Summer vacation officially has started for MDawg!

Hello All. It's been a VERY long school year. The Freshman, for the most part, didn't progress much this school year. Academically or emotionally. The failure rate was the highest it has ever been since before the Freshman House was established five years ago. I know that our stats will vary year by year based on what type of kids we get but it was a tough year. You know the movie, Ground Hound Day with Bill Murray? You know how he replays every day the same day? This is how it was for the Freshman this year. Every single day was the the first day of school. They just didn't "get it." They didn't get the academics, the social cues, the behavior, etc. I'm praying for a huge miracle of growth over the summer for those kids. Those 9th graders that are repeating 9th grade need a huge reality hit!

A few updates:
*Had a wonderful visit with my parents. I felt bad because the weather was not nice for their entire visit. I told them they need to come back in July instead of May. They spent a few days at this campground. It had full hook ups but was very pricey for them. They also stayed at Salisbury Beach at the campground which is right on the water. We took walks every day on the beach. Couldn't of asked for a better location. The only complaint was the campground didn't have sewage hookup for their camper. Dad cooked on the grill many times so I got my grill fix! And, Mom cooked all my favorite meals. We really had a lovely visit. I was sad to see them leave. They may come back out here next summer. Things are up in the air right now. They are currently back in IL staying near my sister for most of the summer. They plan on heading to Arizona for the winter.
*As far as I know, I'm coming back to my school next school year. There were some cuts at the end of the school year but it was mostly people that were not performing or doing their job. It's strange - my school doesn't give us a yearly contract (I signed a contract when I was first hired). And, they don't really come right out and say to you, "Congrats! You have profession status (tenure to everyone else in the education community)." Technically, I'm professionally statused the first day of school in my 4th year (Sept 8, 2009).
*I've been asked by my administrators to be part of a special transitional program within the Freshman House. The middle school has already red flagged 30 plus kids at risk next school year. So, my team (English, Science, Math, and myself the History person) will share these kids. Since I'm already part of the Freshman House and on a team already it seems to work somewhat. However, my transitional team will be doing a lot of experiments - such as interdisciplinary teaching. And, I will be trying to teach World History thematically instead of chronologically (this will be a new way of thinking for me). :=) I will try and update our progress throughout the school year.
*Will be coaching JV volleyball again in the fall. We had a meeting in the beginning of the month and had over 37 girls sign up to play next year (Varsity and JV). My JV's seem to think that since they played JV last year that they will automatically play on Varsity next year. They are SO wrong. The varsity coach needs to clarify that to them on the first day of tryouts. I told them to not assume anything but they don't believe me.

So, what are the big summer plans?
*Not working a second job! I'm going to have to budget like a crazy lady to do it but my mental health can't handle working a zillion hours this summer. I really need a break.
*I did apply for a five day grant seminar in July that will be paying me a $1000 stipend and three grad credits for free. However, there is a ton of reading and work so I will be busy.
*I also applied for another five day workshop at Harvard University about Oil and got in. That workshop is in August. I have to read a book and watch a video prior to the class.
*My sister and a friend of hers from work will be coming out here for a long weekend visit. I'm so excited! We are planning to do a night out in Boston and whatever else we can see and check out in the area.
*Working on curriculum for the transitional program. My team is getting paid for 10 hours of work.
*Planning on reorganizing my local History binder and curriculum. Needs to be updated and I need to come up with my Honors credit work. Students have the option of contracting for Honors credit and I did a half ass job this school year in trying to come up with work.
*Cleaning and reorganizing around the condo. There is always something to do around the house.
*May do a day trip or two around the area. I've never been to the Adams National Historical Park in Quincy, MA so I would like to check it out. Also, I will be going down to Salem to take some photos to add to my Power Points for the local history class.

I will try and update throughout the summer of what I'm doing. I can't guarantee a post every day so keep checking back.

I did visit the Higgins Armory in Worcester the beginning of June so I took some crazy pictures that I need to get off of my camera. I will try and post those pictures over the weekend.

