When I finally got to my classroom, after running my daily morning marathon of getting my own children safely to school with their instruments and library books, snow gear and snacks, squeezing in just before the first student got to my room, relief flooded my veins. No one was here yet.
I rushed over to my desk to turn on the computer and get the SmartBoard up and running, but something on my desk made me pause. Three new things, to be exact: a post-it in Mrs. Cichocki’s handwriting with our half-day switch schedule (Bless her! We’d texted about it the night before but were missing mission-critical information to finalize it), a new box of candy cane flavored green tea from Trader Joe’s, and a mysterious styrofoam cube.
Upon further examination, I realized the styrofoam was two pieces, much like the way mugs I ordered from Snapfish every Christmas for my parents were packaged. A new mug every year with updated pictures of their granddaughters, whether they liked it or not.
I pulled the top half off to find–as predicted–a mug, but when I pulled the mug out, I got a laugh.
“What’s so funny?” a student asked.
He’d snuck in without my noticing, the first one of the day.
I held it up and showed him.
“Charge your Chromebook,” he read. “Don’t you always say that?”
I nodded.
As more students filed in, chattering about snow day adventures, excited for ski club, Mrs. Berneike and Mrs. Cichocki followed them, clutching their identical new mugs proudly.
“Did you get it get what I left on your desk?” Mrs. Berneike asked.
Mystery solved!
“My Amazon find!” she went on. “I got one for all of us!”
My fabulous teammates began to saunter around the room, holding them very visibly in front of students until they noticed and got the message–the same message they hear from the three of us constantly.
We then proceeded to visit the other two sixth-grade classrooms, brandishing our coffee cups for everyone to see.
May the new year bring not just students with charged Chromebooks, but also us taking time to recharge our own batteries. And if you find yourself at the southwestern end of our long-snaking hallway and are so inclined, stop by for a cup. I hear the candy cane green tea is delicious.
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