It's official. I am on Christmas break. No school until January 5th.
I leave for Chicago tomorrow to spend the break with my family and friends (weather pending - weather in New England is OK; it's Chicago that may be the problem). Just finished packing my suitcase. I can almost guarantee that I will get the fee for over 50 pounds in my luggage. Ugh.
Probably won't be blogging much over the break.
A very Merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah to all.
And, here is hoping that 2009 is a fabulous and happy new year . . . . . . . for everyone!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Snow day!
My superintendent called off school for today. He actually made the call on Thursday. The weather reports are predicting at least 12-15 inches of snow here in New England for this first round of storms. We are supposed to get another storm on Sunday with an additional 12-15 inches of snow.
However, the snow didn't start until 3:00 today. So, maybe we should've had school today.
Don't get me wrong . . . I like a good snow day like any teacher or kid. Ha! :-)
It will suck in June when we have to make up this day.
I guess he was siding with caution since last year when we had a terrible winter storm, it took folks like me that live 45 minutes away from school over six hours to drive home. Even better, elementary kids were stuck on school buses for over 4 hours because my super claims that he can't issue an early release due to weather. Every school in the state did early release except for us that day. Parents called and emailed him for days complaining about how he handled the situation.
Don't get me wrong, you couldn't pay me enough to do his job. But, don't you need to think it out a little bit more and NOT overreact?????? Most of the teachers at my school were complaining because we have all this curriculum that needs to get taught before midterm exams so we are all panicking. And, because of MCAS in the spring, we lost two weeks 2nd quarter to get curriculum taught.
Oh, well. I got to sleep in and relax for the day. :-) I ran to the post office and bought some stamps so I can do my Christmas cards. Went to bank to deposit a check and get quarters to do laundry.
It's 4:15 pm and the storm is starting to get nasty. The wind is picking up and the snow is falling at a rate of about 2 inches an hour.
The joy of living in New England . . . . . .
However, the snow didn't start until 3:00 today. So, maybe we should've had school today.
Don't get me wrong . . . I like a good snow day like any teacher or kid. Ha! :-)
It will suck in June when we have to make up this day.
I guess he was siding with caution since last year when we had a terrible winter storm, it took folks like me that live 45 minutes away from school over six hours to drive home. Even better, elementary kids were stuck on school buses for over 4 hours because my super claims that he can't issue an early release due to weather. Every school in the state did early release except for us that day. Parents called and emailed him for days complaining about how he handled the situation.
Don't get me wrong, you couldn't pay me enough to do his job. But, don't you need to think it out a little bit more and NOT overreact?????? Most of the teachers at my school were complaining because we have all this curriculum that needs to get taught before midterm exams so we are all panicking. And, because of MCAS in the spring, we lost two weeks 2nd quarter to get curriculum taught.
Oh, well. I got to sleep in and relax for the day. :-) I ran to the post office and bought some stamps so I can do my Christmas cards. Went to bank to deposit a check and get quarters to do laundry.
It's 4:15 pm and the storm is starting to get nasty. The wind is picking up and the snow is falling at a rate of about 2 inches an hour.
The joy of living in New England . . . . . .
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Lots of excitement in the world of MDawg
Let's see . . . . where do I start?
Busy week. Had a ton of meetings and lots of late nights at school this past week. School Council meeting, parent conferences, National Honor Society Induction Ceremony, etc.
The best part of my week: I come home after a long day at work to find the common hallway of my condo building flooded - with sewage and water. In front of my door. Ugh. A drain was clogged and a plumber had to be called in to fix the problem.
Luckily, my unit only received minimal damage. And, the condo association needs to pay for the clean up and fix the pipes. They had to tear up the carpeting in the main hallway. And, I had to stay in a hotel one night (the association is paying for it). Ellie the Cat had to be moved out for a day too.
The smell has been lovely to say the least. :-(
The good news: had all my rugs professionally cleaned and I didn't have to pay for it. Bad news: won't know until the summer on a hot day how "clean" my place really will be . . . .
Oh, and I didn't miss any school because of this drama. I've been getting pulled out of classes for mandated training a lot this month so I really couldn't afford to lose a day of curriculum.
The joy of teaching to a test - thanks No Child Left Behind!
Busy week. Had a ton of meetings and lots of late nights at school this past week. School Council meeting, parent conferences, National Honor Society Induction Ceremony, etc.
The best part of my week: I come home after a long day at work to find the common hallway of my condo building flooded - with sewage and water. In front of my door. Ugh. A drain was clogged and a plumber had to be called in to fix the problem.
Luckily, my unit only received minimal damage. And, the condo association needs to pay for the clean up and fix the pipes. They had to tear up the carpeting in the main hallway. And, I had to stay in a hotel one night (the association is paying for it). Ellie the Cat had to be moved out for a day too.
The smell has been lovely to say the least. :-(
The good news: had all my rugs professionally cleaned and I didn't have to pay for it. Bad news: won't know until the summer on a hot day how "clean" my place really will be . . . .
Oh, and I didn't miss any school because of this drama. I've been getting pulled out of classes for mandated training a lot this month so I really couldn't afford to lose a day of curriculum.
The joy of teaching to a test - thanks No Child Left Behind!
Monday, December 08, 2008
Pearl Harbor - December 7, 1941
No . . . I didn't forget about Pearl Harbor Day.
"A day that will live in infamy." These words would be spoken by Franklin D. Roosevelt about the historical event that would bring the United States into World War II.
I always think about the men and women that died on that day. And, the men and women that would die in World War II for my freedom.
To hear FDR's speech, check out the link here (scan to the bottom of the page and click on the media that best suits your computer).
To read/learn more about Pearl Harbor, I would suggest the following resources:
*National Park Service (Attention teachers: they have some great oral histories to use in the classroom with your students - even an oral history from a Japanese pilot and his interpretation of the attack).
*National Geographic - They have a great interactive map of the event.
*ERIC - Remembering Pearl Harbor Lesson Plan - you can download the teaching document in a PDF file. Some decent teaching activities.
*Free Federal Resources for Educational Excellence - Some great teaching resources from the Library of Congress and National Archives.
Remember Pearl Harbor . . . . .
"A day that will live in infamy." These words would be spoken by Franklin D. Roosevelt about the historical event that would bring the United States into World War II.
I always think about the men and women that died on that day. And, the men and women that would die in World War II for my freedom.
To hear FDR's speech, check out the link here (scan to the bottom of the page and click on the media that best suits your computer).
To read/learn more about Pearl Harbor, I would suggest the following resources:
*National Park Service (Attention teachers: they have some great oral histories to use in the classroom with your students - even an oral history from a Japanese pilot and his interpretation of the attack).
*National Geographic - They have a great interactive map of the event.
*ERIC - Remembering Pearl Harbor Lesson Plan - you can download the teaching document in a PDF file. Some decent teaching activities.
*Free Federal Resources for Educational Excellence - Some great teaching resources from the Library of Congress and National Archives.
Remember Pearl Harbor . . . . .
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Happy Birthday Cheryl!
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A picture of Cheryl and her family - 2002.Happy B-day Cheryl! I've been friends with Cheryl since high school. We had some amazing times together over the years. She's an amazing Mom and person.
Enjoy your day kiddo! Lots of hugs! :-)
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