...why, when I have classes of 17 and 19, that I keep getting new kids scheduled into my class of (now) 33.
Just wondering.....
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Random Musings...
It's 9:00 pm in my Beloved South, it's still 85 degrees outside on my front porch and the heat index says it feels like 93 degrees. This is wrong on a lot of levels, the main one being that we're in school now so dadgummit, it should at least feel like fall.
I did see one tree today covered in yellow leaves. I don't know if it's because it thinks it is fall, or that it's so hot it just gave up.
Another heat advisory for tomorrow and Thank the Lord and Our Awesome Janitors that we Have Air Conditioning!!
We spent the first two hours of the past two days teaching the kids expectations and behaviors as part of our SWPBS. Fortunately the lessons were already done for us, we just had to roll them out. It went pretty well, although we really didn't need two hours...oh well, live and learn. Did a carousel activity where they wrote down expectations for behavior in seven main zones of the school (classroom, hallways, cafeteria, bus, etc.) which was interesting. It got them moving and talking (which they love) so that, and the class discussion as a wrap up, worked well. Today was skits on behaviors where they got to show how to do things the wrong way (hilarious) and the right way (not so funny but we still learned some stuff).
I'm having fun swooping down like some avenging angel of happiness and handing out PBS money for good deeds and behavior spotted - like the kid who picked up the milk carton off the cafeteria floor on her own accord - and looking at the kids' faces when they get their money. We're supposed to be very specific when we give them their money - "I really appreciate how you were responsible and took the initiative to keep our cafeteria clean," for example - and it kind of blows their mind when you say it that way. That part, at least, is fun.
Another random thought - having PowerSchool schedule the kids was not a really good idea. One kid went up to Mrs. LovelyLanguage and mentioned that it seemed a bit weird that he actually had three Language Reading classes, and didn't have any math classes. Sure enough he had been scheduled into her regular reading/language block of two classes and then had been scheduled again into the gifted reading/language block class, with, of course, no room for math. We got that fixed, he now has has a block of gifted reading/language, and advanced math.
And poor Mrs. LovelyLanguage, a veteran of 3rd grade teaching, had her past come up and haunt her when a seventh grader pulled the ultimate elementary experience - he threw up. On his desk, his agenda, his work, and, unfortunately, on her. He went home sick, she cleaned up best she could, and life went on.
My class of 36 is down to 32. I'm hoping it gets to 30, or better yet, 28. It's a noisy bunch with a lot of high maintenance kids in there.
My 4th period is scaring me. Seriously. Yesterday I had them all of 30 minutes and did the fastest introduction to my class I've ever done. Today I walk into the room from hall duty expecting complete chaos (this is another class of 32) and you could have heard a pin drop. I am not kidding. Each and every one of them had his or her agenda out, was rapidly filling it out, they weren't talking, they were seated, it was, well, kind of unnerving. I have had classes for an entire YEAR who could not (chose not to) get out their agenda and fill it out every day like they were supposed to. Jolly Ranchers all around for this bunch.
Why am I so freaking tired? I miss my naps.
I did see one tree today covered in yellow leaves. I don't know if it's because it thinks it is fall, or that it's so hot it just gave up.
Another heat advisory for tomorrow and Thank the Lord and Our Awesome Janitors that we Have Air Conditioning!!
We spent the first two hours of the past two days teaching the kids expectations and behaviors as part of our SWPBS. Fortunately the lessons were already done for us, we just had to roll them out. It went pretty well, although we really didn't need two hours...oh well, live and learn. Did a carousel activity where they wrote down expectations for behavior in seven main zones of the school (classroom, hallways, cafeteria, bus, etc.) which was interesting. It got them moving and talking (which they love) so that, and the class discussion as a wrap up, worked well. Today was skits on behaviors where they got to show how to do things the wrong way (hilarious) and the right way (not so funny but we still learned some stuff).
I'm having fun swooping down like some avenging angel of happiness and handing out PBS money for good deeds and behavior spotted - like the kid who picked up the milk carton off the cafeteria floor on her own accord - and looking at the kids' faces when they get their money. We're supposed to be very specific when we give them their money - "I really appreciate how you were responsible and took the initiative to keep our cafeteria clean," for example - and it kind of blows their mind when you say it that way. That part, at least, is fun.
Another random thought - having PowerSchool schedule the kids was not a really good idea. One kid went up to Mrs. LovelyLanguage and mentioned that it seemed a bit weird that he actually had three Language Reading classes, and didn't have any math classes. Sure enough he had been scheduled into her regular reading/language block of two classes and then had been scheduled again into the gifted reading/language block class, with, of course, no room for math. We got that fixed, he now has has a block of gifted reading/language, and advanced math.
And poor Mrs. LovelyLanguage, a veteran of 3rd grade teaching, had her past come up and haunt her when a seventh grader pulled the ultimate elementary experience - he threw up. On his desk, his agenda, his work, and, unfortunately, on her. He went home sick, she cleaned up best she could, and life went on.
My class of 36 is down to 32. I'm hoping it gets to 30, or better yet, 28. It's a noisy bunch with a lot of high maintenance kids in there.
My 4th period is scaring me. Seriously. Yesterday I had them all of 30 minutes and did the fastest introduction to my class I've ever done. Today I walk into the room from hall duty expecting complete chaos (this is another class of 32) and you could have heard a pin drop. I am not kidding. Each and every one of them had his or her agenda out, was rapidly filling it out, they weren't talking, they were seated, it was, well, kind of unnerving. I have had classes for an entire YEAR who could not (chose not to) get out their agenda and fill it out every day like they were supposed to. Jolly Ranchers all around for this bunch.
Why am I so freaking tired? I miss my naps.
Monday, August 09, 2010
Let's Try Something New
Mrs. Eagle and I have always been the type of teachers who are willing to try something new to see if it works with our kids in our classrooms. Foldable notes? We'll try 'em (love them). Cornell notes? We'll give them a whirl (hated them, kids hated them, we don't do them.) Brainpop videos and quizzes? Sure, bring them on (use them a lot!)
So, when nearly a year ago, Admin said they were considering putting together a program (with the help of a prestigious nearby University and members of the staff) to help with our discipline issues, we were all for it. Goodness knows we have more and more at-risk kids walking our halls every year, many of whom have absolutely no support at home. We needed to find a way to keep them in class and learning, rather than constantly getting into trouble and being out the door.
So, it's been nearly a year that our school has been working on this program, and they rolled it out to the faculty (for the most part) last spring right before we left for the summer. Today was an in-service day and we had workshops on how to train our kids on this (gotta love lessons already done up for you), as well as how to reward them and how to do our new discipline referral process.
Gotta be honest...I'm impressed.
Tomorrow and Wednesday we have a two hour block in the morning where we'll be working with our homeroom kids on the program. Lessons are already prepared, posters up on the wall, we're ready to go. From the conversations I've been hearing in the halls, pretty much the entire faculty (and definitely all the admin) are willing to give this a real chance. Good gracious, they even trained the cafeteria people and the bus drivers on the program, so that's saying something!
So, we'll see how it goes. I'll keep ya'll posted.
And in the meantime, let's just hope my class of 36 magically shrinks.
So, when nearly a year ago, Admin said they were considering putting together a program (with the help of a prestigious nearby University and members of the staff) to help with our discipline issues, we were all for it. Goodness knows we have more and more at-risk kids walking our halls every year, many of whom have absolutely no support at home. We needed to find a way to keep them in class and learning, rather than constantly getting into trouble and being out the door.
So, it's been nearly a year that our school has been working on this program, and they rolled it out to the faculty (for the most part) last spring right before we left for the summer. Today was an in-service day and we had workshops on how to train our kids on this (gotta love lessons already done up for you), as well as how to reward them and how to do our new discipline referral process.
Gotta be honest...I'm impressed.
Tomorrow and Wednesday we have a two hour block in the morning where we'll be working with our homeroom kids on the program. Lessons are already prepared, posters up on the wall, we're ready to go. From the conversations I've been hearing in the halls, pretty much the entire faculty (and definitely all the admin) are willing to give this a real chance. Good gracious, they even trained the cafeteria people and the bus drivers on the program, so that's saying something!
So, we'll see how it goes. I'll keep ya'll posted.
And in the meantime, let's just hope my class of 36 magically shrinks.
Friday, August 06, 2010
1 down, 179 to go...
So today was the first (half) day of school.
And, considering some of the first days we've had in the past, this wasn't too bad. Really. (In case you're wondering about one of the less than stellar first days, click here.)
The buses were all unloaded quickly, the sixth graders made their way to the gym, the seventh graders made their way to the theater, and the 8th graders (who should, for the most part, know their way around) looked up their homerooms which were posted, and went to their class. In fact, the buses all unloaded so fast that we had to wait nearly 15 minutes to start calling out our kids because the walkers and parent drop off kids hadn't all shown up yet.
We did have attendance lists and rosters. We also had - surprise! - emergency cards which we weren't expecting until Tuesday. Out of 29 kids in my homeroom, 25 showed up, which isn't too bad. However, I still have some really unbalanced classes - 27, 31, 19, 35, and 18. The Administrators all walked around to welcome the kids and The Principal mentioned that she really noticed the unbalanced class sizes and was going to see if Guidance could fix it before Tuesday (I hope...) Apparently this is what happens when you let a computer system do your schedules for you. Still, with block english/language arts, special ed, advanced classes, and all that, sometimes it's hard to get the class sizes balanced. We shall see.
The kids were really pretty good - chatty to start with, but on the whole not bad. It's always so dreadfully boring the first day or so as you spend most of the time handing out paperwork, going over stuff like supply lists (exciting stuff), and forms that need to be signed, returned, blah, blah, blah. Like I tell the kids, it's boring to me too. We did finally get through all that, had the five of us on the team circulate and introduce ourselves, and then I had the kids do a few "getting to know you" activities because it amazes me that they can sit in a class with a kid for a year and not know his or her name! They liked that activity because it was noisy, involved moving around the room, and they could talk, talk, talk.
One thing I noticed...out of 25 kids that showed up, 23 ride the bus. That's huge. It will make going to lockers at the end of the day a bit of a challenge because I always let bus riders go first...and now that's most of the class. Hum...
Monday it's in-service on our new School Wide Positive Behavior Support program (more on that soon). Tuesday it's back to reality with a full day, a full schedule, and a whole bunch of kids.
And, considering some of the first days we've had in the past, this wasn't too bad. Really. (In case you're wondering about one of the less than stellar first days, click here.)
The buses were all unloaded quickly, the sixth graders made their way to the gym, the seventh graders made their way to the theater, and the 8th graders (who should, for the most part, know their way around) looked up their homerooms which were posted, and went to their class. In fact, the buses all unloaded so fast that we had to wait nearly 15 minutes to start calling out our kids because the walkers and parent drop off kids hadn't all shown up yet.
We did have attendance lists and rosters. We also had - surprise! - emergency cards which we weren't expecting until Tuesday. Out of 29 kids in my homeroom, 25 showed up, which isn't too bad. However, I still have some really unbalanced classes - 27, 31, 19, 35, and 18. The Administrators all walked around to welcome the kids and The Principal mentioned that she really noticed the unbalanced class sizes and was going to see if Guidance could fix it before Tuesday (I hope...) Apparently this is what happens when you let a computer system do your schedules for you. Still, with block english/language arts, special ed, advanced classes, and all that, sometimes it's hard to get the class sizes balanced. We shall see.
The kids were really pretty good - chatty to start with, but on the whole not bad. It's always so dreadfully boring the first day or so as you spend most of the time handing out paperwork, going over stuff like supply lists (exciting stuff), and forms that need to be signed, returned, blah, blah, blah. Like I tell the kids, it's boring to me too. We did finally get through all that, had the five of us on the team circulate and introduce ourselves, and then I had the kids do a few "getting to know you" activities because it amazes me that they can sit in a class with a kid for a year and not know his or her name! They liked that activity because it was noisy, involved moving around the room, and they could talk, talk, talk.
One thing I noticed...out of 25 kids that showed up, 23 ride the bus. That's huge. It will make going to lockers at the end of the day a bit of a challenge because I always let bus riders go first...and now that's most of the class. Hum...
Monday it's in-service on our new School Wide Positive Behavior Support program (more on that soon). Tuesday it's back to reality with a full day, a full schedule, and a whole bunch of kids.
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Down to the Wire
So tomorrow is the first day of school. Actually it's a half day, but who's quibbling?
And no, I do not know why we go a half day on a Friday, have a teacher in-service on Monday and the kids finally show up for a full day on Tuesday. It doesn't make sense to me either.
Anyhow, I'm not sure if it's because this is my eighth first day of school, or because I finally got a bit more organized, or if I got started earlier, but I had my room set up and ready to go about three days ago. I got the bulk of it done Friday of last week, but started going in every morning this week (to get back on the getting up at o-dark-thirty routine) which enabled me to get a lot more done. No last minute copying, no last minute poster-hanging (I hate that part), no last minute anything. So it's a bit weird because everything is ready to go.
Except we have no homeroom rosters.
Seriously.
I sarcastically suggested we line the kids up in the theater like you did as a kid when you chose teams on the playground and pick the kids we want in our homeroom. (Actually, now that I think of it, I kind of like that idea.)
I love our guidance department. They are rock stars. They are some of my best friends. So, it's not really fair that they get blamed for the whole scheduling problem issue because truly, it isn't their fault. It's technology. We use PowerSchool (which I usually love for the most part) but they did some changes over the summer and for some reason it has not been cooperating. At all.
First problem is that we've gone from three seventh grade teams to two seventh grade teams. Our numbers are down this year (which is weird because they are building apartments and subdivisions all over our zone but alas, no middle school kids. Perhaps they're all elementary.) And the eighth grade has gone from three full teams to two teams plus a "mini-team". Some of the eighth grade teachers are going to be teaching one class of seventh graders to reduce the class sizes. So, since Mrs. Eagle's team is closer to the eighth grade hall than my team is, her team should be getting about 30 or so more kids than my team (and these kids will be the ones that have one eighth grade teacher). Confused?
So, for some reason that no one can figure out, PowerSchool wants to schedule all new seventh graders onto my team. And from what the Guidance Goddess said, yesterday and today was Scheduling Hell as parents and kids were lined three deep trying to register for school.
And then there's the issue of balanced class sizes. Although we currently don't have homerooms, we can see some of the kids that are in our other classes. My class sizes are quite a bit bigger - for the most part - than last year. Let's see, 3rd period has 29, 4th period has 23, 5th period has 22, 6th period has 37 and 7th period has 17. (Yesterday 6th period had 42).
All of this will probably change by tomorrow. I can cram about 34 kids in my room, with 7 lab groups of 4, one lab group of 2, and 4 flying solo seats. It should be interesting to see how many show up, and how it all shakes out.
Oh boy!!!
And no, I do not know why we go a half day on a Friday, have a teacher in-service on Monday and the kids finally show up for a full day on Tuesday. It doesn't make sense to me either.
Anyhow, I'm not sure if it's because this is my eighth first day of school, or because I finally got a bit more organized, or if I got started earlier, but I had my room set up and ready to go about three days ago. I got the bulk of it done Friday of last week, but started going in every morning this week (to get back on the getting up at o-dark-thirty routine) which enabled me to get a lot more done. No last minute copying, no last minute poster-hanging (I hate that part), no last minute anything. So it's a bit weird because everything is ready to go.
Except we have no homeroom rosters.
Seriously.
I sarcastically suggested we line the kids up in the theater like you did as a kid when you chose teams on the playground and pick the kids we want in our homeroom. (Actually, now that I think of it, I kind of like that idea.)
