First Day - no kids

Not much going on today... most of the teachers are not in school today or tomorrow as these are both "flex" days.  In exchange for these days teachers could work two days during the summer.  I did a small, but tedius, project for the principal and also completed some new hire paperwork.

I walked around the school.  The building is two stories with an old (ca. 1920) wing and a new (ca. 2006) wing.  Many of the lower grades are in the newer wing; the upper grades are in the old wing.  There is an auditorium and small gymnasium in the old wing.

In the process of working on the principal's project, I learned that my classes will begin with 32-35 students.  I will have 4 math classes and 1 language arts class.  (I am waiting until Wednesday to find out what I will have to do with language arts!)  About 40% of the students prefer information sent home in English, 40% prefer information in Spanish, and 10% prefer Polish.

Some of the students' last names:  Flores, Hernandez, Kowalkowski, Martinez, Solisperez, Szczech, Chavez, Chodorowicz, Hajduk, Lesnicki, Lopez, Marusarz, Tomaszewski, Wojtasik, Diaz, Estrada, Ruentes, Garcia...  It is definitely a mix of Latino and Polish names!

I had lunch at the grocery store at the end of the street.  I heard people - young and old - speaking English, Spanish, and Polish.  The products were typical of any American grocery store; however, there was a huge display of sausages with Polish sounding names.  The bakery cases and shelves also had additional selections that appeared like Mexican goodies and Polish treats.