Gearing Up

So, this is it. The night before it begins...it's going to be a huge year.

The last couple of days we've spent a couple of hours each day at school starting to get ready - hubby's been putting together his middle school classroom and I've been working on unit outlines, task sheets, work programs...all the paperwork behind senior school.

It's really only just starting to dawn on me that as of tomorrow the holidays are over and it's back to work. Honestly, I've got mixed feelings about it. I'm nervous about the new role, I'm overwhelmed by the looming workload, I'm upset about not having certain subjects that were originally on my timetable...but at the same time I'm excited and eager to get started. But I have to wonder, am I ready? I have the necessary knowledge and willingness to learn what I don't yet have; I have the necessary equipment to get through the days (my laptop's charging, as are my phone and ipod touch - I even have pen and paper)...but is that enough? Do I have my sense of humour? My optimisim and determination? The stamina to see through an eleven week first term? Have I got enough sleep stored away that I can live on very little for the next few weeks?

There's no deep discussion about pedagogy or elearning tonight. No push at the frontier of 21st century education. Just this - how do you get ready for the beginning of a school year?