Saturday Musings

*Lip dub at Tiny Town High was great fun and a huge success.  The student body had a blast.  For the first time since the tornado, I felt like the old Tiny Town High spirit was back.  (It has been quite strange to see how the tornado and trailers affected school spirit.  And then I was surprised to see how the new buildings, as welcomed as they were, couldn't undo the damage to the morale of our students.)  They've already posted the lip dub on youtube.  The kids are pretty proud of it, and the end of it leaves me encouraged that Tiny Town spirit has come back from the dead!

*Yesterday, I met with the theater local who is occasionally helping me with the musical. He talked me through the whole show to see what is left to do, looked at some minor cuts to the music, and generally put my mind at ease.  He always leave me thinking that we are either right where we need to be or a bit ahead.  Bless his heart!

*I didn't wake up once last night, which means I didn't worry about the musical all night!  Woo hoo!

*Today, I am taking it easy.  Baxter and I are hanging out.  L is at work in Big City.  K's in-laws are in town to hang out with Lady Bug, and the Mr. has a big sale going on.  If (and that's a big "if") I feel ambitious, I might drag out the bike.

I snitched this photo of the Bug from her mama's facebook page.  Couldn't resist!

An empty October Saturday-- God must have known I needed one.  (And I hear a freeze is coming.  I'm pretty sure He is looking out for me!)

Crazy Times At Tiny Town High

Tiny Town High is creating a lip dub video of our entire high school today.  You'll have to search on youtube to see examples of other high school videos. I first saw this technique last spring on the Today Show when Meredith Vieira retired. Watching high school students create a video adds a whole new level of enthusiasm and pandemonium.

The rules?  The video has to be done in one take, running and singing (lip syncing) through the halls of our school.  It has to include the student body and staff, and has to be done with one song. 

This is an organizational nightmare to me, but our journalism classes accepted the challenge. 

My role?  Well, my advisory students are on the front steps of the school at the beginning of the filming.  I bought a bunch of bubble sticks for them to use, and the dancing and going crazy is up to them. The teachers are lining the hall along the administrative offices. We'll see how crazy we get, but I'm pretty sure  the Standard of Excellence Certificates will be in hand.  Oh, and To Kill A Mockingbird.  Finally, I posted a sign on my classroom door advertising the musical this fall.  (I'm hoping it gets a little camera time.) 

The cheerleaders, drum line, and sports teams are in different areas of the school.  Journalism students will lip sync the song and a camera will follow them down halls, up stairs, through offices, the library, and even the backstage area.  They'll end in our auditorium-- where a school full of cheering, crazed students and staff will be waiting for them when they end up on the stage. 

Seeing as we are even attempting this, I'm pretty sure they'll get the crazy right!

You might be wondering the purpose of a lip dub video? They plan to show our beautiful school and promote everything good about Tiny Town High. After two and a half years in trailers, there is a lot of good to celebrate.  We're letting the joy spill over.   

Back Home

K, CT, and the Lady Bug are home from the hospital.  Khalie isn't quite sure what to make of her new competition.  I give the dog about a week to become Lady Bug's biggest defender.

The new little family isn't the only one back home.  School started on Wednesday.  I probably haven't told you how much I love my room in the new Tiny Town High.  (Yeah, right!)

The view from my desk:

The technology corner that trips me up almost daily:

Walking in the door:

 

Yes, it is pretty hard to walk in here every morning.  

I just love my little corner of the school.  I imagine there are some nieces and a little sister in California who recognize some of the posters.  A sister who is a talented photographer sure comes in handy.  Her photo posters make my world just a little more lovely. 

Room 304 seems like home for 8 hours a day.  These first few weeks of school are always an adjustment as I get to know my students and they get to know me.  And by next spring they will feel like an extension of my family and a part of my school home. 

Home:  "Where we love is home, home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts."   Oliver Wendell Homes, Sr. 

By the Numbers

6-  Days until teachers report for school
30- New students at Tiny Town High (so far)
0-  Work days at the pool--after today
8- Days until I meet the new class of sophs
18- Laps I swim, three days a week (at 4:30 AM!)
12- Days until Lady Bug's due date (!)
95- Approximate temperature of my room at school.  (And I really need to go down there and work.)
25- Hours I need to put in before the start of this school year
1/2- Hour that I spent in my incredibly warm room, and then locked up and came home.

