The Day of the Belts

This morning we went to school as usual, not to teach classes but to hand out grades. Tables were set up, and two teachers from each grade sat from 8:00-2:00 to meet with parents and hand them "the notes." As one sixth grade student explained to me during recess yesterday, today was "the day of the belts," because when the parents learn about the bad grades, they pull out the belts. At first, I was petrified of what some parents might say to me when they learned how poorly their child did in my class. However, most of the parents were understanding, and the time passed more quickly than I had thought it would. I almost feel as if this was the last day before Christmas break, because it held a sense of finality. Next week will certainly speed by as we prepare for the Christmas program held on Thursday evening! My first graders will be "Decking the Halls" all week in preparation!