New Year, New Class!

Aaaaaaannnd we're back!
It's a new year and I have a whole new class of little learners. We've been through the classroom rules, the school rules and where to find the toilets. We talked about always doing our best work and how to be a good friend in the playground. We have covered our new scrapbooks, done some writing samples, and practiced being quiet while we work (still practicing this one).
I have a couple of boys who enjoy pushing the envelope, including one who during computer time, typed "I like sex on the radio"! (Part of the chorus of a recently released Good Charlotte song, for the uninformed). I tried very hard not to laugh while I had my 'growly' voice on for that one!
We had our first adventure of the year with the sighting of a snake outside our classroom last week. With the combination of a 35 degree Aussie summer day plus a swamp and bushland across the road from the school, it was always going to happen. We had a few false sightings last year, but this was the real deal. Luckily, it was one of my most level-headed kids who saw it first on his way to the toilet at recess and rather than trying to touch it or tackle it a la Steve Irwin like some of my other kids might have done, he came straight to me (yes apparently this is part of my job title now - snake problem-solver!). I called the office who came straight down armed with plastic salad tongs from the staff room -seriously!
Chinese whispers spread like bushfire around the school and kids came running to see the snake that had come out of the boys toilets. Fortunately the snake was smart enough to get out of the way and was hiding in the electrical cupboard. While I was doing some crowd control, the ladies from admin decided this was a little more serious than salad tongs so someone came back with the rubbish-stick-claw-thing.
The snake was found (baby dugite but definately on its way to teenage/early adult stage) and disposed of (I don't want to know where), and all the excitement was over. The whole thing took only about 10mins but it was enough to keep the conversations going in my class all day. The boy who saw it was treated like a hero! And I can now honestly say that this one sighting will guarantee that the kids' bags will be on the bench and zipped up for the rest of the year without me having to say a thing! No one wants to find a friend in their lunchbox at recess!
Apart from the heat (god bless the airconditioning I'm lucky enough to have), and nature sightings, it's been a great start to the year!
I'll keep you posted!