Channeling Scarlett O'Hara-- "I'll think about that tomorrow."  I think Scarlett is going to be my best friend this year!

August is...

August is...

Back-to-school sales
New pencils and pens
Weekend getaways
Our anniversary
Lady Bug's birth month
A chorus of cicadas
Newly painted crosswalks
Baxter eating locusts
Football practices
Backpacks
County Fairs
The end of summer
School Open Houses
Popsicles
New lunch boxes
Marching band practices

I've always loved August.  As a kid, I loved going back to school. I loved the smell of school:  all those books, the paste, and the pencil shavings.

When the girls were little, I bet they packed and unpacked their backpacks about twenty times before the first day.  We used to go back-to-school shopping with my Mom.  She needed supplies for her elementary classroom, but she always bought new folders, stickers, and pencils for the girls, too. They still remember those trips with Grandma.

As a teacher, I love getting to know my classes and planning for the first days. I love the buzz of excitement that fills the halls on the first day back. 

In spite of the heat, I still love August.  This is really my last free weekend before school begins again.  What am I doing?  Back-to-school shopping on a weekend getaway, of course!

Thursday Happiness

Spending quality time with L today.  We're working on her classroom and doing some shopping.  There aren't many teaching supply stores around here, so I'll get to one in Big City.  At this rate, I'm going to need a turnpike tag for my car. Next week, it's time to tackle my own classroom!

A couple other great things:

Maybe I'm the last one to know, but a friend told me of a website:  My Fitness Pal.  You log exactly what you eat and your exercise every day, and it estimates how fast you will lose or gain weight.  It's a free website with message boards, profiles, and even mobile access. It's a pretty great tool.

I have incredibly fine hair.  It's thick, but fine and straight with very little body.  L told me about a product called Dust It.  It's a powder you rub into the roots of your hair.  It gives your hair body without teasing it.  I couldn't find Dust It, but I found another one called Powder Play.  They do the same thing.  AND... it works.  My hair doesn't look flat even in this humidity.  Woo hoo!

Finally, you know I love our new Tiny Town High.  It is hard to complain in the beautiful new building. However, our new teacher desks didn't have middle drawers for pens, pencils, etc.  We've gotten used to them, but still missed the middle drawers.  Guess what?  The company came back on Tuesday and installed middle drawers in every teacher's desk in the building.  Who knew such a little thing could make so many people happy?

It doesn't take much to please me these days:  cooling temperatures, a middle desk drawer, and time with the girls before school begins!

Happy Thursday!

Linking Up

I gave a tour of all three of our new school buildings to a class reunion group yesterday.  It is such a bittersweet time for the alum.  Their old school is gone, but they were in awe of the beautiful new buildings.  I told them how proud they would have been of the students and how they handled the aftermath of the tornado. 

The class of 1986 was my 2nd class at Tiny Town High.  I was about 27 when I was their teacher.  Twenty-seven!  (Most of them are either 43 or 44 now.)  I remember their year being one of those years when I learned a lot more than they probably did.

With the new technology at the schools, all the principal had to do was change my key-less entry card so that it could open all three buildings.  No collecting keys for other buildings and remembering what key unlocked which building.  He will change it back now so my key only opens the high school.  Wonderful!

This seems to be a reunion weekend.  Besides spending last evening visiting with the class of 1986, today we are headed to a family reunion.  This is the reunion that requires name tags.  The family tree sprawls over several states and goes back to my paternal great-grandfather's family.  Pretty incredible that this reunion has been taking place for 81 years! 

We're linked to some by blood, others--just by love.  And it is kind of nice when those links are joined again--if only for a weekend. 

Sum Sum Summertime

I am giving myself until July 15th to ignore anything school related.  After July 15th, I will need to get busy on the planning for directing the musical, preparing for my teaching class, and adding core curriculum activities to my English II classes.

In the meantime, there are just so many things to enjoy this summer.

*Farmer's Markets.  It is always nice to give the locals some business.  We've been to three different ones so far.  Best find for the Mr:  new potatoes.  Best find for me:  ripe tomatoes.  Most interesting find:  pickled green beans.

*Grilling outside.  The Mr. has a new grill, thanks to L, K, and CT.  He has been grilling almost every night.  Baxter and I sit and watch him.  Sometimes we eat outside at the picnic table.  Other times, we move into the cool.

*Sunset services have been moved to an earlier time.  We used to like sitting outside at sunset, having a drink, and discussing the day.  This year the gnats and mosquitoes are horrendous!  Soooo... we have after work services.  Baxter and I head outside and wait for the Mr. to come home from work.  You've never seen a dog so excited to see that vehicle come up the hill.

*Summer drinks.  Lemonade, summer beers, and Arnold Palmers (lemonade and iced tea).  Last summer, we visited a winery that made currant wine.  If you mix the currant wine with equal parts of margarita mix and crushed ice, it makes a delicious summer drink.

*Reading.  I really do enjoy almost unlimited reading time in the summer.  I don't feel bound to read something deep or heavy.  I like the light summer reading.  In fact, I'm due for Janet Evanovich's Smoking Seventeen.  There are actually quite a few books I have to tackle before the summer is over.

*Taking a dip in a cold pool on a hot summer day.  That's still the best part of the summer job.

*Season tickets to summer music theater.  Sometimes the shows are good, and sometimes they are great.  It is a nice Sunday afternoon getaway every couple of weeks.

*Shopping time.  Not that I buy much, but I like browsing at a bookstore or digging through the bargain racks of 70% off items.  The fun is in the hunt. Although, yesterday I was in a crowded consignment store with three unattended children, and it was was nothing short of agonizing.  (And that is probably why I spend less time on shopping than my other summer pursuits.)

I'm planning to cram in quite a bit more summer fun, but I'm only giving myself one more week of absolutely no school work at all.  Then, I'm going to have to bite the bullet and dig in.  A girl's gotta do, what a girl's gotta do.  Or in this case, a teacher's gotta do, what a teacher's gotta do.  And when school starts, I'll be incredibly thankful that I spent some of my summer preparing and planning.  It will make the fall a bit less hectic.

Whew!!

The last few days have been a bit hectic on Easy Street.  Fun, but hectic.

K and CT invited us to Father's Day grilling on Saturday night.  CT's folks were here for the weekend, so the Mr., L, and I joined them for CT's cooking on the grill.  It was delicious: steak and corn on the cob.

The Mr. had to work on Sunday which was kind of a bummer.  LBB (Little Big Brother) and his wife hosted a Father's Day dinner.  L and I joined them, their three kids, and Dad and B for a wonderful meal.  Niece LC's homemade hummus was delicious!  Now, I feel the need to give it a try.

Before we went to dinner, L and I ran by the farm and were shocked to see all the damage Dad had from straight line winds.  The trees really took a hit. There is a lot of clean up to do.  Thankfully, the twenty-something nephews are visiting and are doing a lot of the work.  They are good buddies who don't get to see each other often these days, so they are bonding over chainsaws, hauling limbs, and repairing fences.  Bless their hearts!

For the next two days I am attending a State Conference on the Common Core Standards.  Over the weekend, I had to fill out a survey of what I teach.  It took two hours on computer.  I am almost dreading the conference now.  All I can see is how much curriculum overhaul we are going to have to do in the next few years.  It makes me tired thinking about it. *sigh*

On top of that, I am trying to figure out a fall production for Tiny Town High.  It seems like every spare minute is spent researching, reading, and trying to determine what direction to head.  The scary thing?  I still don't have a clue.  I imagine the boy principal and I need to sit down for a good long visit soon.

L is at conferences at her new school this week which should give her a chance to get a lot of questions answered.  K is working on her little lady bug's nursery.  (Red, pink, and brown for K--little birds, owls, and other animals for CT.)  I'm helping L with packing for her move and K with nursery/baby things. They have to do a lot on their own, but I pitch in here and there.

There is so much going on that I don't know what to write about first, so I don't.  Forgive my absence.  I'm a bit overwhelmed--and I've found that it helps if I think before I blog.  (I know.  Sometimes it is hard to believe that any thinking is going on here!)  

Tomorrow is the first day of summer.  And I was just thinking how fast the summer seems to be going.  Perhaps I ought to slow down and enjoy.  If I'm not careful, the summer is going to escape as quickly as the spring did. 

Savor the summer.  Savor the summer.  Savor the summer. And that's an order!

Friday the 15th

April 15th isn't exactly my favorite day.  (Sorry, S-I-L Rach--and Happy Birthday!)

Taxes always stick it to us.  The Mr. pays in extra, and we still always owe.  We are last minute tax mailers.  In fact, if the accountant doesn't have it together today, we are really going to be pushing it this year.

Add to that the fact that the school wants our purchase orders for any classroom supplies on April 15th, too.  (Some years it is earlier, so I shouldn't complain.)

I have a hard time ordering.  I always forget something I need.  I try not to spend much money, which means I frequently end up buying things out of my own pocket in the fall.  In fact, I think last year the sum total of my school order was about $20.00.  I rarely spend $100.00. 

They don't give us a budget.  I guess if they did, we would assume we needed to spend all of it.  They can still cut anything that they deem unnecessary.

With school budgets in trouble, I do my part to keep expenses down.  Will that translate into a raise??

Doubtful.  Wishful thinking.  *sigh*

Happy April 15th.  OK.  That's a reach, even for me.  Let's go with Happy Friday!

Long Lunch Returns

Two years ago when Trailer High was ending its first semester, a new tradition was born.  Trailers were cramped, and most of us were growing cranky and weary. Administration asked us what could be done to make school more pleasant for the students and staff.  (Margarita machines were out.  I asked. I think I was joking.)

I had witnessed my T.A., who was fairly new to our school system before the tornado, burst into tears when she saw a fellow classmate she hadn't seen the entire first semester.  There were new teachers at Trailer High who didn't know any of us because we never saw them.

Administration came up with a plan to get us all together.  Their brainstorm was to run our assembly schedule once a month, without an assembly.  The 5th period, which was long with lunch in it anyway, would be one long free period.  Students would eat in our cafeteria for the first 30 minutes and then have about 50 minutes to socialize.

The staff would chip in money to have our own lunch catered.  Several of us rotated parking lot duty to check on students.

Watching weather forecasts was important, as students would spend their long lunch outside.

I can't begin to tell you how successful these long lunch periods were.  Frisbees, footballs, and grills drew our students to the parking lot.  (Yes, they were supposed to eat in the cafeteria, but many of them opted to grill hot dogs and hamburgers.)  They sat in the grass or on decks.  They rolled down the windows in a car and blasted the radio.

Seniors, who have open lunch anyway, had time to drive to neighboring towns and hit up Pizza Hut or other eating establishments.

Kids didn't want to screw up this privilege, so there were few behavior problems.  The rules were spelled out:  underclassmen had to stay on school property, and they couldn't be in their vehicles.

Eventually, Moms, Dads, and siblings began delivering pizzas or subs to their students.  It really became a monthly celebration; one we all eagerly anticipated.

Most of us figured that moving into the new building might bring a halt to long lunches, but administration knows a perk when they see one. 

Today, we have our first long lunch in the new school.  We have a beautiful new building with a nice plaza area out front.  That's where the grills are to be set up.  Hopefully, some of our FFA picnic tables will put in an appearance. 

I know the kids see each other now and don't need the long lunch as much as they did in trailers, but I think they look forward to an hour of just hanging out with their friends. 

Survival could be the theme of today's celebration!  The trailer days are done.  We have a wonderful new building.  We see each other in the halls and gathering areas; yet administration is still making time for us to find fun in fellowship.

See why I love my job?  Tiny Town High emphasizes education, but it realizes the importance of being there for each other.

This is one tradition we started in the trailers and happily take into the new Tiny Town High.

Gone

There have been so many things that I couldn't write about this week-- that I haven't written at all.  I think it is finally safe to spill the beans.

K and L have both interviewed and were selected for new jobs.

K is going to be an assistant principal of one of the academies in the J town 10-12 building.  This is a nice promotion for her.  She has quite an August ahead of her:  a new baby and a new job!

And L is going to be moving to a new city about two hours away.  She is going to be a 5th grade teacher in a smaller building in a larger town.  She is excited for the move, and while I'm happy for her--I am going to miss her being so close.  She has a lot of changes in store for this summer:  a move, a different grade level, and a new niece or nephew.

At Tiny Town, this week was the beginning of the end for Trailer High.  They began the task of moving some of the trailers out.  My trailer classroom is gone.  The empty spot actually caught me by surprise.  Who knew that I would think it was a bit sad to see the hole?

They have cleared out the old decks now and are ready to begin building the new art building where our trailers once stood.

Add in the English teachers missing two days from school this week to grade district writing assessments, leaving plans for subs, and catching up when I returned each day--and this week has been a bit of a mess.

The Mr. is looking at a 10 day sale at the RV park.  Today is Day 2. Needless to say, he isn't going to be around much. 

Today, I've enjoyed a morning of shopping for the baby registry with K. We met L for lunch.  It is good to have time to catch up.  I hope that there are quite a few more mornings like today's before L gets away from us.

The spring rush is on at Tiny Town High:  prom, spring sports, senior honor's banquets and recitals, and-- graduation isn't far behind.  I know I'll have time to catch up this summer, but right now I wish for an empty calendar and a few more nights at home.

See.  There are a lot of things 'gone' around here, including this blogger.  I'll drop in when I can!

Change Is A Comin'

"Everything in life is only for now."  Avenue Q

I liked that song in the show Avenue Q.  And I am reminded how true that is almost daily.

Our Superintendent is retiring in June.  After a month long search, the district hired a new superintendent:  a woman.  I'm guessing that she hasn't turned 40 yet.  I know her mom who is a bundle of energy and quite outgoing.

In local school board elections last night, two incumbents were defeated. 

Are these changes good or bad?  That remains to be seen.

Avenue Q reminded me that if they are bad--they are only for now.  Of course, the same is true if they are good.  They are only for now. 

I don't mind change.  It shakes things up a bit.  And, I especially like the fact that...

It is only for now.

List- Work At School

 Tiny Town High has several in-house businesses that are run by classes.  The students learn to work and produce a product for the customer.  And with the price of college tuition, I can see this trend being quite helpful to many of them.

**Ink Incorporated (a computer class) produces anything printed:  brochures, posters, invitations, business cards, programs, stationary, notepads, and booklets.  They can produce a quality product for a nominal fee.  I've had them print invitations, Christmas letters, and the posters for my room.  No one can match them for price.

**T-Works produces screen printed T-shirts.  They create designs to your specifications.  This business gets a workout in our community.  Almost all school and community functions that need t-shirts make use of T-works.  Again, no one can match them for price. (Some students leave this program and head straight into some local businesses that are quite successful.)

**Our horticulture classes run a green house.  The students plant seeds and care for them all winter.  Plants and flowers for the garden can be purchased every spring at a community sale.

**Construction Tech classes build a house every year.  (And after the tornado, a lot of new homes were needed.)  Woodworking classes build cabinets for the new house. 

These are just an example of some of the job skills students at Tiny Town High are learning.  You might be wondering what happens to the profit from these businesses?  They provide scholarship money for the students who have worked in the businesses. 

Each of these businesses is run during the school day.  Students can enroll in a class that functions as a business, though in some cases the class is a two-hour block. 

These businesses were already up and running before the tornado.  They have endured some "interesting" conditions. 

T-works is part of our Art Department and is still functioning in the back half of the welding shop.  (The new art department should be built by fall.) 

The greenhouse was one of the first things reconstructed after the tornado.  The Adult FFA group organized the rebuilding of it.  FFA was taught from a trailer, but by the first winter the greenhouse was up and running.

Of course, Ink Inc. was crammed into a trailer. (I think the teacher's garage functioned as a storage area for much of their equipment and paper.)

Interestingly, the construction tech house (built the spring before the tornado) survived the devastation.  That was the house that we used for our Trailer High office. 

These businesses fill a gap in a small town and teach some real work skills to our students.  Most of the classes are by permission only and are limited to Juniors and Seniors.  Some students graduate and go straight to work in construction, screen printing, or graphic arts; others go to vocational schools where they are outstanding students. 

School?  Work?  It is good to remind students that the skills they are learning in high school can translate into a job or a career.

Monday Mornings

Sometimes it is hard rolling out of bed on Mondays, especially Mondays after a week off.

I need warm clothes today.  (Layers!)  I was down at school yesterday afternoon and the temperature was 58 in my room.  I'm pretty sure the heat was on weekend mode, but I want to be prepared in case the heat doesn't come back on like it is supposed to.   

 The cup in this poster (a continuation from yesterday's post) is probably a sign of what will get me through the morning. 

 Thank goodness for coffee.

Back to School

Today is the last day of Spring Break.  I've enjoyed every minute of it.

I'm excited to go back to school because:  We have exactly nine weeks left.  Testing is over. I get to teach my favorite novel.  I have nine more weeks to enjoy my beautiful new classroom and this group of students. 

Right before break, an in-school printing business made new posters for me.  They are photos of mine, and I had them add the text for me.  They printed them on poster board, and I framed the finished work.  Now I will have time to enjoy them.

 Here are a couple of them. You can click on them to see them larger.

 One line is repeated on every poster.  "Life is short.  Stay awake for it."

That's probably a good thing to tell myself on this snowy, lazy Sunday evening!

Surely A Monday

First off, my laptop has a worm.  I guess.  It is off to see the computer Dr., so I am operating on an old laptop that runs--and that is about all I can say for it.

Secondly, room temperature today in my classroom was 55.  A tad chilly.  The heating system in the new building has a few kinks in it.  Three rooms have no heat, and I am lucky enough to be one of them.  I'd complain, but...

Our elementary school also has some heat issues.  The heating people are trying to get them up and running first.  And they should.  Those little ones have to stay in the same room all day long.  My students only have to freeze for 55 minutes or so, and then they move on to a warm room.  (I, of course, get to stay in the meat locker.)

And to top it all off, I was out of Peppermint Creamer for my coffee this morning.

Yep, it was definitely a Monday!

Why Schools Have Snow Days

Some people don't understand why schools close for ice and snow.  I think I know.

The Mr. picked me up right after school yesterday, so I could make it to my dentist appointment.  He drove because the freezing rain and snow were getting worse.  We followed three buses out of town. 

The first five miles were slow.  We were all following a snow blade, and no one was passing. Suddenly, I saw the first bus in line swerve wildly, and then a car flew into the ditch on our side of the road. 

The driver of the car had hit ice and slid into the bus head-on.  Kudos to the bus driver for not going into the ditch and rolling the bus.  I was also thankful that the driver was the solo occupant of her car, and that she took the brunt of the hit on the passenger side of her car.

Everyone walked away.  BUT...

Do you know how tragic that could have been? 

And that is why there are early releases, late starts, and snow days. 

(Yeah, after that we turned around, went back home, and cancelled my dentist appointment.  Some things just aren't worth it.)

Biggest Loser

I sent out a group email to our staff to begin a Tiny Town High version of "Biggest Loser."  Everyone chips in $5.00.  We weigh every Wednesday for 12 weeks, with the PE teachers doing the weighing.  At the end of our 12 weeks, the person losing the highest % of total body weight gets the pot.  And so we begin...

Guess that means it is time to get back to running.  (A day here and a day there just isn't cutting it.)  Now if the snow and ice would melt, it would help me out.  I wouldn't mind warmer temperatures either. 

It would be nice now if we didn't lose any more school days due to snow.  At this rate, Tiny Town High is going to be the Biggest Loser--and summer vacation days are what we are going to be losing if Mother Nature doesn't give it a rest!

Scrambling At School

We have had a whopping 14 days of school since Christmas.  Yikes!  We had the move.  We had snow and ice.  We had a National Holiday. With the funeral, I have only been there for 12 of those 14 days.  And today, progress reports are due.  Ta-da!!

It's hard to have a lot of progress in 14 days.  It's hard to have very many grades in 14 days.  Nevertheless, progress reports are due.

Administration would postpone them a bit if they could, but they can't.  Why?  Parent Teacher Conferences are this week.  Administration knows we need something to show parents.  (I mean, besides the beautiful new building!)  So, progress reports are due.

Any idea what I'm doing this week?  Scrambling.  I think all the teachers of Tiny Town are scrambling.  Thankfully, I think we've got scrambling down to an art after the last 2 and a 1/2 years. 

Scrambling.  It's what we do.