I love our guidance department. They are rock stars. They are some of my best friends. So, it's not really fair that they get blamed for the whole scheduling problem issue because truly, it isn't their fault. It's technology. We use PowerSchool (which I usually love for the most part) but they did some changes over the summer and for some reason it has not been cooperating. At all.
First problem is that we've gone from three seventh grade teams to two seventh grade teams. Our numbers are down this year (which is weird because they are building apartments and subdivisions all over our zone but alas, no middle school kids. Perhaps they're all elementary.) And the eighth grade has gone from three full teams to two teams plus a "mini-team". Some of the eighth grade teachers are going to be teaching one class of seventh graders to reduce the class sizes. So, since Mrs. Eagle's team is closer to the eighth grade hall than my team is, her team should be getting about 30 or so more kids than my team (and these kids will be the ones that have one eighth grade teacher). Confused?
So, for some reason that no one can figure out, PowerSchool wants to schedule all new seventh graders onto my team. And from what the Guidance Goddess said, yesterday and today was Scheduling Hell as parents and kids were lined three deep trying to register for school.
And then there's the issue of balanced class sizes. Although we currently don't have homerooms, we can see some of the kids that are in our other classes. My class sizes are quite a bit bigger - for the most part - than last year. Let's see, 3rd period has 29, 4th period has 23, 5th period has 22, 6th period has 37 and 7th period has 17. (Yesterday 6th period had 42).
All of this will probably change by tomorrow. I can cram about 34 kids in my room, with 7 lab groups of 4, one lab group of 2, and 4 flying solo seats. It should be interesting to see how many show up, and how it all shakes out.
Oh boy!!!
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Oh, It's Just Me Frying an Egg on the Sidewalk
It's nearly 5:00 pm and the temperature on my shaded front porch is 99.3 degrees Fahrenheit. (Hey, I'm a science teacher, so of course I'm going to tell you whether I'm talking Celsius or Fahrenheit!) The heat index is supposedly 111 degrees. Just about 50 miles north of here the heat index is supposedly 122 degrees.
And school starts on Friday.
Some school districts in the region are delaying opening school since they apparently don't have functioning air conditioning systems. We, however, do have functioning air conditioning (cross my fingers) so we're going to go ahead and start. I feel bad for the kids who ride the bus because they are definitely not air conditioned. All outside activities are canceled, which is smart. Actually I've been at The School the past few days and it's been rather comfortable. So, if nothing breaks, we're good to go on Friday.
Still, there's some concern about the fact that we start school so early in August - the hottest month of the year. (And there are some districts who start in late July!) Some argue that we could save money by not having to air condition schools as they'd be unoccupied by students. Others argue that we've taken away kids' summers, so much so that there's a political action group here called Save Our Summers who would like to see statewide legislation requiring that school cannot start prior to Labor Day.
Personally, it really doesn't matter much to me when we start school. In fact, I wouldn't even mind year-round school. As long as I have enough time to teach content prior to The Very Big Deal Government Mandated Tests, I'm happy.
But it got me to wondering...readers, when do you start school? Any of you teach/attend a year-round school? What do ya'll think???
In the meantime, I may just go cook supper out on the sidewalk. You know, save some electricity.
And school starts on Friday.
Some school districts in the region are delaying opening school since they apparently don't have functioning air conditioning systems. We, however, do have functioning air conditioning (cross my fingers) so we're going to go ahead and start. I feel bad for the kids who ride the bus because they are definitely not air conditioned. All outside activities are canceled, which is smart. Actually I've been at The School the past few days and it's been rather comfortable. So, if nothing breaks, we're good to go on Friday.
Still, there's some concern about the fact that we start school so early in August - the hottest month of the year. (And there are some districts who start in late July!) Some argue that we could save money by not having to air condition schools as they'd be unoccupied by students. Others argue that we've taken away kids' summers, so much so that there's a political action group here called Save Our Summers who would like to see statewide legislation requiring that school cannot start prior to Labor Day.
Personally, it really doesn't matter much to me when we start school. In fact, I wouldn't even mind year-round school. As long as I have enough time to teach content prior to The Very Big Deal Government Mandated Tests, I'm happy.
But it got me to wondering...readers, when do you start school? Any of you teach/attend a year-round school? What do ya'll think???
In the meantime, I may just go cook supper out on the sidewalk. You know, save some electricity.
Friday, July 30, 2010
A Little Like Christmas In July
Summer is done.
Today I loaded up the car and headed over to The School to unpack and get my room set up. Amazing how long that can take.
Every year we have to box up and pack up our rooms. For those, like me, who have absolutely no built-in storage, this means EVERYTHING. Mrs. Eagle had cabinets and all sorts of counters in her old room so it was simply a matter of just putting stuff away. My room, however, has nothing of the sort, so I have to box it all up so that the janitors, bless their hearts, can empty the entire room to strip and wax the floors. Then they haul all the stuff back in and, thankfully, read the little map we tape to our doors so they know, more or less, where things go. I have to give them credit - this year I didn't have to hardly move a thing. They were rock stars.
A few years ago I got tired of the Spring hunt for boxes with which to pack up my room and instead bought big plastic tubs to store things in. This has turned out to be one of the smartest things I've ever done. For one thing, it increased my storage during the year. Four of these huge tubs can sit under the work table by my door. That means I can store things in these four tubs during the year. The other ones I simply stash in an out-of-the way corner (I do not have a square room so there are a lot of weird little corners) and then I pull them out every Spring and pack them up again.
I do not, however, label them with what's in them. Because that changes every year. Which means that today was kind of like opening presents at Christmas. Wonder what's in this tub? Oh wow, books, pipe cleaners, and my precious red Swingline stapler! Cool!
I did get a lot accomplished. Still need to get out and hang up posters, and figure out kid seating, bring in the plants and clean a few things, and then I should be ready to go. Heavens, I even got the technology up and running and working. That can sometimes be a disaster but this year worked out fine.
Now if I can just find a way to fit a rumored 34 kids per class into a room that's made to accommodate 28...
Today I loaded up the car and headed over to The School to unpack and get my room set up. Amazing how long that can take.
Every year we have to box up and pack up our rooms. For those, like me, who have absolutely no built-in storage, this means EVERYTHING. Mrs. Eagle had cabinets and all sorts of counters in her old room so it was simply a matter of just putting stuff away. My room, however, has nothing of the sort, so I have to box it all up so that the janitors, bless their hearts, can empty the entire room to strip and wax the floors. Then they haul all the stuff back in and, thankfully, read the little map we tape to our doors so they know, more or less, where things go. I have to give them credit - this year I didn't have to hardly move a thing. They were rock stars.
A few years ago I got tired of the Spring hunt for boxes with which to pack up my room and instead bought big plastic tubs to store things in. This has turned out to be one of the smartest things I've ever done. For one thing, it increased my storage during the year. Four of these huge tubs can sit under the work table by my door. That means I can store things in these four tubs during the year. The other ones I simply stash in an out-of-the way corner (I do not have a square room so there are a lot of weird little corners) and then I pull them out every Spring and pack them up again.
I do not, however, label them with what's in them. Because that changes every year. Which means that today was kind of like opening presents at Christmas. Wonder what's in this tub? Oh wow, books, pipe cleaners, and my precious red Swingline stapler! Cool!
I did get a lot accomplished. Still need to get out and hang up posters, and figure out kid seating, bring in the plants and clean a few things, and then I should be ready to go. Heavens, I even got the technology up and running and working. That can sometimes be a disaster but this year worked out fine.
Now if I can just find a way to fit a rumored 34 kids per class into a room that's made to accommodate 28...
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Sign of the Times?
Seen today on a drugstore's electronic sign (where they advertise specials and stuff).
"Flu Shot Gift Cards! $29.99"
You gotta give them credit for thinking outside the box.
"Flu Shot Gift Cards! $29.99"
You gotta give them credit for thinking outside the box.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Winding Down
Summer is pretty much over in terms of vacation, but definitely not in terms of weather.
