No, this is not my principal and I with some of our students on the first day of school. But I have to admit, I’ve been having a few break-into-song-and-swish-down-the-hall-in-in-a-hoop-skirt fantasies ever since the other night, when I saw a production of The King and I. I had expected to be entertained and wowed by the opera company’s many talents, but what I didn’t expect was the flood of excitement about going back to school that overcame me. Okay, I’m a dork. A musical theater loving, school counseling dork. I embrace it.

My principal does not generally dress like this.

I got all kinds of choked up – no kidding, tears and everything – when Anna sang “Getting to Know You” to her new students, the children of the King of Siam.

Getting to know you, getting to know all about you.
Getting to like you, getting to hope you like me.
Getting to know you, putting it my way,
But nicely,
You are precisely,
My cup of tea.

Getting to know you,
Getting to feel free and easy
When I am with you,
Getting to know what to say
Haven’t you noticed
Suddenly I’m bright and breezy
Because of all the beautiful and new
Things I’m learning about you
Day
by
day.

It’s going to be all I can do not to break out in song on the first day of school! (“Getting to Know You” is already in continuous rotation in my head.) I haven’t quite figured out how to finagle the giant hoop skirt, but I’m thinking that it could take recess duty to a whole new level. And if I engineered things correctly, I could tote all my materials – stress balls, puppets, books, planner, laptop, IEPs – right there under all those petticoats.

Oh look, a classroom counseling lesson! Just think of all the stuff you could keep under that skirt!

If you haven’t seen a live production or the movie version of The King and I, I highly recommend it. Here’s a “Getting to Know You” sneak peek. I predict you’re going to be bright and breezy after watching it. Here’s to a wonderful first day of school! Hoop skirt optional.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MNANgFCYpk]