School start times

Have we talked about school start times?  Should we talk about school start times?  I feel like we should because I just filled out the timetable worksheet for my fall class and am panicking a teeny bit.

Our school district just pushed the middle school start times back an hour based on all the research that says teens need to sleep later.  This has been-- um, kind of stupid, frankly.  I mean first of all, the high school still starts at the crack of dawn, so what about those teens?  Second of all, teens and tween generally have after school activities, so it completely sucks to have them getting off the bus IN THE DARK at almost 5pm.  And then the end up getting up early to do the homework they couldn't do when they were at sportsball/tumbling/play practice.

But that's not even the worst part you guys.

The worst part is that to compensate for the junior high kiddos going late and using all the damn buses, the school district next year is making the elementary schools start early.  So that means they get out early.  THEY GET OUT BEFORE 3pm EVERYDAY and at 1:15 on MONDAYS.  WHAT THE ACTUAL EFF?  How are people supposed to WORK?

By people, I mean moms, and by moms I mean me. 

So, that brings me to panic about my own class time.  I need it to be early because I need to add hours to the front end of my work day, obvi.  But how early is too early?  Can I trust Jack to stay home for 10 minutes and get on the bus by himself?  Ramona Quimby's parents let her send herself to kindergarten, but times have changed!  Also, the illustrations of unemployed Mr. Quimby grinding cigarettes into a stuffed ashtray in Ramon and her Father are amazing.  Can I actually get to campus and be ready to teach before 9 am?  Will students even want to come to class then? If I teach at 9:55, will I be motivated enough to get out the door at 8 anyway?  Would early office hours help or set me yup to fail? Who will wipe down the bathrooms and clean up breakfast?  I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS.

Speaking of kids not in school when I need to work, these guys were off on Tuesday for parent-teacher conferences, and we had a lovely brunch

 POKEMON CLUB IS THE BEST.  Actually, all of the programs at our library are the best.

 To make my work even more productive , these guys were off on Thursday for their parent-teacher conferences, and we also hit up the book fair

 Dorothy is all the sudden a writer, and I could not love it more.

 In addition to chocolate whipped cream, I also had Kahlua and peppermint vodka in my cocoa because it has been a WEEK, my friends.

 Jack, hard at work on his novel for language arts:

 NOT THE KIND OF NOTES YOU WANT TO HAVE TO TAKE WHEN THE DEAN OF STUDENTS CALLS YOU

Me and Jack, recreating the Facebook decades challenge: