Four-Day Week

Fortunately, we have Friday off this week for Admissions Day. I remember this time last year, I went up to see BFC on the Big Island. I'm looking forward to a three-day weekend.

This week, we have our first grade-level artic day of the year. That should be fun and exciting. We're going to be getting our class scores from the HSA that they took last year. I'm not really looking forward to seeing how my students did, but I am curious. I'm just hoping it's not a total bomb.

We also have DIBELS testing this week, so that will be a good time-killer. I didn't do any of my correcting until today. I got a few papers done and recorded. I should plug on and finish more after I get off the computer, or I could just go to sleep. I'm probably going to pick the latter option.

Less Than Two Weeks Left

It's hard to believe that the summer is nearly over. After getting my keys last week, I had painters come in and got my locks changed on my place. I will be officially moving in next week. I'm looking forward to being on my own and being somewhat independent.

On the other hand, after the move, I need to focus on doing stuff for work. I haven't even touched my Social Studies text and I brought home the Science text in hopes of creating some type of organized curriculum for this school year. I've been so much more focused on the move more than anything else.

I've been at my PT job for a little over a week now and things have been running smoothly with that. I'm still getting used to the routines, but I know after a little more time, I'll get even better at it. I hope I can hack it during the regular school year...

Work Week Begins

Today, I hung out with BFC to celebrate the "end" of my work-less summer. I start my part-time job tomorrow and I'll be subbing for summer school every day this week as well. We went to Ala Moana Beach Park to get some sun for a little while then headed to Ala Moana to look around and walk off the 4th of July food we had eaten yesterday. After spending a good hour and a half there, we went to the nearby Pets Discount to look at the puppies. They were very cute! We also looked at the bunnies, which looked like they were shedding and they weren't too cute...I wish they weren't so high maintenance. I wouldn't mind having a rabbit, but the cleanup is junk. Afterwards, we headed to Waikiki to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. I had told BFC that it was better to go for lunch because it wasn't too crowded then. We were both pretty hungry and feeling ambitious, so we ordered two appetizers and individual entrees. I warned BFC that the portions were big, but he didn't believe me until the plates were in front of us. We ordered the fried calamari and fried crab wontons. I was full by the time my entree arrived, so it was a good thing I only ordered a sandwich. By the time we were done, there was no room for cheesecake and we had to roll each other out of the restaurant. Hopefully we'll be able to have more days like today.

I've also been putting off cleaning my room and putting stuff into boxes for the last few days. I'll be getting my keys on Thursday, so I need to start moving along and getting things done before the school year starts. I haven't gotten any school stuff done yet either. I attempted to work on some reflection papers today at the beach, but didn't get anything done (which isn't a surprise). I have to kick my butt into gear and finish cleaning everything up. Boo!

One More Month

We start school again in about a month!  BOO!

Well, I guess I'm somewhat looking forward to going back to work to try out some new ideas with my curriculum since I am taking a few classes this summer.  Good news is that I will be a Class 7 by 2010.  YAY!  Now I won't have to take anymore classes for credit and no more portfolios.  

I will be signing my closing documents to my place this week.  It should be exciting, but I don't like having to go through all of my things.  I've been sitting in my room staring at the boxes my dad brought home for me to use.  I've filled a few of them, but those items only came from one part of my bedroom.  I'm trying to tackle my larger bookshelf now to see what goodies I find there.  I'm debating whether to put up an ad on craigslist for some of the items, but I'm trying to figure out what some of the things are worth.  

Moving in to the place will be another story as well.  My realtor is trying to get the final walkthrough inspection for Thursday, so the journey is almost complete.  I'm going to be sad taking that down payment to the bank, but hey, it has to be done.   

Week 1 of Summer Down

The first week of summer has slipped through my fingers. I can't even really remember what I did all of last week. Oh that's right...I got sick on Wednesday. BFF says that it's because I always stress myself out and then when vacation is in sight, my body knows, and then shuts off its immunity to colds. :p I shouldn't wait until the last minute to do everything...

Tomorrow I'll be heading to the BI for the final time this year for a friend's wedding in Kona. Soon after the wedding, BFC will be coming back to the island for good. It should be interesting to see what happens now that we'll both be on the same island.

Freedom!

Today was the official last day for me of the 2009-2009 school year. Teaching fifth grade was an interesting experience and I'm looking forward to doing all over again, but better. I guess that's what teaching is about though. With each year, you grow and have a chance to reflect on what could have been done instead. This is will be the second year that I'll be staying in the same grade level, so I'm a little more prepared for what's to come instead of being a "blind bat" like this year. I'm looking forward to doing nothing but veg out for a couple of days before heading to the BI for the A/P wedding. I'm also going to see BFC for a few days before he returns for good in two weeks. It's amazing how quickly time went by...I still remember thinking like he would never be coming back. Now he'll be back before I know it.

4 1/2 More Days Left

The end of the year is almost here! My first year of teaching fifth grade has been an interesting experience. I remember receiving my acceptance call from my principal before transferring and thinking, "Fifth grade, eww," but now I'm glad that I decided to try something new. I admit, it's been difficult having to get used to a different curriculum nearly every single year, but there's something about fifth grade that I really enjoy. They're very independent and are able to help me with a lot more stuff than my former students could. They get my jokes more and are able to take my sarcasm. They can read me very well. I'm looking forward to teaching fifth grade again next year so I can fine-tune my lessons.

I'm looking forward to letting my "monsters" go, but I know I'll miss the majority of them. They were extremely good this morning. We hadn't been doing our Reading textbook for the last few weeks, and when we started the lesson, they knew exactly what to do and where to go to the activities for the story. I was really pleased.

I just hope that the upcoming class will be just as memorable as this one...