There is a kind of dumb song that has been out for awhile called "Call me Maybe"
You can listen to it HERE! (after commercial breaks)
A parent showed me THIS version today which I think is AWESOME!
The kiddos got a kick out of the 2nd version! I had a substitute aide today. It was wonderful I forgot how much we could get done with good help. It was a good finish to a crazy week.
November 29, 2012
November 28, 2012
Raffles...
Sometimes things work out the way they should! Today we drew the name for our lamb raffle. My Aunt's name was drawn. She bought 20$ worth of tickets and asked that if she won it go to a family in need. After school today with several parents, the secretary, janitor, and more around a parent drew the winning ticket. My grin was huge when I saw the name on the ticket. Our secretary called right away and they were thrilled to be the recipients. This was one of those times when I knew that the right thing happened. YAY!!!
All of this week I haven't had a classroom aid. My secretary won't call a substitute so that has been frustrating. I finally brought it up today when I found out she would be out again tomorrow. Then the secretary asked the sub (who is a parent) To just come in as a volunteer instead of being a paid sub. WHAT??? Seriously! I felt really bad that she even asked this. This parent has come in soooo many times to fill the gap before she was certified as a sub because she cares about our students. How could you ask her to do it again for NOTHING!! Grrrrrr. It really ticked me off.
Our High School basketball coach has really raised the standard for the players. I am really impressed and pleased that the expectations are more than in the past. There was a bit of grumbling only from a couple of students who had worked with a sub-par standard before. I told them all of the reasons this was going on. Then I found out a recent graduate posted on Facebook recently that she wished her teachers had pushed her a little harder. She is having a difficult time at college. I know one of her teachers did and she was resistant. Now she understands the cost of working just hard enough to pass the High School state test. Also the school failed her by keeping teachers in jobs who weren't doing their job.
So we made it through another mad crazy day!
All of this week I haven't had a classroom aid. My secretary won't call a substitute so that has been frustrating. I finally brought it up today when I found out she would be out again tomorrow. Then the secretary asked the sub (who is a parent) To just come in as a volunteer instead of being a paid sub. WHAT??? Seriously! I felt really bad that she even asked this. This parent has come in soooo many times to fill the gap before she was certified as a sub because she cares about our students. How could you ask her to do it again for NOTHING!! Grrrrrr. It really ticked me off.
Our High School basketball coach has really raised the standard for the players. I am really impressed and pleased that the expectations are more than in the past. There was a bit of grumbling only from a couple of students who had worked with a sub-par standard before. I told them all of the reasons this was going on. Then I found out a recent graduate posted on Facebook recently that she wished her teachers had pushed her a little harder. She is having a difficult time at college. I know one of her teachers did and she was resistant. Now she understands the cost of working just hard enough to pass the High School state test. Also the school failed her by keeping teachers in jobs who weren't doing their job.
So we made it through another mad crazy day!
November 27, 2012
Giggles, Snot, and Hats
I have a variety of hats I wear to keep my ears warm and the kids entertained. Today there was a hat war the students kept stealing my hats. All I could think of was the germ factor. So I brought my hats home for baths. I can't leave them at school that is for sure! I didn't have help today and the kids were pushing all the limits. I never know what they will get up to but I finally had to get cranky. They apologized for "disappointing" me! I was surprised they used that word but appreciated the sentiment.
Before Thanksgiving break we had some pretty funny happenings at school. We had an extraordinarily long and disorganized assembly. There was an attempt made by those putting it on to be very professional and make it exciting. That didn't happen until it was over. The principal was standing in front of the entire school and was about to tell us to go on our merry way when my kindergartner jumped up and ran to her. I was thinking "Oh no what is he doing?" Then the principal says " Student has an announcement to make". He stands in front of the whole school and says " I am going to be an UNCLE!!!!" Long, long, pause.....while we all do calculations in our head and try to remember the age of his oldest sibling. We all seemed to realize at the same time this was indeed possible and happening. We all applauded and he got many hoots and hollers from the High School students. This announcement was a dangerous thing to begin... it opened the door wide for the rest of my class. One of my second graders jumps up and says " I have an announcement too" " I get to ride my horse A LOT." I get a visual image of the never ending announcemnts so I quickly jump in and say " What do we say to the people who had this assembly" All of my students yelled "Thank You." Then I immediately made them line up and start leaving the gym. I hear as we are walking out a High School student say " I have an announcement to make I LIKE PIE"!
The day before our break I decided to have pajama day. It just makes it a relaxed day before break. The kids are usually wired before a holiday so it seems to have a calming affect. So at lunch the principal says " so it is pajama day?". One of my students says " YES, Ms. C declared it Pajama Day". I didn't know I had the power to make such declarations but I like it! I will declare it Pajama Day the day before Christmas Break as well.
Cold season has begun. What this means is constant demands for cough drops from students of all ages. It also means going through a massive amount of Kleenex. It also means snotty sneezes. It is the worst. The kids are gagging I am trying to pretend not to gag. UGGH! It really is a disgusting time of year. It is Lysol Spray and handy wipe time. My colleagues kids are constantly bugging me after school. So I gave one of them the job of wiping down the desks. She had a great time.
The janitor came in after school and said she'd be gone next week so we'd have to empty our own trashes. I barely contained my laugh. All of us at least one time a week empty our own trashes. If we don't my Kleenex filled trash bags just get emptied but the bags don't get changed. It gets seriously disgusting. I refrained from making a remark and just said okay.
Tomorrow is the day we draw our Lamb Raffle winner. I am excited to see who the winner is. Our secretary was gone again today. Our 76 year old bus driver was the sub. This means the phone rings off the hook A LOT! I don't know where he disappears to but he does. The ones he does answer and take a message for he ends up interrupting my class for a sales call or other ridiculousness.
I believe my alternator went out on my car and yesterday I had it towed. Thank goodness for Triple AAA. I had it towed to town. However, the chain of gossip was very excited by this occurrence! I have been stopped and questions numerous times about the state of my car. I had no idea it would be so excited. This is how short on news we get around here!
On a sadder note. We lost one of the good ones from my hometown. He and his wife had been married since 1937. It is hard to imagine the level of commitment that took and all the struggles, hardships, etc. They made it through it all. I was able to go say hello to his wife and she says to me " I have barely gotten through being without you so I don't know HOW you've managed without me". I thought that was very sweet. It was like watching a ship without a rudder or a rudder without a ship. However you look at it half of the whole was missing.
Overall it was a good trip home for Thanksgiving. I wish I'd had a little more time but I packed in as much as I could. I got to make a snowman with my cute little cousins and hang out with some fun people! It was a little startling to realize I was surprised when I went into the grocery store. I forgot what it was like to shop somewhere that had such a variety of options. I probably should go to the big city a little more often! Well, I had best sign off.
Before Thanksgiving break we had some pretty funny happenings at school. We had an extraordinarily long and disorganized assembly. There was an attempt made by those putting it on to be very professional and make it exciting. That didn't happen until it was over. The principal was standing in front of the entire school and was about to tell us to go on our merry way when my kindergartner jumped up and ran to her. I was thinking "Oh no what is he doing?" Then the principal says " Student has an announcement to make". He stands in front of the whole school and says " I am going to be an UNCLE!!!!" Long, long, pause.....while we all do calculations in our head and try to remember the age of his oldest sibling. We all seemed to realize at the same time this was indeed possible and happening. We all applauded and he got many hoots and hollers from the High School students. This announcement was a dangerous thing to begin... it opened the door wide for the rest of my class. One of my second graders jumps up and says " I have an announcement too" " I get to ride my horse A LOT." I get a visual image of the never ending announcemnts so I quickly jump in and say " What do we say to the people who had this assembly" All of my students yelled "Thank You." Then I immediately made them line up and start leaving the gym. I hear as we are walking out a High School student say " I have an announcement to make I LIKE PIE"!
The day before our break I decided to have pajama day. It just makes it a relaxed day before break. The kids are usually wired before a holiday so it seems to have a calming affect. So at lunch the principal says " so it is pajama day?". One of my students says " YES, Ms. C declared it Pajama Day". I didn't know I had the power to make such declarations but I like it! I will declare it Pajama Day the day before Christmas Break as well.
Cold season has begun. What this means is constant demands for cough drops from students of all ages. It also means going through a massive amount of Kleenex. It also means snotty sneezes. It is the worst. The kids are gagging I am trying to pretend not to gag. UGGH! It really is a disgusting time of year. It is Lysol Spray and handy wipe time. My colleagues kids are constantly bugging me after school. So I gave one of them the job of wiping down the desks. She had a great time.
The janitor came in after school and said she'd be gone next week so we'd have to empty our own trashes. I barely contained my laugh. All of us at least one time a week empty our own trashes. If we don't my Kleenex filled trash bags just get emptied but the bags don't get changed. It gets seriously disgusting. I refrained from making a remark and just said okay.
Tomorrow is the day we draw our Lamb Raffle winner. I am excited to see who the winner is. Our secretary was gone again today. Our 76 year old bus driver was the sub. This means the phone rings off the hook A LOT! I don't know where he disappears to but he does. The ones he does answer and take a message for he ends up interrupting my class for a sales call or other ridiculousness.
I believe my alternator went out on my car and yesterday I had it towed. Thank goodness for Triple AAA. I had it towed to town. However, the chain of gossip was very excited by this occurrence! I have been stopped and questions numerous times about the state of my car. I had no idea it would be so excited. This is how short on news we get around here!
On a sadder note. We lost one of the good ones from my hometown. He and his wife had been married since 1937. It is hard to imagine the level of commitment that took and all the struggles, hardships, etc. They made it through it all. I was able to go say hello to his wife and she says to me " I have barely gotten through being without you so I don't know HOW you've managed without me". I thought that was very sweet. It was like watching a ship without a rudder or a rudder without a ship. However you look at it half of the whole was missing.
Overall it was a good trip home for Thanksgiving. I wish I'd had a little more time but I packed in as much as I could. I got to make a snowman with my cute little cousins and hang out with some fun people! It was a little startling to realize I was surprised when I went into the grocery store. I forgot what it was like to shop somewhere that had such a variety of options. I probably should go to the big city a little more often! Well, I had best sign off.
November 15, 2012
Battery Elves
Well the battery elves came and this morning I had a new battery awaiting me in the secretaries office. Then the "consumer math" class installed my new battery while I was busy teaching. I came out to a car that started this afternoon. So I am hoping it was the battery and not the alternator. This encouraging thought was shared with me " well you will find out in the next few days". Yay me! :) It was really cute when the big kids came in to tell me my car started, my whole class cheered for them and told them thank you too.
So that's how you get batteries in small towns!
So that's how you get batteries in small towns!
November 14, 2012
Battery Life
Soooo, the saga of the battery continues. I called up north and ordered a battery. They make the 90 mile drive to deliver such things once a week. Luckily I ordered this on delivery day. One problem. When I suggested a deliver sight they said "well we bring them to a couple of places". I just never found out what those couple of places were. I did find out the owner is related to a local. The local was at the school so I said if you get a battery or hear of a battery will you bring me the battery? So if my battery is here I have no idea. I am just trusting this small town process. (sort of) So somewhere between here and there I have a battery bought and paid for. I just hope it makes it to me! The next step will be finding someone willing to help me install the battery. It is a small town. I'll keep you posted.
I was able to get a ride to work this morning. I new the driver was on his way because I heard him warming up the car. So that was good. I didn't get too anxious about him forgetting me. He also brought me home. I have to assume I will also need a ride to work in the morning so I planned that. Friday we have to attend a training at our District office to go over data. This is difficult with our population because we don't have enough students to identify trends. The testing data doesn't get specific enough to be super helpful. So wish me luck, all I can do is hope to get something out of it.
Saturday we have a local basketball tournament played by locals. They form teams, pay to play, etc. They are generous and donate the extra funds to our Athletic Fund. So I will be at school for that. Next week, we have a short week and then are off for Thanksgiving break. I can't believe how quickly this month is going by.
I was able to get a ride to work this morning. I new the driver was on his way because I heard him warming up the car. So that was good. I didn't get too anxious about him forgetting me. He also brought me home. I have to assume I will also need a ride to work in the morning so I planned that. Friday we have to attend a training at our District office to go over data. This is difficult with our population because we don't have enough students to identify trends. The testing data doesn't get specific enough to be super helpful. So wish me luck, all I can do is hope to get something out of it.
Saturday we have a local basketball tournament played by locals. They form teams, pay to play, etc. They are generous and donate the extra funds to our Athletic Fund. So I will be at school for that. Next week, we have a short week and then are off for Thanksgiving break. I can't believe how quickly this month is going by.
November 13, 2012
Batteries
Yeah, batteries are not over-rated. Especially when your car doesn't move without a decent one. My car battery decided today was the day to give up on life! I had the car jumped once decided to drive around to get the battery to charge. NOT A GOOD CHOICE! I limped up the highway and turned on another highway toward the school. Keep in mind my battery is dieing and the sun is just below the horizon. It was getting dark quickly. I turned off my car lights which gave me enough power to get into the school parking lot. Luckily no one else was on the same road without their lights working. I made it into the lot and parked in my usual spot. Basketball practice was going on so I found a parent to give me a ride home. The teacher who helped me jump my car earlier is picking me up for school in the morning! So I guess I will be saving on gas money till I can figure out how to get a new battery here!
There is a NAPA that delivers but their battery selection kind of worries me. So I hope someone is going to town that would pick one up for me. You just never know what the day will bring.
There is a NAPA that delivers but their battery selection kind of worries me. So I hope someone is going to town that would pick one up for me. You just never know what the day will bring.
November 11, 2012
Shopping...an all day affair
I am not a person who just adores everything about the shopping experience. About once a year I succumb to my inner girlieness and succumb to a shopping "just-for-fun" day. I am quickly over the excitement of such things though. I had to run to the city for some shopping this weekend. I didn't want to go on Friday because I needed a little rest and relaxation. Also a storm was blowing in and I didn't really want to drive through the dust and fog it was kicking in to town. So I thought I would go on Saturday. Saturday blew with snowy weather dusting the mountains, the valley, and icing the roads. So I was left with Sunday to go to town. I woke up fairly early but new it was cold because of the number of times my heater clicked on in the night. I looked out at the icy roads and decided to wait until the sun had shone on them long enough to melt it a bit. I am usually not this cautious but I need to buy new tires and mine don't have a lot of grip left. I packed some extra clothes, just in case, you really can't plan well enough for shopping in the winter. So I left about nine in the morning. It was still very cold and it took a good 20 minutes to defrost my car. Then off to town I went. There was still some snow and ice on the mountain summits between here and the next town. The sun rose and by the time I arrived in the city if felt almost...balmy. Judging by their hat and glove wearing selves, I don't believe the city dwelling folk would agree.
I had to shop for our school concessions for an event we are having next weekend. It was the first time I have had to get the big orange flat bed cart at Costco. What made this worse was the amount of people also at Costco today. It was a serious traffic jam. I didn't look at the books for my own enjoyment as I usually do, or walk down the aisles of holiday decorations now on display. I tried to as efficiently as possible get everything I needed without running myself or anyone else over. I pushed my big orange flatbed cart out to my car. This thing was loaded and heavy. There was just enough of a slant that I couldn't let go of it or it would roll away. The car next to me backed out and drove off. I had to place the cart sideways in that spot and load it into my car. I did plan ahead a little better this time. I remembered my industrial sized Costco shopping bags. WHOO HOO! These are the best thing ever. Especially when you only shop once a month and have a steep flight of steps to bring all your groceries up.
I went to a couple of other shops and since it appeared that the whole city and I were shopping, I decided to head towards home! I had another stop in the small town a couple of hours from my town. I went to Wal-Mart there for all of the stuff I couldn't get or didn't need in bulky Costco sizes. Wal-Mart was jam packed as well. I was so relieved to get out of there load up my groceries when... WHAM! I forgot something on my concessions list! UGGH!!! I had to go greet the masses again. I still forgot something on my personal grocery list. But I decided it just wasn't worth going back again for it!
By the time I filled my tank and ran to the restroom the sun had fallen behind the mountains and I was driving in the dark. I don't know what kind of rat/mouse crosses the road after dark around here, but they are large with long tails. I don't know if I have ran one over but I see them scurrying across. I decided it is better than spiders.
I arrived back in town and had to stop at the school to unload all the stuff. It was soo cold. I had forgotten to leave a set of gloves in my car and my hands were numb. I usually keep a set in there this time of year. Since the weather just turned cold, I haven't prepared as well yet! I got my stuff brought in at home and breathed a sigh of relief. Shopping just isn't that fun! Well at least this kind of shopping. It is a chore. I am glad I have it done!
Tomorrow is a day off to honor our Veterans. I have been thinking about their sacrifice a lot lately. If you think of the number of veterans over the life of our nation who've made sacrifices I can't even comprehend, it gives you goosebumps. I hope that our nation understands not only the sacrifice, but why they did it. It seems like so much is taken for granted now. There was a cost paid and still being paid for our freedoms.
