Back to school after a long weekend

Back to school tomorrow. It's been a long, relaxing weekend. I had to work at the doggie place on Sunday - there was a huge festival going on in the downtown area and the store was packed!

Rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and doing laundry.

It's so sad but I actually dread going into school now. See what getting burned does to you? I used to love my job and the kids. Now, I just don't want to go into school or be bothered. We don't get out until June 26th now due to the flooding and rain we had a few weeks ago.

I'm still trying to hold the students accountable and try and teach them the curriculum that needs to be taught by the end of the school year. I start World War I this week and it's my favorite unit to teach. Hopefully, I will get some joy out of teaching this unit. It's so hard to stay focused!

I'm hoping that by having the summer off and relaxing that I will get that love of teaching back.

I'll be using one sick day this week because I have two job interviews on Wednesday. I still haven't heard from all the other interviews from the past few weeks. Supposedly, this week I hear from all of them on if I have a job offer.

My goal is to have a job by the time I get out of school at the end of June. We shall see. . . . . .

Happy Memorial Day

This post is dedicated to all the men and women who have or are dedicating their lives for our freedom.

These photos were taken at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France. I was there last summer on one of my trips to Europe.

It's so emotional to walk around this cemetery and see all the crosses and Star of David's - these men risked their lives for OUR freedom on D-Day in 1944. There are 9,387 men buried in this cemetery.

Thank you for sacrificing your life for my freedom!

To my Cousin Danny over in Kuwait - thank you! I love ya Cousin!

Job Interview Today

Had a job interview at The Bromfield School in Harvard, MA today. I think it went well. Sometimes, I think the interview goes well and they want to hire me and it doesn't work out. I hate getting my hopes up high and then to have them tumbled down. I'm sick of my emotions being all over the place -

This has been an emotional roller coaster ride for me the past month and a half - and who do I have to thank for it? My Principal for not renewing my contract? Or myself? Because I obviously did something to upset or piss him off so he won't renew my contract! As you can see, I'm still angry!

Everyone keeps telling me that things happen for a reason - I KNOW! I just wish that I would stop getting screwed all the time. If one more person tells me this, I will scream!

I think I need to look into selling the condo - things are not looking good for the job situation and I need to be prepared to move on. I know that I will end up losing money on the condo -

One good thing about this: I've lost a shit load of weight from the stress! And, I continue to lose more weight as the pressure of not having a job next school year -

I've learned a lot the past month and a half:
*Don't trust your administrators!
*Don't trust anyone!
*Don't get too attached to a job that you love!
*Don't emotionally invest yourself into your school until after three years!
*I have some great colleagues in the English/History depts that have been so supportive to me throughout this whole mess!
*My parents have been amazingly supportive to me too!
*My freshman are annoying the hell out of me! :-)
*And finally - to not let my job revolve or control my life and to not take it so seriously!

Happy Birthday to my Sister, Mandy!

Mandy and I at Cheers in Boston, MA (1996).

Mandy and I in Billerica, MA (1999).

Wishing my sister, Amanda, a very happy birthday today!

Mandy - you are a wonderful sister and I love ya kiddo!

Love Ya-

Lori :-)

Would a school just hire me already?????

Yes . . . it's been very frustrating. Finding a job is never any fun. I spend all my Sunday's going through The Boston Globe looking for teaching jobs. I then have to put together the famous packet of teaching materials: cover letter, resume, copies of three recommendation letters, copy of my certification, copies of all college transcripts, and sometimes, schools want me to provide evidence that I'm "Highly Qualified" (This is a No Child Left Behind requirement). On Monday, I'm off to the Post Office to mail these huge envelopes off to the various schools that I'm applying for a teaching job. Postage is adding up! I'm keeping all my receipts - I was told that I could write off looking for a job on my taxes next year. Joy!

Update on Interviews:
*Had my third interview at Londonderry High School in NH with the Principal. It went very well! I will find out next week if they will offer me the job. Remember, I would take a huge cut in pay if I take this position.
*I have an interview at The Bromfield School in Harvard, MA on Wednesday. This school usually scores very high on the MCAS (They usually score in the top five in the state) so the academic standards are quite high. It's also an affluent community.
*I have an interview at Ayer High School in Ayer, MA on Friday. Ayer is located out near Fitchburg where I went to Graduate school.
*Dartmouth High School wants to interview me on Wednesday but I have the other interview on that day. I'm going to try and ask if Dartmouth could interview me in the morning. Dartmouth is located south of Boston so I need to allow enough time for traveling.
*Salem Academy Charter School in Salem, MA also wants to interview me - they do a phone interview first for about 30 minutes and then decide from there if they want to bring you in to meet with the hiring team.

So, as you can all see, I've got a lot going on right now. Finding a job is like a second job. Everyday, I check the MA Dept of Education web site, EdJobsNH.com, regional high school web sites for job postings, etc. It's crazy!

Happy Job Hunting! :-)

Flooding . . . . .

As you can see from this photo, the flooding is out of control here. I didn't have school on Monday - most schools in Northern MA and Southern NH were cancelled yesterday and today. My school was the only school opened today in the area.

The downtown areas of the cities of Lawrence, Lowell, and Haverhill are submerged under water. All these cities, including Amesbury and Newburport, are located on the Merrimack River.

In the city of Haverhill, officials were working to repair a sewage pipe that continued to dump waste at 35 million gallons a day into the Merrimack River.

