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.