Get SmartReporter from versiontracker.com. It sits in your menubar and checks the smart status.
And, since you've got the MB, get yourself an external portable SATA HD (like the Passport), where you'll clone the internal drive regularly, and copy updated docs every day (and your email database. Cloning = bootable.) If your internal HD fails, replacing the MB HD is a user serviceable item. You can be up and running again in 10 minutes. If the internal HD fails during end-of-semester, you'll be minimally inconvenienced. After the semester is over, transfer the dead HD back in, and have Apple replace it. Most Apple stores would probably do it in-house??