The Curse Continues

Okay, just for those of you who may not know what I'm talking about, here's the background story:

I am a substitute teacher at the elementary school that my daughter attends. I have been working there quite consistently since she was in first grade. Anyway, since that year, there has been a concern that I "cause" many of the drills and other "emergency" situations on campus. Just as an example, in that first year I began teaching at the school, ALL of the following things happened while I was in the classroom:

• 5 fire drills
• 1 real lock down (due to an armed gunman who robbed a local bank)
• 1 real tornado (not a drill) in the Vancouver area
• 1 earthquake drill
• 1 tornado drill (now that we know they are possible in our area, we have to practice)
• 1 evacuation drill

Keep in mind that this is all within one year...and (if I remember correctly) they all happened while I was substituting for the SAME teacher. Anyway, since then, I rarely miss a drill; nor do I often miss an actual emergency at school. It is a running joke! Sometimes when I walk into the building, people say things like "Oh great! I guess we're having a fire drill today! Keep your coat nearby!" One day I was even told to "go back to [my] car" because the administrative staff didn't want me to be blamed for the fire drill they were about to call.

My favorite incident (it's so hard to choose) was this November. We had indoor recess all week because of the very cold temperatures and bone-chilling winds outside....so, we were all surprised to have a fire drill. It was not planned (microwave malfunction); nevertheless, we all had to evacuate the building with the temperature hovering around 13 degrees, and 40 mile an hour winds. It was SO awesome! (sarcasm) I felt like a cheater for letting my kindergartners take their coats outside. Generally, the idea is to leave everything behind and leave immediately, but I didn't see/smell smoke, so I made an executive decision to let everyone take 20 seconds to get coats. (I should have taken the time to have them get gloves, scarves, and hats!)

Okay, that's the history. Here's what happened today. I came to school at noon for a half-day position. I took my 2nd graders to lunch at 12:15. While we were standing in the lunch line the familiar buzzing of the fire alarm and flashing of strobe lights interrupted us. We gathered up kids from several locations in the cafeteria and headed out into a hail storm. (Of course, it couldn't just be overcast, or, dare I say, sunny outside!) Even though the drill was caused by a little kid who pulled the fire alarm, I felt equally responsible. As we vacated the building, I was given the look by other teachers that said "this must be YOUR fault!" Although I do know they are just joking....something inside me still feels responsible. I was even told by one of my students, when we returned to the lunchroom, that this drill "was [my] fault".

I can safely say, with confidence, that THE CURSE CONTINUES! I wonder what else will happen this week?!?!?