What a week it's been so far, and it's only Wednesday! Mr. Mark is leaving as of next week. Our new principal will be coming, most likely while we're all away on holidays. It will be interesting to see what we all come home to. Plus, we all know that means another staff meeting. I confessed to Mark yesterday how much I hate them and he said he hated them too, so I didn't feel so bad.

Four of my boy students very nearly got suspended today and also have been requested to undergo mediation with some girls in the fourth grade due to some play ground shinanigans. This week has been hectic. I had the boys go to the principal's office and saw Mark in action. He was quite the thing to see! He was so into the discipline that I actually, on some level, found it a bit comical. I do appreciate him being the heavy and scaring the pants off the kids, but watching it made me want to laugh a bit too. The kids all lined up against his office wall, cowering and in tears. Him, a large tall presence, standing over them asking them if they liked to fight. "You! You like to fight?" "Yes, sir." "Well, then, why dont' you fight me? Come on then. What's wrong?" The thought of my 8 year old student trying to wrestle with what must have seemed like a sumo to them, well, you get the picture. I hope he knocked some sense into them. I also had to devote some class time to the whole idea that if someone else is doing it you don't have to, and the old idiom that two wrongs don't make a right. One of the other teachers thinks they're all squirrely because they know they are leaving school and are upset by the idea of three weeks vacation. My kids said to me one day "You're leaving, on a plane?" I had to say "Yes, I'm going to Bali for Christmas vacation." They responded "You're leaving and never coming back! Hey everyone, Miss M is leaving and not coming back!" The pure panic was upsetting. I promised I would return.

We also have the winter talent show coming up and are deep into rehearsals. My kid's show is shaping up, but the main character has changed three times! Finally a girl stepped forward to take the part when I told them that we couldn't do the play otherwise. Plus, I can't find a Santa suit for my Santa and we still have to make the moon and the sleigh out of crappy card board boxes.

On the plus side, my eyes were finally looked at this week by an eye doctor and apparently I suffer from severe dry eye syndrome. They said it's common among women and well, older women. Plus, the climate change. It is very dry, cold, windy and dusty here. I now have special drops as the over the counter ones were doing nothing for me and this goop I have to put in my eyes at bedtime. Blessed be the relief of eye gel! It's only been one day so far and I haven't seen or felt any amazing improvement, but soon. As I taught my kids, cross your fingers and knock on wood for me!

As with the holidays, come the holiday festivities. The staff is attending a farewell dinner for Mark this Friday at a nice restaurant I initally went to with Mark and Colin. It was good. Then, we have a fancy staff party the following Friday to kick off the holidays and celebrate the new year. The invitation states formal attire. Yeah, like I have anything like that to wear! It should be fun though. It's being held at a restaurant fairly close to the school and one I've always wanted to eat at.

I'm much looking forward to my time in Bali. I will wear nothing but my bathing suit for 2 weeks!