What are your plans for the summer?

Greetings from the depths of craziness . . . .

I know . . . I know. It's been forever since I've blogged anything of particularly interest.

This time of the school year is overwhelming. Trying to teach the rest of the World History curriculum by June. State Testing that messes up teaching all that curriculum since it means that we have three hour delays and students that really don't want to be doing anything after taking a three hour exam every day. SPED meetings to make sure our students are where they need to be for next school year. End of year stuff like proms, senior week activities, getting final exams ready, correcting and grading, etc. Parents and guidance counselors that are NOW all of a sudden concerned that their kid will not be passing my ELECTIVE to graduate from high school even though I had called home, sent emails, commented on progress and report cards, and met with the parents months ago. They all seem to think the "let's just hand over my kid a high school diploma" fairy will magically give them their high school diploma. It just doesn't work that way in my class. The funny part: at my school, students only need three credits of History (World history - 9th grade, US History Part I - 10th grade, and US History Part II - 11th grade). The fact that they need an elective to graduate is a little insulting to me. The kid NEEDS to do work to pass. End of story.

And, I have something going on every weekend from now until the end of June for my personal life stuff on top of it.

My head is spinning just thinking about all the craziness. I just need to remind myself that I can make it to June 22nd and life will slow down.

Good news for my summer plans. I was accepted into a five-day summer institute on local history again (I did the institute last summer). I will receive a $1000 stipend, free books, 3 graduate credits, and 30 PDP's (for free). There is a ton of reading and prep involved before and after the institute but it is so worth it. I had put my name in for teaching summer school but decided that I needed a break from teaching. The pay isn't that great compared to the Institute. I also signed up for a week long workshop at Harvard University on the Impact of Oil around the World through an Historical perspective. Should be interesting.

I know that I said I would post some pictures from my trip to North Carolina over April break. I had an amazing time! We (my colleague and I) checked out almost all of the UNC universities and even a few private colleges. The schools there are much cheaper than they are up here in New England so I don't know what decision my colleague and her daughter will make regarding the big college decision. I didn't take any photos of the schools. I guess I was having a duh moment. All of the campuses were beautiful! All the pictures below are of the historical places we checked out on our "Thelma and Louise" road trip (minus driving the rental car off a cliff and no Brad Pitt). :-)

Knock yourselves out! :=)

Alamance Battleground - outside of Burlington, NC.

Presidents of North Carolina - statue in front of Capital building in Raleigh, NC.

Fort Raleigh - England's first New World settlements from 1584 to 1590.

Replica of Wright Brothers first airplane - Wright Brothers Memorial.

Memorial at Wright Brothers National Historic Site.

Made it to April break!

Sorry that I've been so sporadic with my posts. Life at school has been very busy and overwhelming to the point that when I come home I don't want to even look at a computer.

Just a few updates:

*April break officially started on Friday. I don't have to go back to school until April 27th. This break couldn't have come at a better time.

*Finished the French Revolution unit with all my classes except the co-taught class. They are always behind due to the learning issues. Spent one day on Industrial Revolution. The plan is when I get back to complete imperialism, communism, nationalism, socialism, and capitalism in a few days. And, then on to World War I. I hate that we have no time to teach everything that needs to get taught in a proper way. I'm being told I need to get through World War II by the end of the school year (the end of June).

*Got invited to see a special viewing just for teachers at the New England Aquarium IMAX. Saw this. Amazing! If the film comes to your local IMAX, check it out.

*From now until the end of the school year, I won't be blogging as much. Once I'm out of school for the summer break, I will start writing more often with teaching ideas.

*I leave on Monday for North Carolina until Friday for a much needed vacation.

*On the 28th, I will be attending a workshop on the Conservative Right. Should be interesting. This workshop is a local history grant so they pay me $125 to attend the workshop. I've attended at least four of them this school year. The grant also pays for the substitute which is a nice feature. Plus, we are giving a ton of resources for our classroom - mostly primary documents that I can use in my local history course that I teach.

Hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing April break. :=)

Busy week after Feb break

What can I say? It's been a busy few weeks.

Feb break was good. Busy. Productive. Did some school work. Got my hair done. Did some cleaning around the condo. Visited my old school (their Feb break was the following week).

The last half of break (Thursday to Sunday): I was at Harvard Model Congress in Boston with 16 of my students. Oh. And 1400 students from all over the country including a school from the countries of Jordan and United Arab Emirates. Oh. Stayed at the Sheraton in Boston. I felt so bad for the maids and the rest of the hotel staff having to deal with us for those four days.

My kids did a great job! They were well-behaved (for the most part). It's always the other kids that I have to babysit. For example: who puts kids on one floor and the advisor on another floor? Didn't get much sleep.

On a positive note: one of my kids received an award. He was the chief foreign policy adviser to Obama. And, one of my kids was a ranking member of the Senate. So proud of them!

Had progress grades due this week so I was in a correcting frenzy! I always wait until the last minute to correct work. Bad teacher! :-)

This coming week is busy too. I'm out on Wednesday for a Professional Day - Using Essex History Seminar on the Cold War. Thursday after school are parent conferences. Thursday evening I'm at the National Archives for a teacher workshop. And Saturday I have a volleyball coaches clinic all day.

Officially on Christmas break

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!

April Break - Part III

What can I say? I live such an exciting life!

The hair-do on Thursday turned out nice. It's much lighter and a tad bit shorter too.

Hanging out at Barnes & Noble is my fav place in the world. Was productive! I was able to grade three classes of work! After all the grading I did at the end of 3rd quarter, I sorta went on strike and didn't want to grade for a while. Unfortunately, that meant that I had a ton of correcting to do!

I didn't end up making it to the beach. It was such a beautiful day and I spent it inside a bookstore. Oh well.

Worked at Paws on Friday. This economy is still not picking up so I wasn't that busy in the store. I hope it picks up soon.

I'm watching my neighbor's dog, Otto in the evenings for the next week. I have to feed him and walk him. Last night, I took him to Newburyport for an hour walk. Otto is a Schnauzer and such a cutie pie! He's my little buddy! I'll try and remember to take some pics of Otto.

The rest of the weekend plans: working at Paws on Saturday and Sunday. Hanging out w/ Otto in the evenings. Attending a poetry reading on Sunday afternoon here.

Back to school on Monday! Blah! When I get back, I'll have to unpack a few of my boxes and set up my classroom. Thank goodness I have the first two blocks off on Monday! :-)

Enjoy your weekend!

April break - Part II

On Wednesday, I was invited to one of my former colleagues home for lunch up in NH. It was a lovely weather day! Sunny. Bright. And, the company was nice too! :-)

Rest of the day: I cleaned my car. Paid the bills. Cleaned the condo. Productive yet busy.

Today, I have a hair appointment to get my hair highlighted and cut here. Oh, the eyebrows need a touch up too. The gal that does my hair always does such a nice job. Why can't I do my hair the same way????

After the hair, I'm planning on heading to Barnes & Noble and do some correcting for a few hours. Need to correct those French Revolution tests!

Tonight, I might try a drive out to the beach and take a walk. It's been forever since I've been to the beach. I only live 15 minutes away from the ocean!

The weather this week in New England has been amazing! Couldn't ask for a better weather week off from school.

Enjoy your day -

April vacation week - part I

On Monday, I drove out to Northampton, MA (western MA) to meet some gals for Delta Kappa Gamma stuff. It was a two hour and 13 minute drive one way. The drive was long but incredibly scenic! I drove through the Berkshire Mountains and saw the Green Mountains of Vermont.

I got involved at the state level of DKG. I'm on the research committee and we had members fill out surveys. The committee met yesterday to go over the results. I have to put together a PowerPoint to present at the State Convention the weekend of May 2nd of our findings.

It was a very long drive and long day but productive. :-)

Today, I brought my car into Saturn to have it worked on (takes 8 hours). The head gasket has been leaking and I've been putting it off to get it fixed. I have a rental car - a PT Cruiser! I like it. Drives different than my Saturn. Not great on gas though . . . .