Ughy!

It's Raining Cats and Dogs!

Well, the rain saga continues here in New England . . . . . .

The Merrimack River is swelled and cresting . . . . .

School was cancelled today due to the heavy flooding and wash outs of roads and sink holes . . . .

Over 58 schools in Northern MA and Southern NH cancelled school today.

Spring is officially here!

I think Noah had the right idea - probably should start building that ark!

I'm hoping there is an end to this rain - the last prediction was it was supposed to stop raining by Friday.

Cross your fingers!

Happy paddling! :-)

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's out there - including mine!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

I Love Ya Momma!

:-)

Life Goes On . . . . .

It's been a very emotional week for me. I had a job interview on Monday morning with Londonderry High School. I met with the Social Studies Coordinator and she really liked me and wanted me to come back. So, I met with her and a few members of the social studies department this morning. It went very well. I was also given an idea of what the salary would be and it would be over a $10,000 cut in my salary of what I'm making now. So, do I sell the condo in Amesbury and move up to Londonderry and go back to renting and take the cut? I just don't know what to do - I don't want to take the first job offer but I'm in a position where I have to pay my bills and a mortgage. I just don't know what to do. Any suggestions from my blogging buds would be helpful! Please keep in mind that I make crap for money to begin with because I'm a teacher! :-)

I had an interview with Salem High School in NH on Thursday after school. It didn't really go that well. As I was waiting to be called into the conference room for the interview, the candidate before me was being "high-fived" by the male members of the dept and the chair. The chair seemed to want to go out of his way to accommodate this candidate. And, the dept chair was trying to find the Principal to introduce this candidate to him - it just seemed like the dept chair wants that candidate for the position. So, I finally get into the conference room and they start asking me questions. The dept chair sat there and yawned throughout the interview! Can you believe it? I was horrified! At the end of the interview, the dept chair says to me that they will be having retirements in two years and that I should I apply then! Two years! Waste my time! Such the "old boys" network -

I'm trying to put myself in a better mind set the past few weeks but it's so hard and discouraging when you are losing something you love so much.

Happier news - I'm chaperoning the Prom on Saturday so that should be fun! I love seeing the kids all dressed up - they clean up good! :-) I'm taking my camera so I'll take tons of pics.

I'm also meeting Lauren tonight - we are seeing a movie. I'm looking forward to seeing her because it's been a long time since I've seen her. She's been having a tough time - her Cousin Denise just recently died.

Have a great weekend everyone -

Update on Interview

My interview today was with Londonderry High School in Londonderry, NH. They are looking for a US History and Economics teacher.

The interview went well. The Social Studies Coordinator wants me to come back on Friday morning to meet with members of the department. If this part goes well, then I meet with the Principal for the final stage.

I received a tour of the building - they just completed a huge renovation project three years ago so everything is relatively new. It's a huge building - they have almost 1800 students in the building. Everyone I met seemed nice.

We shall see . . . . .

The drive took me about half an hour - I thought it would take me at least an hour to get up there.

And, I have an interview on Thursday at Salem High School in Salem, NH at 3:00 pm.

Keep ya posted on that one too!

Wish me Luck!

I have a job interview this morning at 9:00 am -

So, be sending those positive vibes in my direction!

Thanks -

:-)

I've been a BAD blogger!

I know. I've been bad. I haven't been good about posting on my blog for the past month. I've been in a funk. I'm trying to get myself out it. Duh - it's for obvious reasons! :-)

Some updates:
*I have a job interview on Monday for a high school position in NH. I'm not too keen about teaching in NH again (lower salary, crappy retirement system, etc.) but it would be a job. I was getting a little worried since I've been sending out applications for the past month and haven't heard anything from any schools. I know a lot of schools are waiting on budget approvals so the waiting will continue. My goal is to have a job by June 23rd. Why the 23rd? Because it's the last day of school for me at NHS and I would like to feel proud of myself that I found a job before I got the hell out of there!
*I changed my mind on the formal evaluation by my Principal. I didn't want to go through the negativity and possible unprofessional of my Principal. Having that observation would not make a difference of whether or not I stay or leave my school. Why put my heart and soul into putting together this great lesson and have him put me down just to put me down? I need to move forward and learn from this shitty experience. Trust me, I've learned a lot so far!
*My friend Lauren lost her good friend Denise to cancer a few weeks ago. Lauren has been struggling with the loss. To lose someone so young to cancer is so wrong on so many levels. Pop over to her blog if you get a chance.
*My cousin Danny is home for 15 days from Kuwait. He went to a Cubs game with my Dad and Mandy this past week. I'm sure he's enjoying his down time - back to the desert!
*Received an email from a former student at Timberlane this past week. She is a junior almost senior at UNH. It was such a nice reminder of why I teach. She told me that I'm one of the reasons why she is going to college to be a teacher. Sometimes when times are bad, you need those reminders!

Weekend plans:
*Crash on Friday. Rented DVD's.
*Proctor SAT's on Saturday morning and work at the Paws from 2-8. Might go out with Carla to a movie or something.
*On Sunday, I'm meeting a friend to help her work on a scrapbook that she's making for one of her students. Her student is graduating from high school and she wants to make a nice gift for him. She's never made a scrapbook before so she's looking for some help.

What are your plans or updates in your lives?