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...

11 and a Half More Days (I think)

I felt an update was in order for my "gripe" site.

Things have been moving steadily at work. We just had DARE day on Tuesday and our DARE graduation on Wednesday morning. Going to DARE day was really interesting and I found that it was pretty exciting, but my co-workers said that I'd think differently after seeing the same things again and again as the years passed. Surprisingly, we sat down next to my former school and I felt somewhat like a celebrity with my former students saying hello to me. I even got a hug from one of them before we left. Being at the Stan Sheriff was like madness with so many schools in one place. I was dying as we stood outside waiting for our bus because it was like the lines of children would not end. I found myself giving the stink eye to some other students since they weren't acting appropriately.

There are only a few weeks left of school and I've been counting down the days since Spring Break. I'm looking forward to my summer, although I should be teaching summer school to get some extra money. I guess that's something I can look into for next summer. BFC will also be coming back for good in late June, so that is definitely something I'm looking forward to. I'll be going to see him for the long weekend on Saturday and again in June for a friend's wedding.

I also finished three of my portfolios within a few days of each being due. I have one more due next Friday, so I'm in the process of finishing up my lessons, gathering up student work, and writing my reflections.

Week 1 of SB done

I can't believe one week's already passed.  I got nothing accomplished and I lost the majority of my money in Vegas, but I'm able to put a little bit back into my bank account.  I also bought some new things from the stores in Vegas, but the highlight of the trip was going to Trader Joe's.  Oh and my mom and I tried something new and caught the city bus to the Meadow's Mall.  The pass was a good deal at $4 for an all-day pass.  Yay!

I spent a little time with BFC since he went back to the BI today.  It was nice seeing him, but I'm not too sure when we'll see each other next though.  I'm debating whether to visit him sometime next week, but his work schedule might coincide with those plans.  

I need to get cracking on my portfolios.  I'm nearly done with one that is due next month, but I haven't started anything for the others yet.  I should jump on to my desktop to look at those things again...

SPRING BREAK!

It's finally the break. This last week at work seemed to drag by really slow, but by Friday afternoon, I was all smiles since we had JRFH for most of the afternoon.

I ended up waking up early this morning and doing work (I don't know what was wrong with me) before heading to Jazzercise. My intention was to lose a few pounds before heading to Vegas, but I ended up not losing anything since I'd missed so many classes. I was sick nearly all week last week and almost lost my voice. It's slowly coming back to normal.

A few weeks ago, I had put in my application to transfer to another grade level at my school, but after much thought, I decided to talk with my principal to withdraw my application. I guess I could teach fifth grade for another year since I put my toes in the water for a little bit. I'll feel more prepared this year.

On a more depressive note, BFC will not be coming back until Tuesday and leaving on Saturday morning. I won't be here for nearly the whole week, so I'll only be able to see him on Friday and Saturday. So much for spending quality time with one another. But on a happier note, he will be here on Oahu for next school year! Yay!

Glimmer of Admiration

I've always been a book person...I love doing research and writing essays. I've been trying to instill that into my students. With the History curriculum for the grade level (American history), it's important the students understand how America came to be and how people from all over the world came to settle in America. So, I've been using the textbook and having the kids take notes about important dates, people, and events. I admit I haven't been very diligent about keeping up and we're pretty behind as far as the benchmark maps go, but I know we still have to plug on and I don't want to skip around and have the kids get confused.

I've been creating outlines for the kids so that all they need to do is read the lesson and fill in the blanks. I've had complaints about it, but I told them that I could give them nothing and they'd have to take notes on their own without any hints. I overheard one of my students (JL) complaining today about how long it is, etc...this is a kid who hardly EVER turns in his work to me. I think he said something like how I just make copies of some workbook or something. Then I overheard one of his quadmates (JS) saying, "Did you know that Ms. N actually types the paper out herself? Imagine how long it takes her? She has to do one for every lesson! You shouldn't complain about it." I was surprised at JS's reaction because I didn't think he cared too much for me, but for him to defend me (somewhat) made me happy. It shows that he appreciates what I do to make things easier for them.

Viva Las Vegas Part II

My mom finally booked the trip to Vegas! We'll be going during that first week during Spring Break. I really need a break and at least I have something to look forward to. I'm kind of bummed I'll be missing spending time with BFC, but who can pass up Vegas?

Eureka!

I have a major problem with organization. You should see my desk at home. There are papers and textbooks scattered all over the place. I spent some time today cleaning up my desk and sorting my papers. I enjoy sorting the papers and arranging them into neat piles, but I don't enjoy sitting down and correcting them. I got through some spelling tests and math classwork today, so that was a plus. As I was grading the papers, I thought about how I need to record the scores in my gradebook and then I remembered one of my co-workers telling me about this gradebook online called engrade.com. I had told her that I would check it out since she said that it was easy to use and the kids could even access their accounts to check their progress. I finally logged on to today and let me tell you, I LOVE it! I created several different classes into the different math strands and all I need to do is input the grades and it calculates the scores for me. This will also help me keep track of who's turned in their assignments. I figure, hell, since I'm on the computer afterschool anyway, now I can just hop onto engrade and input the assignments on there instead of trying to search for my checklist (which is often buried under a crap of papers on my desk).