Amazingly enough, a few districts in the region started yesterday, but we don't get our kids until the 6th. Still, it's time to wrap up those last few in-services (I think I already have something like 18 hours), get into the room and get it put together, and get ready.
It's been nice hanging out a lot with Hubby, and the Felines, but I'm ready to go back and see my friends, especially the Guidance Group, and my fellow teammates. I actually almost kinda miss the kids. I didn't get everything accomplished that I wanted to but that's pretty much par for the course for me.
My garden has, for the most part, been a disappointment. I think the early heat in June did not help any, which is why I hardly have any tomatoes this year. We have massive huge tomato plants but they are just starting to set fruit, which is way late in the season. I should be canning tomatoes by now and I'm lucky to get any to put on a salad. The broccoli (which was an experiment) got pretty much ruined by heat and worms so I've tossed that all on the compost heap. Same with the potatoes. The beets did well, the lima beans are starting to produce, and the peppers are doing fantastic. I think I'll do a fall planting this weekend of some of the cool weather vegetables and see if I have better luck with them.
I have planted a lemon tree.
Yes, I know, I live too far North for citrus, but I got this idea that if I could plant a dwarf lemon tree in a pot, and bring it into the kitchen during the winter, I might be able to get lemons. My folks had a drawf Meyer lemon tree in a pot on the patio when I was growing up, so my dad found one for sale on line, I bought it, and now I've got it planted. It is 8 inches tall. (No lemons, obviously).
All this because I hate paying 69 cents a piece for lemons.
Amazingly enough, a few districts in the region started yesterday, but we don't get our kids until the 6th. Still, it's time to wrap up those last few in-services (I think I already have something like 18 hours), get into the room and get it put together, and get ready.
It's been nice hanging out a lot with Hubby, and the Felines, but I'm ready to go back and see my friends, especially the Guidance Group, and my fellow teammates. I actually almost kinda miss the kids. I didn't get everything accomplished that I wanted to but that's pretty much par for the course for me.
My garden has, for the most part, been a disappointment. I think the early heat in June did not help any, which is why I hardly have any tomatoes this year. We have massive huge tomato plants but they are just starting to set fruit, which is way late in the season. I should be canning tomatoes by now and I'm lucky to get any to put on a salad. The broccoli (which was an experiment) got pretty much ruined by heat and worms so I've tossed that all on the compost heap. Same with the potatoes. The beets did well, the lima beans are starting to produce, and the peppers are doing fantastic. I think I'll do a fall planting this weekend of some of the cool weather vegetables and see if I have better luck with them.
I have planted a lemon tree.
Yes, I know, I live too far North for citrus, but I got this idea that if I could plant a dwarf lemon tree in a pot, and bring it into the kitchen during the winter, I might be able to get lemons. My folks had a drawf Meyer lemon tree in a pot on the patio when I was growing up, so my dad found one for sale on line, I bought it, and now I've got it planted. It is 8 inches tall. (No lemons, obviously).
All this because I hate paying 69 cents a piece for lemons.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
No, I Haven't Fallen Off The Face of the Earth, I'm Just Summering...and At War With a Rodent
Sorry for not posting much.
However, life is pretty calm when I'm notherding teaching seventh graders. It's time to catch up on reading, deep cleaning my house (you have no idea what a wreck it gets during the school year), clean out closets, work on lessons for next year, organize my office, knitting, and work on my yard and garden. And of course, getting to spend time with Mr. Bluebird and The Feline Children.
And naps. Naps are important.
The heat has been pretty unusual during most of June and into July. That means that my yard work has to take place pretty early in the morning or fairly late in the evening when it isn't so hot. Weeds can grow overnight in our climate, so there's quite a bit of weeding, and feeding of the plants, pruning, and even watering. Hard to believe we had floods in May and now we're dry, dry, dry.
And then there's the chipmunk.
Every year we put out a vegetable garden. This year we've moved the tomatoes over to another part of the yard, and the center raised bed has red and green peppers, jalapenos, beets, lettuce, carrots, bush beans, broccoli, and cucumbers. This garden is fenced off with what we call our "rabbit fence" because we do have quite a number of rabbits that call our yard home. Another fenced off area contains some lima bean plants as well as some potatoes.
For the record, I've never grown lima beans, potatoes, or broccoli. My garden every year resembles a science experiment because you never quite know what's going to happen. I think our cold wet spring, and the early heat wave in June has impacted some of my experiments, so to speak. The broccoli is all leaves with no vegetable part yet, which may be due to the heat - broccoli is somewhat of a cold weather plant. I'm thinking that may be the issue with the potatoes as well as the plants are kind of floppy and leggy and not bushy like the Southern Living Garden Book said they should be. As for the lima beans, they got put in late because the first batch rotted after our flood in May and I had to replant. The jury is still out on them.
Anyhow, back to the chipmunk.
I have never, in nearly twenty years of growing tomatoes, had a rabbit eat a tomato. They just don't seem to like them. So, as a result, I've never put up a rabbit fence around my tomato plants. It just wasn't necessary. However, this year we have a new resident in our yard, and he's starting to really annoy me.
We've spotted him a few times including one time when he was on the sidewalk out front of my office window and I nearly was able to get a picture of him (but of course he spotted me and ran off.) He's tunneled around the flower beds both in the front yard and in the back. And of course, he's now eating my tomatoes.
The holes in the yard I can deal with. But to eat my tomatoes? That's uncalled for especially since my plants really aren't producing all that many tomatoes to begin with. For some weird reason all the fruit on the plants is low to the ground (within chipmunk reach) and there's not even a whole lot at that. I'm starting to suspect these plants, all of which are different varieties, may have had a hard time adjusting from cool, wet weather and then sudden plunge into a heatwave.
It appears that I may have to put up a chipmunk fence now.
However, life is pretty calm when I'm not
And naps. Naps are important.
The heat has been pretty unusual during most of June and into July. That means that my yard work has to take place pretty early in the morning or fairly late in the evening when it isn't so hot. Weeds can grow overnight in our climate, so there's quite a bit of weeding, and feeding of the plants, pruning, and even watering. Hard to believe we had floods in May and now we're dry, dry, dry.
And then there's the chipmunk.
Every year we put out a vegetable garden. This year we've moved the tomatoes over to another part of the yard, and the center raised bed has red and green peppers, jalapenos, beets, lettuce, carrots, bush beans, broccoli, and cucumbers. This garden is fenced off with what we call our "rabbit fence" because we do have quite a number of rabbits that call our yard home. Another fenced off area contains some lima bean plants as well as some potatoes.
For the record, I've never grown lima beans, potatoes, or broccoli. My garden every year resembles a science experiment because you never quite know what's going to happen. I think our cold wet spring, and the early heat wave in June has impacted some of my experiments, so to speak. The broccoli is all leaves with no vegetable part yet, which may be due to the heat - broccoli is somewhat of a cold weather plant. I'm thinking that may be the issue with the potatoes as well as the plants are kind of floppy and leggy and not bushy like the Southern Living Garden Book said they should be. As for the lima beans, they got put in late because the first batch rotted after our flood in May and I had to replant. The jury is still out on them.
Anyhow, back to the chipmunk.
I have never, in nearly twenty years of growing tomatoes, had a rabbit eat a tomato. They just don't seem to like them. So, as a result, I've never put up a rabbit fence around my tomato plants. It just wasn't necessary. However, this year we have a new resident in our yard, and he's starting to really annoy me.
We've spotted him a few times including one time when he was on the sidewalk out front of my office window and I nearly was able to get a picture of him (but of course he spotted me and ran off.) He's tunneled around the flower beds both in the front yard and in the back. And of course, he's now eating my tomatoes.
The holes in the yard I can deal with. But to eat my tomatoes? That's uncalled for especially since my plants really aren't producing all that many tomatoes to begin with. For some weird reason all the fruit on the plants is low to the ground (within chipmunk reach) and there's not even a whole lot at that. I'm starting to suspect these plants, all of which are different varieties, may have had a hard time adjusting from cool, wet weather and then sudden plunge into a heatwave.