I had to shop for our school concessions for an event we are having next weekend. It was the first time I have had to get the big orange flat bed cart at Costco. What made this worse was the amount of people also at Costco today. It was a serious traffic jam. I didn't look at the books for my own enjoyment as I usually do, or walk down the aisles of holiday decorations now on display. I tried to as efficiently as possible get everything I needed without running myself or anyone else over. I pushed my big orange flatbed cart out to my car. This thing was loaded and heavy. There was just enough of a slant that I couldn't let go of it or it would roll away. The car next to me backed out and drove off. I had to place the cart sideways in that spot and load it into my car. I did plan ahead a little better this time. I remembered my industrial sized Costco shopping bags. WHOO HOO! These are the best thing ever. Especially when you only shop once a month and have a steep flight of steps to bring all your groceries up.
I went to a couple of other shops and since it appeared that the whole city and I were shopping, I decided to head towards home! I had another stop in the small town a couple of hours from my town. I went to Wal-Mart there for all of the stuff I couldn't get or didn't need in bulky Costco sizes. Wal-Mart was jam packed as well. I was so relieved to get out of there load up my groceries when... WHAM! I forgot something on my concessions list! UGGH!!! I had to go greet the masses again. I still forgot something on my personal grocery list. But I decided it just wasn't worth going back again for it!
By the time I filled my tank and ran to the restroom the sun had fallen behind the mountains and I was driving in the dark. I don't know what kind of rat/mouse crosses the road after dark around here, but they are large with long tails. I don't know if I have ran one over but I see them scurrying across. I decided it is better than spiders.
I arrived back in town and had to stop at the school to unload all the stuff. It was soo cold. I had forgotten to leave a set of gloves in my car and my hands were numb. I usually keep a set in there this time of year. Since the weather just turned cold, I haven't prepared as well yet! I got my stuff brought in at home and breathed a sigh of relief. Shopping just isn't that fun! Well at least this kind of shopping. It is a chore. I am glad I have it done!
Tomorrow is a day off to honor our Veterans. I have been thinking about their sacrifice a lot lately. If you think of the number of veterans over the life of our nation who've made sacrifices I can't even comprehend, it gives you goosebumps. I hope that our nation understands not only the sacrifice, but why they did it. It seems like so much is taken for granted now. There was a cost paid and still being paid for our freedoms.
November 8, 2012
The Learning Continues
I had my class this week which was a strain on my brain. It was good though. We worked on learning the basics of computer programming. The idea is to bring it back to our students to expose them to programming. Maybe one or two will pick up the language of programming and run with it. I am fairly certain if I start my students on this they will quickly bypass my ability to help them. Luckily I know where to get help. The difficult part is finding time in the schedule to make time for this. I was thinking about how many interruptions we have in our students learning in public schools. Many things that have NOTHING to do with learning. It is frustrating. It is amazing our students make as much progress as they do.
I cannot emphasize enough how IMPORTANT reading is. If you have a child beginning to read you can't stop it one day and not pick it back up for three months and blame the teacher for their lack of ability to read. You have to practice, practice, practice. I feel bad for this student because they are falling behind their peers quickly. Their peers had the advantage in that they practiced reading all summer long. It made a HUGE difference as you can imagine. Read signs, cereal boxes, anything and everything that crosses their path. Reading is EVERYTHING!
The wind blew the cold into town today. It blew so hard the playground fence was covered in tumbleweeds. It looked pretty funny. On my drive to and from class I only took out one jackrabbit. That was a nice change. We are supposed to get snow tomorrow. I hope so I enjoy how the white brightens up the world!
I cannot emphasize enough how IMPORTANT reading is. If you have a child beginning to read you can't stop it one day and not pick it back up for three months and blame the teacher for their lack of ability to read. You have to practice, practice, practice. I feel bad for this student because they are falling behind their peers quickly. Their peers had the advantage in that they practiced reading all summer long. It made a HUGE difference as you can imagine. Read signs, cereal boxes, anything and everything that crosses their path. Reading is EVERYTHING!
The wind blew the cold into town today. It blew so hard the playground fence was covered in tumbleweeds. It looked pretty funny. On my drive to and from class I only took out one jackrabbit. That was a nice change. We are supposed to get snow tomorrow. I hope so I enjoy how the white brightens up the world!
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