8:50, 8:55-10:40 elementary music, 10:45-11:35 Prep, 11:40-12:30 HS choir, then lunch, 1:15-2:05 7th grade band, and 2:10-3 8th grade band. I was told if I wanted to do stuff after school I could. I know that the drama teacher wants to do a musical in the spring and she approached me about working with her.