We opened up the Commons for the evening session of conferences and returned to the open "arena" style for the last few hours. It was nice to get back to that kind of forum. There are benefits to having the conferences in our own classrooms and by appointment (such as for parents who would prefer to call or video chat, and for us to get more work done during any down time). However, I've missed the congeniality of having the faculty together. While getting work done during down time is nice, I also enjoy getting to chat with my colleagues or even to have the opportunity to watch them interact with parents and students.
I came home to find that the rest of the snow had fallen off the roof and that my dogs had used their new snow ramp to make their escape from their enclosed dog yard. Thus, once again, but this time in the dark, I started digging a snow trench through those new piles, hoping that it will be enough to keep them contained. Rowen came out to help me just as he did yesterday when we had to deal with the other fence where the same thing had happened when the snow fell off the garage. Thus, after a long (if productive) day at school and a decent load of shoveling besides, I find myself quite ready to get a good night's sleep.