semester exams & itchy hands

Who has two thumbs and hates semester exams? This girl.

I gave 4 semester exams today. I started Grade 6 with a growing chorus of, "This is going to be a great test. This Is Going To Be A Great Test! THIS IS GOING TO BE A GREAT TEST!!!!" They thought it was a fun way to kick off a 7:30am exam. :-)

It became apparent that my 3 seniors had studied very little before their exam. Nonetheless, I felt really bad about their passing rate (or lack thereof). Unfortunately for them, I didn't see much effort put forth to actually learn the information, which makes me less inclined to curve it favorably. (Teachers can I get an Amen?) I dropped 3 points from their exam partially because I'm such a softy but really because of the 3 questions on which I actually stumped myself. You know it's bad when...
Lucky them, they're taking another exam on Tuesday. I'll try to make that one passable--because I'm nice like that.

Have I mentioned that my hands have been uncontrollably itchy since I woke up this morning? No rash, no bumps, no redness, no new soaps, creams, or jewelry. Still itchy. On the inside. Oh the strange ailments I get in Africa. Honestly...you'd think I was making this stuff up.