It appears that I may have to put up a chipmunk fence now.
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Freaky Fair Food
One of the things I like about Summer are fairs, especially county fairs and state fairs. I've been to some pretty small, but fun, county fairs, especially when I lived up North. I've also been to some really wonderful county fairs that can give state fairs a run for their money. And of course, there are some wonderful state fairs (the Ohio State fair comes to mind) that just absolutely rock for fun.
There's just something about fairs. I love the animals (who can't love a little lamb?), plus the exhibits (gardening and of course knitting are popular with me) and the different vendors.
And there's the food. There really is nothing quite like fair food. You name it, and you can probably get it at a fair.
And even if you can't name it, you can probably get it at a fair.
A few years ago I was out visiting Momma Bird in San Diego when the county fair rolled around. This is one of the best fairs I've ever been to, and it a regular ritual for Momma Bird and her friends (and me if I'm there at the right time). The big talk around the fair that year was a new fried food treat - deep fried avocado.
Seriously.
Now I don't eat fried food that often to start with, but I do enjoy fried zucchini (available at the fair) and fried dill pickles (seriously good, discovered them Up North but they've migrated down here now). However. Deep fried Twinkies, Oreos, and yes, avocado was a bit much. I mean, I like avocados and all that, especially in a good guacamole, but deep fried? Not for me. Momma Bird and I had a good giggle over that one as we split a basket of deep fried zucchini.
And now every year Momma Bird reports to me what the new trendy, wacky, and outright strange fair food is for the year. And as luck would have it, the theme this year is Taste the Fun.
Momma Bird called to report that deep friend Klondike bars were new this year as were deep fried Pop Tarts. Now, I can kind of see these working out. I've had fried ice cream before at a Mexican restaurant, and fried Pop Tarts would kind of be like a fried pie. Then Momma Bird added in a few that were a bit too weird for me.
Like deep fried butter. And chocolate covered bacon. And finally, a chocolate covered dill pickle.
I am not kidding.
Honestly, it sounds like something my seventh graders would invent just to be disgusting.
There's just something about fairs. I love the animals (who can't love a little lamb?), plus the exhibits (gardening and of course knitting are popular with me) and the different vendors.
And there's the food. There really is nothing quite like fair food. You name it, and you can probably get it at a fair.
And even if you can't name it, you can probably get it at a fair.
A few years ago I was out visiting Momma Bird in San Diego when the county fair rolled around. This is one of the best fairs I've ever been to, and it a regular ritual for Momma Bird and her friends (and me if I'm there at the right time). The big talk around the fair that year was a new fried food treat - deep fried avocado.
Seriously.
Now I don't eat fried food that often to start with, but I do enjoy fried zucchini (available at the fair) and fried dill pickles (seriously good, discovered them Up North but they've migrated down here now). However. Deep fried Twinkies, Oreos, and yes, avocado was a bit much. I mean, I like avocados and all that, especially in a good guacamole, but deep fried? Not for me. Momma Bird and I had a good giggle over that one as we split a basket of deep fried zucchini.
And now every year Momma Bird reports to me what the new trendy, wacky, and outright strange fair food is for the year. And as luck would have it, the theme this year is Taste the Fun.
Momma Bird called to report that deep friend Klondike bars were new this year as were deep fried Pop Tarts. Now, I can kind of see these working out. I've had fried ice cream before at a Mexican restaurant, and fried Pop Tarts would kind of be like a fried pie. Then Momma Bird added in a few that were a bit too weird for me.
Like deep fried butter. And chocolate covered bacon. And finally, a chocolate covered dill pickle.
I am not kidding.
Honestly, it sounds like something my seventh graders would invent just to be disgusting.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Wedding Bells
As luck would have it, one of my on-line friends and fellow blogger, Mr. Teacher, is getting married this week! (And if memory serves, he met the future Mrs. Teacher at an in-service! Sometimes they actually are worthwhile!) In any case, in honor of this momentous event, Mr. Teacher is offering a special deal on his book, Learn Me Good. If you haven't read this book, do so! It's hilarious and heartwarming and just a fun read for educators and non-educators alike. So scoot on over to his site, buy the book and help the young man pay for his wedding!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Tracking Down our Amish Guy
When we first moved down to Our Beloved South about seven years ago, I discovered an Amish farmer who would set up his produce and baked good stand nearby. Hubby and I loved this guy and his wares. Gorgeous produce, wonderful flowers (his fall mums were amazing), baked goods, and jams and jellies. He was actually closer for us than the downtown farmers market and I enjoyed stopping by every Saturday (the only day he was open) to get my produce for the week. (At least the stuff I don't attempt to grow on my own).
Last year he had to relocate his spot a bit down the road due to a sale of the property he was on, and was in a church parking lot (with the church's permission, of course). No problem, his regular customers found him just down the road a bit, and continued to come by. He is fairly busy most Saturdays with a steady stream of people coming by.
This spring we drove by to check to see if his little shed was up only to find no shed this spring. This was not good. The town he sets up in isn't very large so we pretty much drove all over trying to locate his shed. No luck. We even went so far as to call the local police department, thinking they would know, and the very nice lady that answered the phone said she knew exactly who I was talking about, but sadly, did not know if he'd relocated or decided not to set up a stand this year.
Our Amish Guy was missing.
No jam. No cookies. No gorgeous fall mums. No sweet corn. No tomatoes.
We were not happy.
But then I got a tip from one of my knitting friends who mentioned that she saw a guy with a shed about two miles from where our guy used to set up. She didn't know if it was the same guy, but it was worth a try. So this afternoon hubby and I headed out to the location she'd mentioned and lo and behold, we found our Amish Guy! (And promptly spent about $20 with him).
It's wonderful when you have these special summer things that make it such a neat season. So tonight, I'm making pork chops and we're going to have some lovely sliced 'maters with our supper. Yummy!
Last year he had to relocate his spot a bit down the road due to a sale of the property he was on, and was in a church parking lot (with the church's permission, of course). No problem, his regular customers found him just down the road a bit, and continued to come by. He is fairly busy most Saturdays with a steady stream of people coming by.
This spring we drove by to check to see if his little shed was up only to find no shed this spring. This was not good. The town he sets up in isn't very large so we pretty much drove all over trying to locate his shed. No luck. We even went so far as to call the local police department, thinking they would know, and the very nice lady that answered the phone said she knew exactly who I was talking about, but sadly, did not know if he'd relocated or decided not to set up a stand this year.
Our Amish Guy was missing.
No jam. No cookies. No gorgeous fall mums. No sweet corn. No tomatoes.
We were not happy.
But then I got a tip from one of my knitting friends who mentioned that she saw a guy with a shed about two miles from where our guy used to set up. She didn't know if it was the same guy, but it was worth a try. So this afternoon hubby and I headed out to the location she'd mentioned and lo and behold, we found our Amish Guy! (And promptly spent about $20 with him).
It's wonderful when you have these special summer things that make it such a neat season. So tonight, I'm making pork chops and we're going to have some lovely sliced 'maters with our supper. Yummy!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Happy Father's Day
First off, important things first...
Happy Father's Day not only to my very awesome dad who taught me a lot of things, not the least being how to love sports and how to install a new faucet, but to all the fathers out there who are doing their job. Biology doesn't make you a father...how you treat and raise those kids is what makes you a father. So good for you! Have a happy day.
And as for me...I've been out of town for several weeks, doing summer camp, and haven't posted in a bit. Sorry, if any of you were wondering. About two days before I was scheduled to head out, my hard drive crashed on my laptop (and it wasn't even two years old, but already out of warranty). Dang. Fortunately Mr. Math is a geek of the highest order, so he helped me buy a new one, installed it, and we're all up and running.