Well, I'm off to run some errands for the day (hence the rental car).

Enjoy your day!!! :-)

Four words!

I am on vacation!

Enough said!

Update on life

Just wanted to do an update on what is going on in M-Dawg's world (warning - VERY negative post!):

*I didn't get the teaching position at my first school. I received the phone call last night. The assistant principal (I'm friends with him) wanted to tell me over the phone instead of waiting for the letter. I'm upset and disappointed. For five years, all I've heard from administrators and other teachers was how they wanted me to come back. Nice.

*Survived the Sophomore Social (dance) for my class. My co-advisor and I have decided that we will resign at the end of the school year from being their class advisor. The officers do absolutely nothing and we are not paid enough to deal with the stress and bullshit.

*My classroom is currently in a modular trailer. I've been in the trailer for 1 1/2 year. The entire freshman house is moving out the trailers over April break. I filled out my request form over a month ago for boxes and moving supplies. When do I get my supplies and boxes: a week ago! I have a ton of shit to pack. Luckily, I have student leaders and a colleague of mine helped me pack most of it. It will be nice to be back in the main building again. Strange. They are moving us to a temporary classroom until June. Then they will move us to our permanent home which will be up on the third floor. I won't be unpacking anything except for two boxes of stuff I need to get me through the rest of the school year.

*My shoulder is still painful. I have an appt next week with an orthopedic surgeon.

*Good news: I'm on April break starting on Monday. A whole week off from school. I do have a busy week filled with appointments and working at Paws.

*I really need a break from school. I'm in such a bad mind set right now. Very negative and burnt out. Exhausted from working all the time and getting no financial rewards. And very poor! :-(

*And the best part of my life right now: my first mortgage is going up $250 a month. Got the letter last week notifying me of the increase. They won't even talk to me since I'm still paying my mortgage on time. Nice! I have two mortgages and the second one will go up too. I can't refinance since I owe more on my condo than it's worth right now. So, I'm screwed. Gotta love life. When you are down, you are DOWN! I am looking for a roommate to help defer the costs. If you know of anyone, let me know. I'm also posting an ad on Craig's List.

This is my life. Shitty right now. I think I need to go back into counseling again. I'm really having a hard time dealing with stuff. My personal life sucks. My professional life sucks. Trying to focus on what is good in my life and I just can't seem to do it.

End of vent/bitch/losing mind session. :-(

Back to school . . . .blah! :-(

It was an interesting Feb break.

Did all the Dr appts. Shoulder is feeling better. Meds and physical therapy is working. I still can't lift my arm or rotate the shoulder for the most part.

Harvard Mock Congress in Boston was interesting. We had a few issues with the three of the boys on the trip. They decided to blow off the first committee meeting. Little did they know that 1) my co-advisor and I were checking on them, and 2) The committee chairs were taking formal attendance. I sat in one of the committees and I heard two of the boys names being read out and of course, no boys anywhere! So, I call them on their cell phone and they didn't answer. I call their parents to let them know their sons are MIA (Missing in Action) and within five minutes I get a phone call from the boys telling me their cell phones were turned off. Gee - if their cell phones were turned off, how did their parents get a hold of them so quickly????? Yes, I left a message but one of the boys slipped and admitted they were "screening" their calls. Stupid kids. Another boy decided to smoke in their hotel bathroom and run the shower to try and cover the smoke. The room was a non-smoking room and they all signed an agreement that no smoking was allowed on the trip. Of course the fact they are only 16 and 17 years old means nothing. The girls were fine. Giggles and typical girly behavior. They were good about obeying the curfew at midnight which was good. It was the other students from other schools that tended to be a pain in the butt since their advisers were not watching them. I hate having to watch other kids when they are not my responsibility.

