Thursday, June 12, 2025

Finishing the Leis

Tuesday. Eighth grade U.S. history. 

But, um, well, the eighth graders were done. It was technically finals day, but not for eighth graders. They had taken their finals the previous week so that they knew who was eligible for promotion. Grades had been turned in. 

The eighth graders who were eligible for promotion and who wanted to go went to see a movie. (Lilo & Stitch). Mr. F, their teacher, was one of the chaperones. Hence the need for a sub. Because not all the eighth graders go. 

And, well, the other eighth graders didn't really need to be there. But we can't just up and say, "Don't come to school," so it gets hinted, but every year many eighth graders still show up. 

My actual lesson plans (given to me directly by Mr. F before he headed out): Don't let them burn the building down. 

No worries then. 

Most of them found things to do on their phones. But, there were a couple girls (who were not in the class) who had to finish making candy leis. They were doing a fundraiser for the middle school leadership class, and so they had to put together 75 of those things. They had 60-odd done already. 

Found on the internet. If you search "candy lei diy", you can see many different versions as well as instructions on how to make them.

At the end of first period, the girls weren't quite done. I was quite willing to let them continue working during third period even though I had a prep period. It wasn't like I had anything to do. But then, of course, I got asked to cover a different class. Uh... 

I couldn't leave the girls in the classroom on their own. I offered to let them come with me to the other class I had to cover, but it was a lot of stuff to haul across campus. One of them got the idea to ask a counselor to supervise them. That would work. 

Before I could find out if they found someone, I had to head out. I returned to the room (for seventh period) to find all the lei making stuff neatly stacked. Hopefully it was all finished. 

As I was leaving for the day, Mr. F caught up with me. (They all enjoyed the movie.) When I explained about the leis, he said that explained the weird text he had gotten from a counselor. Because, apparently, the girls found a counselor to supervise them. And they finished the 75 leis. Well, that's a relief. 

The leis could be purchased to give to eighth graders to wear during their promotion ceremony. And then after they could eat the candy. 

The joys of the last days of school. So much stuff going on. 

14 comments:

  1. The end of school can be … interesting

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    1. Always. It's why my tag for this time of year is "end of year crazy". Because crazy it is.

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  2. Have a great break. I hope Trump won't rewrite the entire history of America before you're back in school.

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    1. He's trying. They're attempting to cow LA right now, including shoving my senator to the ground and putting him in handcuffs. Interesting times...

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    2. I have seen many pics of persons being arrested in the States that way, shoving them to ground and then handcuffing. Why do they do that? Can't they treat people with some dignity unless they are dangerous criminals?

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  3. That's a cute craft they came up with.

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  4. That's cute, I'm glad they got the chance to finish during class. I hope your break is a good relaxing one!

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  5. That's kind of the substituting I did when I did it that one year. It was more like babysitting, and it was horrible. Also, I was so far removed from the way the schools do things now it was confusing for me. They should have had a day of training for new subs or something.

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    1. They didn't give you any sort of training? I mean, what we got wasn't really "training". It was more an orientation, but there were some helpful tips. There are definitely babysitting days. It depends on the teacher and the day.

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  6. Where were those fun last-days-of-school when I was going to school? Maybe just forgotten. I've never heard of candy leis but I bet the eighth graders enjoy their double purposes.

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    1. I know we didn't get these days when I was in school. We just had a day where we dressed up and took pictures and such. They've built things up over the years.

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