Hooray! Hopefully this will help make my life a little easier.

Hilo Getaway

I just got back from my weekend trip to Hilo. It was a nice trip, but I'm super tired. BFC and I ended up getting up around 6:30 every morning since the sun came up around that time and the light shone through his screen door. It was nice spending the long weekend with him.

He had bought me roses for Valentine's Day and I was pleasantly surprised by his gesture. It meant a lot to me since it had been a long time since I got flowers. We went to this cute Japanese restaurant for Valentine's Day dinner. We just bought some sushi since we couldn't get a regular table and couldn't order from the regular menu. The sushi was good, but it didn't beat Kat's though (especially price-wise).

On a side note, everywhere we went for a sit-down meal, we had crappy service. On the first night, I wanted to go to KHOP, but there was no parking, so we went to Kuhio Grille, where the service has always been really good, but then we ended up waiting a while for someone to get our order and bring us our check. Then the following day, we had to wait forever for our water refills and checks at Encore, and at the Japanese restaurant, the cook was kind of rude to us until BFC name-dropped his uncle, who's a loyal customer. This morning, we finally got to go to KHOP for breakfast and there were no regular seats, so we had to sit on the counter, where I thought we'd have fast service, but I was wrong! We had this waitress who'd been working there for 35 years and she was talking story more than working. Since we were sitting on the counter, we could see our food sitting on the food counter for about 10 minutes (I finally ordered the coconut pancakes with coconut syrup and probably won't order it again...I should have gotten an omlette). Another waitress ended up bringing us our food. Then we had to wait another 5 minutes or so for the lady to bring a box to wrap BFC's leftovers. It's a good thing we went early, otherwise I'd been late to the airport.

Overall, aside from the sit-down restaurants, the trip was great and BFC and I both agreed that this was the best trip so far.

Viva Las Vegas

My mom has been asking me on almost a weekly basis, "So when are we going to Vegas this year?" since we've gone at least once every year since I graduated college. After looking at the Vacations Hawaii site for the last couple of months, I've found that the package prices have skyrocketed, so I've been really hesitant about booking anything. Today, my mom received some type of rewards thing that gives her $200 off the package price. I teased her that it was because she spent so much at the casinos. I hadn't received anything from VH regarding a discount or anything, but then again, I don't gamble as much as she does. So, once I walked into the house after Jazzercise, she announced that we needed to go ASAP because the coupon expires in May.

We decided to book a trip during the first week in Spring Break, so I'm looking forward to going. Hopefully they'll have some good "spring" sales at Ann Taylor Loft and Bath and Body Works. I'm also hoping to squeeze in some time at JCPenny's, Trader Joe's, and Olive Garden. I'm going to bug my mom to rent a car...we'll see what happens. At least now I have something really look forward to for next month. On the downside though, I'll only be able to spend one week with BFC since he'll be back for Spring Break...oh well, I know I'll get over it. LoL

Rotations and Refractions

The days seem to just be flying by.  I think there is little over a month left before Spring Break.  I've been looking at the different benchmarks and trying to figure out when I'm going to teach each one.  In the beginning of the new year, I was trying to be good and correct my papers the night I get them, but that lasted for about a week or so.  I found myself procrastinating as usual.  I'm happy to say though that my piles are not as huge as they were before, so I guess that's a plus.

Today I tried doing definition maps with my students with some Science terms.  They were excited to do something different.  I had written various terms on scraps of paper and thrown them into a shoebox.  Then I had each student pick a term and find its definition in their Science books.  Then they had to write the definition in their own words and create an illustration for their definition.  They were supposed to share their work as well, but they all got done at different times, so I decided to let them share later tomorrow.  It's been a while since I've seen them so into their work.  They were so animated about the definitions and their drawings.  

On another Science note, I told them that we would be doing a research paper on something within the solar system.  I'm debating how to do this.  I'm thinking of having begin with doing an article review or something like that before going into a full-blown paper.  I figure they could take a small step first.  I need to go and reread that section in "Strategies That Work."  

I cannot wait for the weekend and am counting down the days.  I've been looking forward to seeing BFC for a long time and am really looking forward to spending time with him again.

Everybody's Working for the Weekend

I rolled out of bed this morning not wanting to go to work, but dragged myself to do so. I can't believe it's already February! BFC called in sick today and spent the day running errands while I worked hard for my money. I called him during my lunch break to see what he was doing and he was leisurely buying his lunch. I had to rush to get off the phone with him to eat my salad in the workroom before the kids lined up.