And I'm going to do a commercial plug here. I ordinarily wouldn't do something like this but when I find a product that rocks, I'll do it. Last year I got Carbonite for my husband's computer because it was old, he used it for work, he's writing a book, and quite honestly, I didn't want to have to deal with the fall out if something happened. Thank goodness I did. His ten year old (yes, I know) computer died, but we were able to salvage everything due to Carbonite and Mr. Math (the geek) who helped us when we bought the new computer. So, since I have lots of pictures and stuff on my computer, I thought I'd sign my computer up. Well, 45 days later I'm glad I did. It's money well spent. I'm sold on their product and their customer service.
Anyhow, I'm back, I'll be posting a bit more now that I'm home, and I hope you all are having a great summer.
Happy Father's Day not only to my very awesome dad who taught me a lot of things, not the least being how to love sports and how to install a new faucet, but to all the fathers out there who are doing their job. Biology doesn't make you a father...how you treat and raise those kids is what makes you a father. So good for you! Have a happy day.
And as for me...I've been out of town for several weeks, doing summer camp, and haven't posted in a bit. Sorry, if any of you were wondering. About two days before I was scheduled to head out, my hard drive crashed on my laptop (and it wasn't even two years old, but already out of warranty). Dang. Fortunately Mr. Math is a geek of the highest order, so he helped me buy a new one, installed it, and we're all up and running.
And I'm going to do a commercial plug here. I ordinarily wouldn't do something like this but when I find a product that rocks, I'll do it. Last year I got Carbonite for my husband's computer because it was old, he used it for work, he's writing a book, and quite honestly, I didn't want to have to deal with the fall out if something happened. Thank goodness I did. His ten year old (yes, I know) computer died, but we were able to salvage everything due to Carbonite and Mr. Math (the geek) who helped us when we bought the new computer. So, since I have lots of pictures and stuff on my computer, I thought I'd sign my computer up. Well, 45 days later I'm glad I did. It's money well spent. I'm sold on their product and their customer service.
Anyhow, I'm back, I'll be posting a bit more now that I'm home, and I hope you all are having a great summer.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
The Big Payoff
Earlier this week, Mrs. Eagle and I engaged in one of our favorite rituals signifying the ending of one school year and the beginning of summer.
We went to the local High School and saw a lot of our former students graduate.
Both of us had actually received graduation announcements from former students which just blows my mind. Kids often remember the teachers that made a difference in high school, but there aren't many that reflect way back on their past and recall a middle school teacher. Especially seventh grade teachers...I think seventh grade is such a rough year for most kids that then tend to blank it out (I did). But we got those invitations and that was even more motivation to go see our kids graduate.
Several things really stood out for me.
One, I was amazed (and relieved) that some of the kids I had who just really struggled during seventh grade were graduating from high school with honors. It goes to show that often times a kid can pull it together after falling completely apart in seventh grade.
Second, the best part of the ceremony had to be when one of the graduates, who had been in a severe accident a few years ago, nearly died, and who has undergone a lot of rehabilitation, received his diploma. One of his teachers wheeled him up in his wheelchair, and then he pushed himself up, stood, took two steps, and received his diploma. That young man got a standing ovation from everyone in that auditorium and he deserved it. He's undergone a lot in his young life, but he's managed to do something many kids don't even try to do - he graduated.
Third, and this is the old lady witch coming out in me, I wish people understood the dignity of a graduation ceremony and dressed the part. I swear I saw more inappropriate clothing on parents (sagging pants, boobs falling out of tops, short shorts, you name it) than I see at one of my rare trips to the mall. Come on people, your kid is graduating, so stop looking like a hooker for once and act like a parent! (Mrs. Eagle and I spent a lot of our time rolling our eyes at each other as some of these fashion disasters paraded by.)
But on the whole, it was a wonderful experience to see these kids make it to graduation. They were a nice group of kids when I had them all those years ago, and I wish them the best in their future.
And it's just kinda neat that I may have had a small role to play in their success.
We went to the local High School and saw a lot of our former students graduate.
Both of us had actually received graduation announcements from former students which just blows my mind. Kids often remember the teachers that made a difference in high school, but there aren't many that reflect way back on their past and recall a middle school teacher. Especially seventh grade teachers...I think seventh grade is such a rough year for most kids that then tend to blank it out (I did). But we got those invitations and that was even more motivation to go see our kids graduate.
Several things really stood out for me.
One, I was amazed (and relieved) that some of the kids I had who just really struggled during seventh grade were graduating from high school with honors. It goes to show that often times a kid can pull it together after falling completely apart in seventh grade.
Second, the best part of the ceremony had to be when one of the graduates, who had been in a severe accident a few years ago, nearly died, and who has undergone a lot of rehabilitation, received his diploma. One of his teachers wheeled him up in his wheelchair, and then he pushed himself up, stood, took two steps, and received his diploma. That young man got a standing ovation from everyone in that auditorium and he deserved it. He's undergone a lot in his young life, but he's managed to do something many kids don't even try to do - he graduated.
Third, and this is the old lady witch coming out in me, I wish people understood the dignity of a graduation ceremony and dressed the part. I swear I saw more inappropriate clothing on parents (sagging pants, boobs falling out of tops, short shorts, you name it) than I see at one of my rare trips to the mall. Come on people, your kid is graduating, so stop looking like a hooker for once and act like a parent! (Mrs. Eagle and I spent a lot of our time rolling our eyes at each other as some of these fashion disasters paraded by.)
But on the whole, it was a wonderful experience to see these kids make it to graduation. They were a nice group of kids when I had them all those years ago, and I wish them the best in their future.
And it's just kinda neat that I may have had a small role to play in their success.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Last Day!
So today was the last half day of school.
Yeah, I know. A half day on a Monday. Why bother? Honestly, I don't know why we did it like this this year, but we did. Teachers, however, have two more days to report for in-service, including one day that's a make-up for the snow days we had earlier this year.
We actually managed to get report cards handed out on Friday, so we didn't have to deal with that. It was, honestly, a fairly nice morning. The kids that showed up (19 out of a homeroom of 26) helped do some packing, ate some snacks and watched The Sandlot and had a pretty nice time. And then, of course, we waved the buses goodbye which is my favorite end of the year tradition.
I had, for the most part, a pretty good group of kids this year. And if you compared them to the group from the previous year, they were angels. I'm going to miss seeing some of them every day. Some of them I'd take home and keep in a heartbeat. Some of them already have good character and I know will be successful in life. I'm proud of many of them.
On a good note, I've received some really nice graduation announcements from some of my former students. That's always nice to see because kids don't always remember their middle school teachers like they do their high school teachers. Mrs. Eagle and I will be going to commencement on Thursday and I'm looking forward to seeing some of my kids walk across the stage and get their diplomas. It's nice knowing you may have had a small part in getting that kid to that point in his or her life.
And better yet? One of my girls from way back came by today and invited me and Mrs. Bunny to her graduation. She's going to be going to Eastern Kentucky University this fall and will major in Chemistry! A scientist! I'm so proud of her. I love it when our kids do well!
Yeah, I know. A half day on a Monday. Why bother? Honestly, I don't know why we did it like this this year, but we did. Teachers, however, have two more days to report for in-service, including one day that's a make-up for the snow days we had earlier this year.
We actually managed to get report cards handed out on Friday, so we didn't have to deal with that. It was, honestly, a fairly nice morning. The kids that showed up (19 out of a homeroom of 26) helped do some packing, ate some snacks and watched The Sandlot and had a pretty nice time. And then, of course, we waved the buses goodbye which is my favorite end of the year tradition.
I had, for the most part, a pretty good group of kids this year. And if you compared them to the group from the previous year, they were angels. I'm going to miss seeing some of them every day. Some of them I'd take home and keep in a heartbeat. Some of them already have good character and I know will be successful in life. I'm proud of many of them.
On a good note, I've received some really nice graduation announcements from some of my former students. That's always nice to see because kids don't always remember their middle school teachers like they do their high school teachers. Mrs. Eagle and I will be going to commencement on Thursday and I'm looking forward to seeing some of my kids walk across the stage and get their diplomas. It's nice knowing you may have had a small part in getting that kid to that point in his or her life.
