Fire Drill

The other day, I completed my first successful elementary fire drill.  I found elementary fire drills quite different from high school fire drills.  First, the other teacher announced to my class that there was going to be a fire drill that day.  I am so used to fire drills always being a surprise to the students.    I think part of the announcement was the students had to help me find the emergency bag and clipboard before the fire drill (they were tucked into a closet).  I made sure I knew how many students I had and when the alarm sounded, we trooped out to the soccer field. Unfortunately it was a cold drizzly morning.  Luckily it wasn't pouring rain like it had been the day before!  Once on the field, I counted my students.  Unfortunately there were only 26.  I needed 27!  Quickly I count the students again.  Still 26.  I think, the last student had come back from his ELL class fifteen minutes before the alarm.  I try to yell at the kids to make a straight line so I can count again.  Finally, the last teacher to get their kids counted, I get the last student (who I think was talking with a friend in the next line over).  I was worried because when I worked at the junior high, I was told that sometimes the fire department "steals" a kid to make sure that teachers are actually counting their students.  But, at the elementary level, it seems that the fire department isn't as sneaky.  In fact, they weren't even there.  The principal was running the fire drill show!  Overall, I had a feeling that this year would be the year of the fire drill!  Now the only substitute horror story left to finish is teaching sex ed.  I still got four months left for that.