Exam Week...on the other side this time

Hello, all.  This is trimester exam week for the students at Varmond.  It's so interesting to be on the other end of giving big, important exams that are a big percent of the students grades!  I'm mostly doing review guides and administering exams.  So far, so good!  Overall, the students are doing decently.  To avoid situations in which the students could cheat, Miss Monica divide the class of 27 or 28 in half and put them in two different rooms with each of us watching a room full.  This allows them to all have their own table to work at.  The students are responding well and respecting my authority when I tell them that they need to be completely silent during exams unless they raise their hand and I come to talk with them.  So far, we haven't caught anyone cheating (and cheating has been an issue in 6th grade in a number of circumstances) on the exams, so I'm happy about that.  The reviews seem to be going fairly well, too.  I went through half of the math review guide that I wrote with each class.  I made sure to leave time for students to ask questions, and I was happy when I could tell a few of them were remembering things or relearning how to do them.  I learned that it was helpful to ask students how they solve the problems, since one student shared a method that they've used in Spanish before.  I encouraged them all to use it, since I figured it would be the most familiar method for them.  In grammar, I had time to fit in one fun matching game with subjects and verbs to compliment the review guide.  I'm hoping that helps them remember how to make subject-verb agreements.  I guess I'll find out tomorrow after the grammar exam!

In other exciting school news, my coop. teacher and I are helping to plan the Kermesse for St. Patrick's Day, which will be complete with a scavenger hunt.  Students will need to look for teachers that match obscure clues (e.g. I am the teacher who still has a baby tooth that never fell out!)  We have to come in green on Tuesday, and fortunately, I packed ONE green shirt for Mexico!

I'll close for now with some fun and random cultural things I learned:

• If you show up too early to a place (especially in the morning), they ask you, "¿Te caíste de tu cama?"  This means, "Did you fall out of your bed?"  Jaja (haha in Spanish)
• If you show up too late?...."¿Te pegaron tus sabanas?"  This means, "Did your bed sheets hit you?" as in did they cover you up and prevent you from getting out of bed?
• Here, and afilar (a sharpener) goes around the streets to go to people's homes and sharpen their knives!!  He plays a flute sound to let you know he's in your street, but superstition has it here that when you hear the flute sound, it's bad luck for your money.  Why?  I haven't a clue...but that's what my host fam. told me.

I hope the randomness of all that entertained you!