And better yet? One of my girls from way back came by today and invited me and Mrs. Bunny to her graduation. She's going to be going to Eastern Kentucky University this fall and will major in Chemistry! A scientist! I'm so proud of her. I love it when our kids do well!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The Mystery Club
This year we had a new club on campus called TAG. None of us really seemed to know much about TAG except that one of the newer 8th grade teachers was the sponsor, and most of the members seemed to be 8th graders. A lot of us thought it might have to do with technology, others (like myself) thought it might have to do with business skills as these kids came up with some really innovative ways to make money. And others pretty much gave up trying to figure out the club because the kids were always really vague on what it was about and gave answers along the lines of "if we told you, we'd have to kill you."
But the kids were always out there working hard, raising money, and they seemed to enjoy it, so we figured it was a pretty good thing.
Last week we found out what the TAG club was all about. According to The Principal, a number of 8th grade students came to her this past fall about putting together a club. She gets kids all the time coming to her about clubs, and she tells them all pretty much the same thing - find a teacher to sponsor your club and she'll sign off on it. She told this group the same thing and they went off and she figured she would never see them again.
Except they found a sponsor. And a new club was born. And the name of the club? The Teacher Appreciation Group.
I kid you not.
This group of kids wanted to put together a club for the SOLE PURPOSE of raising money to throw a party for their teachers and staff at the end of the school year as a way of letting us all know how much they appreciated all we've done for them for the past three years. They wanted it to be a surprise, and didn't really want to reveal who all was in the club until the party.
You should have heard the response in the faculty meeting when The Principal told us about this club and told us that the party would be after school on Thursday. We were dumbfounded. Amazed. Flattered. And just plain astonished.
Who would have thought, in this day and age, that a group of kids would want to spend all year raising money just so they could throw a party for their teachers?
Amazing.
So we had the party today and it was astonishing. Hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ chicken, sides, and acres of desserts. The kids had music playing, a massage chair set up (nice touch) and were offering to pour more punch, hand out another brownie, and to make sure none of us wanted for anything. They got up and expressed their thanks, talked about how much we meant to them, and just were awesome.
The best part? The kids in this group were not the popular kids, or the top academic kids, or the kids that really grab your attention. For the most part they were the middle of the road kids, the kids easily overlooked, the kids that didn't stand out for any particular reason. Many of the ones I had were kids who struggled in class, and honestly, had some rough times in seventh grade. But each and every one of them had an adult there who took him or her under his or her wing and, obviously, made a difference.
I've never been so proud of my kids. And so humbled.
But the kids were always out there working hard, raising money, and they seemed to enjoy it, so we figured it was a pretty good thing.
Last week we found out what the TAG club was all about. According to The Principal, a number of 8th grade students came to her this past fall about putting together a club. She gets kids all the time coming to her about clubs, and she tells them all pretty much the same thing - find a teacher to sponsor your club and she'll sign off on it. She told this group the same thing and they went off and she figured she would never see them again.
Except they found a sponsor. And a new club was born. And the name of the club? The Teacher Appreciation Group.
I kid you not.
This group of kids wanted to put together a club for the SOLE PURPOSE of raising money to throw a party for their teachers and staff at the end of the school year as a way of letting us all know how much they appreciated all we've done for them for the past three years. They wanted it to be a surprise, and didn't really want to reveal who all was in the club until the party.
You should have heard the response in the faculty meeting when The Principal told us about this club and told us that the party would be after school on Thursday. We were dumbfounded. Amazed. Flattered. And just plain astonished.
Who would have thought, in this day and age, that a group of kids would want to spend all year raising money just so they could throw a party for their teachers?
Amazing.
So we had the party today and it was astonishing. Hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ chicken, sides, and acres of desserts. The kids had music playing, a massage chair set up (nice touch) and were offering to pour more punch, hand out another brownie, and to make sure none of us wanted for anything. They got up and expressed their thanks, talked about how much we meant to them, and just were awesome.
The best part? The kids in this group were not the popular kids, or the top academic kids, or the kids that really grab your attention. For the most part they were the middle of the road kids, the kids easily overlooked, the kids that didn't stand out for any particular reason. Many of the ones I had were kids who struggled in class, and honestly, had some rough times in seventh grade. But each and every one of them had an adult there who took him or her under his or her wing and, obviously, made a difference.
I've never been so proud of my kids. And so humbled.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Digging the Denim
Happiness is carefully rationing out your casual day coupons so you have enough left to wear jeans for the rest of the school year.
Yeah!
For the uninitiated, at The School, The Principal requires that we dress professionally - henceforth, no jeans. However, on occasions we will have a "free" casual day as a reward (for example, the day after parent/teacher conferences). We have also figured out that selling casual day coupons to teachers (at $5 a pop) is a great fundraiser. These things are like gold.
And the best ones? They're the ones that an admin will randomly hand to you for doing things like always being in the hallway during class changes. Sort of a reward for doing your job right.
I love casual day coupons.
Yeah!
For the uninitiated, at The School, The Principal requires that we dress professionally - henceforth, no jeans. However, on occasions we will have a "free" casual day as a reward (for example, the day after parent/teacher conferences). We have also figured out that selling casual day coupons to teachers (at $5 a pop) is a great fundraiser. These things are like gold.
And the best ones? They're the ones that an admin will randomly hand to you for doing things like always being in the hallway during class changes. Sort of a reward for doing your job right.
I love casual day coupons.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Just Not My Perky Self, and an Exploding Mountain
I hope this isn't so.
But here it is, the very last full week of school...and I feel like I'm coming down with a cold.
Truly not a good thing.
However, there are some positives. For one, it's the time of year where The Enforcer tends to look at discipline files and the number of days left to go, and begins to suspend kids for the duration. Of course, many of these kids, by now, are repeat offenders and have racked up enough points for suspensions. He just makes it easier on all of us, as well as the others, by eliminating the problem children from our rooms.
Hall duty has been entertaining. I have made Mrs. Bunny happy by writing up one of her darlings who decided to turn around and punch the boy behind her in the family jewels. Poor kid doubled over and I thought I was going to to pick him up off the floor.
Queen Bee Bully is gone. Apparently the family is moving out of state so she got checked out for good. The kids have breathed a huge sigh of relief. Texas, prepare yourself.
Snotty Girl is suspended for yet another cell phone infraction. She's a perfect example of how some people can't (or refuse to) learn from their mistakes. That cell phone is the bane of her existence. Then again, the number of kids getting busted for cell phones is skyrocketing. Apparently they seem to think that the rules get tossed out of the window during the last week of school.
Think again.
And that includes my little lazy darling who has spent this entire year shaking his long hair back and forth (except for the week when he was out with - you guessed it - lice) and not working. Apparently he felt it necessary to bring his weed to school and is now gone for 365 days. At least it explains a bit about his complete lack of motivation and poor work production (although capable of much more).
Sigh.
On a good note, today is the 30th anniversary of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. NOVA has put on line a wonderful video called Mt. St. Helens: Back from the Dead, which we have spent the past few days watching and discussing. (I'm so glad I get to teach earth science now...although we covered all this stuff at the beginning of the year.) It's a great video and the kids really were fascinated by it, and asked a lot of really good questions. I highly recommend it.
And me, going to watch some hockey, take some vitamins, and hope I'm really not getting a cold.
But here it is, the very last full week of school...and I feel like I'm coming down with a cold.
Truly not a good thing.
However, there are some positives. For one, it's the time of year where The Enforcer tends to look at discipline files and the number of days left to go, and begins to suspend kids for the duration. Of course, many of these kids, by now, are repeat offenders and have racked up enough points for suspensions. He just makes it easier on all of us, as well as the others, by eliminating the problem children from our rooms.
Hall duty has been entertaining. I have made Mrs. Bunny happy by writing up one of her darlings who decided to turn around and punch the boy behind her in the family jewels. Poor kid doubled over and I thought I was going to to pick him up off the floor.