I will be going to the Big Island in about a week and a half. I've been having major cravings for Ken's House of Pancakes. You know, the past two times I've gone up to Hilo, and the two times we've gone to Ken's, I've never eaten their pancakes. I was bored this evening and instead of doing my work, I ended up looking at the KHOP's website and tried to make a mental list of what I want to eat when we go there this time around. I definitely want to try the coconut pancakes with the coconut syrup. I'll be happy to be off my semi-diet as well and just indulge in eating crappy food. I just have to work hard for a few weeks at Jazzercise to make it up.

This weekend is Christy's wedding! I can't believe how quickly time has passed! I'm really looking forward to the whole event. Hopefully my dress still fits....

When's the next break?

The days really seem to be dragging, but my saving grace (I guess you could call it that) are my parent-teacher conferences. Out of my original 31 students, only 18 of the parents wanted another conference. The only good thing about this is the 1:00 dismissal. Tomorrow I only have 1 conference, so I can scurry home early, head out to my online class orientation, then off to Jazzercise.

I found out that extrinsic rewards work really well with this group of kids. I've never had to offer a movie lunch thing with any of my other students in order for them to turn in their homework. I'm glad I thought of it though since homework is no longer a real problem. Some are getting more eager by completing the following night's assignments beforehand. I gave them a lecture about how when they get older, they wouldn't be able to tell their boss, "Oh I had to go to a party last night so I couldn't finish the project." They would get their butt fired from their job. I know it's hard for them to really comprehend that actually happening, but hopefully my sticker incentive charts continue to push them to complete their assignments.

I'll be going up to see BFC in a few weeks. I guess that's partly why the days are just dragging by...

Freedom!

All the Oahu public schools and the majority of private schools are closed today due to a storm that is possibly heading our way, which meant I have a 4-day weekend! I was so elated yesterday when I heard the news from my mother, the television, and my GLC. This meant one extra day to catch up on my work, plan for next week, and simply veg out. The weather doesn't look too bad right now, but I noticed the clouds were moving quickly across the sky.

I called BFC once I heard the news yesterday and he seemed surprised. All schools on the other islands are closed as well except for those on the Big Island. He said it wouldn't be too bad though since they had an assembly today and he wouldn't really have to teach one of his PE periods.

I was actually surprised about the schools closing because I had joked with others about how there could be bombs exploding in the sky and we'd still have school. This thought goes back to several occasions where there was a blackout or huge storm while I was teaching and school was never cancelled. This is a pretty big thing for all schools to close. Maybe all businesses will be closed early or something due to the weather as well. My brother and I are planning on having a holo holo day (weather permitting). I wonder where we should go...

I'm off to the morning Jazzercise class to exercise since tonight's class got cancelled. I also have to run to the bank...

Honeymoon Stage

Today was the first day back from Winter break. Having those 8 students out of the room made a HUGE difference. The majority of the class was able to finish the morning business and we even got through everything I had planned for the Reading block before first recess. To make things better, we had an artic day today, so the kids were off at resource classes until lunch.

Got our quarterly assessment results from last quarter and it really opened my eyes to a bigger picture. I need to get off my butt and plan better lessons. I should be doing that right now, but where am I? I'm staring at the test prep books next to my computer and deciding what to do with them. I brought them home for a reason....

Work Day

Today was the first day officially back to work. I had to take my car in this morning to get serviced and to get my air conditioning fixed. Not having a car was not too good since I couldn't leave early like some of the other teachers did and was stuck at school. Fortunately I had tons of stuff to do and I left my room messy (but what's new?).

I'm hoping to do more hands-on activities with the students this quarter since I have a smaller class size now. I've never had this small of an amount of kids to work with, so I'm going to make the most of it. I also realize I need to take more time to plan out my lessons rather than just winging it like I've been the past semester. I'm going to try my best...hopefully I won't get too burnt out...

Queen of Procrastination

I have always been known as a procrastinator, but I know I can get things done, even though I may have to pull an all-nighter or two to do so. Now, I've come across something that I won't be able to "fix."

I've been debating on whether or not to visit BFC next month and finally went to book my tickets this afternoon. I had been checking the Hawaiian Air website frequently for the past month and a round trip would have cost me roughly $135. Now, the ticket prices have gone up by more than $10 per way and I'm going to be stuck paying nearly $160 for my trip. :( It's my own fault for not booking it sooner and I'm afraid if I wait a little while more, there may not be any more room or the tickets will be more expensive. I then went to Go! to check their rates. Their rates are much cheaper, but I haven't heard many good things about them. I'm debating on what to do...I may just book my tickets on Hawaiian next weekend since I know they're reliable despite the price.

Can't put a price on spending time with someone you care about right...although I can give him major sh*t about it. LoL

One More Week

I cannot believe how quickly the vacation has flown by! It's amazing to think that two weeks have already past and I still haven't gotten much done. I should get cracking on my students' math grades. Why am I such a procrastinator?