15 Signs It’s the Last Month of School

1. Your lesson plans all say “Work on project? Or something?”
2. Every single glue stick is empty.
3. No one’s even calling the copier repairman anymore, and people have started storing snacks in the paper trays.
4. Every day is a jeans day. No one really gave permission, it just happened.
5. The things you pack for lunch have gotten weirder and weirder. It wouldn’t surprise you to open your lunch bag and find a stick of butter and a bag of frozen spinach.
6. Students seem shocked when you hand graded papers back. They look at them like, “What is this? Where did it come from? What does it have to do with me?”
7. The lost and found contains enough items to clothe and educate a child for an entire school year and allow her/him to drink out of a different water bottle every day.
8. Everything everywhere smells like a dirty sock.
9. Students say things like, “Why do we still have to do work?” and “When the STAAR test is over, we’re done, right?” with absolutely no irony whatsoever.
10. Parents have finally realized these kids will be their responsibility again soon and have started sending thank-you notes and chocolate.
11. The recycle bins are so full, you can finally slip that pile of very-important-things-you-never-got-around-to inside without anyone noticing.
12. Teachers spend their conference periods bartering for storage space. “I will cover your duty five times next year if I can store two boxes in your closet.” “How many jeans passes will it take for you to keep my textbooks in your built-in shelves?” “I will give you one foot of space in my cabinet for your laptop charger.”
13. In Advisory, you are now teaching important life skills, such as how to properly stack boxes, remove staples from walls, and repair broken desks.
14. When a book you haven’t seen in eight months arrives back in your classroom, you reenact the final scene in The Incredible Journey when the boy reunites with his long lost dog.
15. There is never, ever enough coffee.

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Hang in there, teachers!