Queen Bee Bully is gone. Apparently the family is moving out of state so she got checked out for good. The kids have breathed a huge sigh of relief. Texas, prepare yourself.
Snotty Girl is suspended for yet another cell phone infraction. She's a perfect example of how some people can't (or refuse to) learn from their mistakes. That cell phone is the bane of her existence. Then again, the number of kids getting busted for cell phones is skyrocketing. Apparently they seem to think that the rules get tossed out of the window during the last week of school.
Think again.
And that includes my little lazy darling who has spent this entire year shaking his long hair back and forth (except for the week when he was out with - you guessed it - lice) and not working. Apparently he felt it necessary to bring his weed to school and is now gone for 365 days. At least it explains a bit about his complete lack of motivation and poor work production (although capable of much more).
Sigh.
On a good note, today is the 30th anniversary of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. NOVA has put on line a wonderful video called Mt. St. Helens: Back from the Dead, which we have spent the past few days watching and discussing. (I'm so glad I get to teach earth science now...although we covered all this stuff at the beginning of the year.) It's a great video and the kids really were fascinated by it, and asked a lot of really good questions. I highly recommend it.
And me, going to watch some hockey, take some vitamins, and hope I'm really not getting a cold.
Friday, May 14, 2010
The Curse of the Seventh Grade
I am beginning to think that this class of seventh graders has a curse hanging over their heads. Or, if not a curse, one big black miserable cloud.
First, their camping trip was canceled due to The Flood we had at the beginning of the month. Some of these kids had been looking forward to this since December and were besides themselves with excitement. I am still amazed at how well they took it when I gathered them up and explained that we just couldn't guarantee their safety and since the camping area was under water, there wasn't much we could do. They didn't whine, fuss, or complain. They just sucked it up.
Then, the kids in drama, most of whom are seventh graders, received the news that their play (a musical, no less) was going to be postponed until we return to school in the fall. They had lost precious rehearsal time, many of the kids still didn't know their lines, and The Flood just complicated things. Another major disappointment.
And then there was Field Day.
Field Day is a big deal for these kids. I mean who couldn't love a day of running around, screaming, eating snow cones and just having a grand old time with your friends and not being stuck in a classroom all day? (I'm not including the teachers in this statement. Most of us tolerate it. Barely.)
So, due to The Flood, instead of having field day on three successive Fridays, they had Field Day on three successive days. Sixth grade was on Wednesday (warm and clear), eighth grade was on Thursday (hot and clear) and ours was today.
Any guess on the weather?
They had been predicting thunderstorms and rain (NO! WE'RE TIRED OF RAIN!) all week. It wasn't raining this morning and so we went ahead and tried to give it a go. We got the volleyball tournament started in the gym and while that was going on, the skies opened up. Great. It was raining like mad.
But then it stopped.
And they decided instead of 15 point games, they'd do 21 point games to take up time in the hopes that it dry up outside. And it sort of did so we were able to take the kids out for the kickball portion of the day. The PTA had hot dogs and Gatorade for the kids (free with a ticket from their teacher), they had other snacks to buy, and although it was a tad muddy on the field, the pavement was dry, the sun was shining and it was hot and muggy.
Awesome.
And then we could hear thunder in the distance. And it got cloudier. And we just finished up the last game of the kickball tournament and had taken the kids inside for lunch when it began to rain again.
Wonderful.
But it gets better.
The kids are in the cafeteria eating lunch, we're down the hall in the teacher lunchroom eating pizza (delayed Teacher Appreciation Lunch which was supposed to happen during the week of The Flood), and Mrs. Sparrow, the assistant principal is there with the radio. All of a sudden were hear The Principal come on the radio and announce that she's going to have to pull the tornado drill alarm as we were under a tornado warning. She then mentioned that all the teachers who had kids in the cafeteria had to go get them out of there and into the hallway where it's safer.
Most of us were sprinting out of the lunch room and into the cafeteria before the alarm went off and we hustled the kids out and into the hallway. I got in there so fast that my kids looked like they didn't know what was going on. They figured it out pretty fast, and hustled toward the door. We got all 300 kids out of there in record time, into the hallway, and down into the tornado position. Getting them quiet was the tough part, but they finally quieted down and we stayed in there for nearly 45 minutes.
Let me tell you, being in a long hallway with a bunch of kids, and insisting they be quiet so we can hear directions on the one radio we had, is tough.
Finally it was over, we let them go back and finish their lunch, and then we went back to our classes. It was still raining. We finally gave up on finishing field day and got the word that they are going to try it again later next week when the weather is supposed to be better. The remainder of today we basically let them relax and watched some videos. Of course, being the science geek I am, I had them watch one on tornadoes.
Appropriate, eh?
I hope next week everything works as planned. I really, really do.
First, their camping trip was canceled due to The Flood we had at the beginning of the month. Some of these kids had been looking forward to this since December and were besides themselves with excitement. I am still amazed at how well they took it when I gathered them up and explained that we just couldn't guarantee their safety and since the camping area was under water, there wasn't much we could do. They didn't whine, fuss, or complain. They just sucked it up.
Then, the kids in drama, most of whom are seventh graders, received the news that their play (a musical, no less) was going to be postponed until we return to school in the fall. They had lost precious rehearsal time, many of the kids still didn't know their lines, and The Flood just complicated things. Another major disappointment.
And then there was Field Day.
Field Day is a big deal for these kids. I mean who couldn't love a day of running around, screaming, eating snow cones and just having a grand old time with your friends and not being stuck in a classroom all day? (I'm not including the teachers in this statement. Most of us tolerate it. Barely.)
So, due to The Flood, instead of having field day on three successive Fridays, they had Field Day on three successive days. Sixth grade was on Wednesday (warm and clear), eighth grade was on Thursday (hot and clear) and ours was today.
Any guess on the weather?
They had been predicting thunderstorms and rain (NO! WE'RE TIRED OF RAIN!) all week. It wasn't raining this morning and so we went ahead and tried to give it a go. We got the volleyball tournament started in the gym and while that was going on, the skies opened up. Great. It was raining like mad.
But then it stopped.
And they decided instead of 15 point games, they'd do 21 point games to take up time in the hopes that it dry up outside. And it sort of did so we were able to take the kids out for the kickball portion of the day. The PTA had hot dogs and Gatorade for the kids (free with a ticket from their teacher), they had other snacks to buy, and although it was a tad muddy on the field, the pavement was dry, the sun was shining and it was hot and muggy.
Awesome.
And then we could hear thunder in the distance. And it got cloudier. And we just finished up the last game of the kickball tournament and had taken the kids inside for lunch when it began to rain again.
Wonderful.
But it gets better.
The kids are in the cafeteria eating lunch, we're down the hall in the teacher lunchroom eating pizza (delayed Teacher Appreciation Lunch which was supposed to happen during the week of The Flood), and Mrs. Sparrow, the assistant principal is there with the radio. All of a sudden were hear The Principal come on the radio and announce that she's going to have to pull the tornado drill alarm as we were under a tornado warning. She then mentioned that all the teachers who had kids in the cafeteria had to go get them out of there and into the hallway where it's safer.
Most of us were sprinting out of the lunch room and into the cafeteria before the alarm went off and we hustled the kids out and into the hallway. I got in there so fast that my kids looked like they didn't know what was going on. They figured it out pretty fast, and hustled toward the door. We got all 300 kids out of there in record time, into the hallway, and down into the tornado position. Getting them quiet was the tough part, but they finally quieted down and we stayed in there for nearly 45 minutes.
Let me tell you, being in a long hallway with a bunch of kids, and insisting they be quiet so we can hear directions on the one radio we had, is tough.
Finally it was over, we let them go back and finish their lunch, and then we went back to our classes. It was still raining. We finally gave up on finishing field day and got the word that they are going to try it again later next week when the weather is supposed to be better. The remainder of today we basically let them relax and watched some videos. Of course, being the science geek I am, I had them watch one on tornadoes.
Appropriate, eh?
I hope next week everything works as planned. I really, really do.
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