Progress

We have a new district SIS (student information system) and one awesome thing about it is that we now have 17 report card comment options instead of only 12.  The new comments are nothing particularly insightful, mind you, but I am immensely pleased that I can now say "Poor attendance" for the student who showed his face 0 times during the third quarter.  Previously I could only say "Irregular attendance" and that student is nothing if not regular.

You can't make this stuff up

Two sweet, well-mannered, easygoing boys from my 5th period class got in a fight in the cafeteria today, just before my class.  The rest of the class was AMPED when they came into my room, and I was shocked that D. and A. fought, so I was dying to find out the details, but clearly the right teacher move was to try to distract the kids into doing physics work instead.

Later I asked the principal what the story was, and I laughed and laughed.  Which was probably unprofessional.  Oops.

Apparently D. was telling his friends at lunch about the vein that pops out of his forehead when he is angry.  The other boys wanted to see it, and D. said the thing that makes him angriest is when people talk trash about his family.  So T. said something about D's mom, and it didn't work - no vein.

Then A. chimed in with some other comment about D's mom, for purposes of the vein experiment of course, and D. got so mad that he punched A. in the face.  Obviously A. then punched him back, and so on, until they were rolling on the floor fighting.

This is the most hilarious fight story I have ever heard.

The obvious two remaining questions, to which I may never know the answers, unless I abandon all professionalism and ask T. for the scoop tomorrow:
1. What did A say?
2. Did D's vein pop out before he threw the punch?

Compliments, some unintentional

1.  "I don't know why everyone loves you and hates Ms. A [math teacher].  It should be the other way around.  You're the one who sucks."  This was meant as a sincere insult but I took it as a compliment, since it came from J in 3rd period who has already made it extremely clear that he very strongly dislikes me.  What I didn't know is that I was even vaguely popular amongst the majority of students in my crazy rowdy 3rd period.

2.  "Only for this class, because my other teachers don't deserve it."  This was from L in 5th period, regarding her over-the-top awesome amazing projects that she has turned in for every project so far in my class.

It's the end of third quarter, the start of April vacation, 6 weeks until the big state test and 2 months until school is out.  But who's counting?