When I wasn't sitting in on meetings with the kids, I walked around the Prudential Center and Copley Place. The Sheraton is attached to these malls. EXPENSIVE!!!!! I ended up having to buy new shoes because my black dress shoes fell apart on me when I was walking around Harvard. I went to Aldo and bought a pair for $50! I tend to purchase really cheap shoes so the fact that I paid $50 for a pair of shoes was a huge deal for me.

I met teachers from all over the country at the conference. Some high schools from IL were there too - all suburb schools. Overall, it was a good and educational trip. Most of the kids got into their roles as congressmen(women) so it was a good experience. Only one of the kids wanted to take a tour of Harvard University on Friday so my co-advisor and I took him to the campus tour and we had a faculty luncheon on campus. Harvard Square and Cambridge is always a unique experience.

Came home on Sunday night exhausted. I need a break from my break! :-)

Hope everyone has a good week -

I'm on vacation! Yahoo!

I'm officially on Feb break. Yeah!

I have Dr's appt's, hair appt, physical therapy appt, etc. Sorta busy. This is the week I tend to get all this crap done.

Rotator cuff is still a problem. I find that when I don't use my arm or shoulder a great deal it tends to feel OK. I can't lift my arm/shoulder very high. The pain is insane! The pain meds and antiflammatory works but I can only take them at night since they make me really sleepy. I suck up the pain during the day.

When I was working at Paws this weekend, I overdid it and the pain in my shoulder was killing me. I get very frustrated because it takes me more time to do things since I use my left arm more. And then I end up using the right arm and the pain kills! I know this is my own issue and I need to work on it. Ughy!

Today is the only day that I don't have any appointments so I plan on taking it somewhat easy and head over to Barnes and Noble at some point to get some correcting done.

It's raining here today. In the 50's. Sorta of a blah day. I guess the rain is better than snow! :-)

On Thursday, I head to Harvard Mock Congress with my co-advisor and 13 students in Boston. We will be staying at the Sheraton in Boston until Sunday. Schools from all over the country will be there so it will be a great opportunity for the kids to meet other kids from other schools and places. And, I like meeting teachers from all over the country too! :-)

So, it will be a busy week.

I won't have email access at the end of the week so if I don't respond to emails or blogs, please know it's because I have no access to the Internet. My co-advisor is going to bring her laptop but we don't know if we have to pay for Internet at the hotel or not. My laptop is not working right now and doesn't have wireless anyway.

Have a great week!!! :-0)

Back to the grind . . . .

Is it June yet????

I'm such a bad teacher! :-)

Busy week

It has been a busy yet productive week.

*I booked a DJ for the Freshman Fling. It's going to cost the kids a lot of money but that is what they get for waiting until the last minute.

*Went to the New England Aquarium on Tuesday. I had a fantastic time! The penguins were my favorite! I could watch them all day long. Afterwards, Michelle and I walked over the Faneuil Hall and had lunch here. Yes, it was a bit touristy but the food was yummy! We saw a ton of folks walking around Boston that had run the Boston Marathon the day before (they were wearing the official jacket of the marathon). I think if I ran 26.2 miles, I'd have to ride in a wheelchair for the rest of the week! :-)

*Did a ton of school work. I'm trying to plan out the rest of the school year with my curriculum. I also have a meeting next week with my Principal so we can discuss the end of the year.

*Saw The Italian at the Screening Room in Newburyport last night. It's a Russian film about a young orphan boy, Vanya and his goal of finding his birth mother. Vanya is supposed to be adopted by an Italian family but he wants to find his birth mother. The film was pretty good - not your typical "hard or depressing" Russian film.

*Working a ton of hours this week at Paws. I really need to get as much money as I can before I leave for Russia.

*Had some blood work done. Nothing serious. Just routine stuff before my Dr. appt. I need to have a Dr sign off on my paperwork for Russia. I may have to get some shots too. I have my appt on Wednesday of next week so we shall see what he has to say about the shots.

*Filled out paperwork for the Fulbright-Hays. My goodness! A lot of paperwork! I feel like I'm signing my life away!

*Had a hair appointment. Went a tad bit lighter on my highlights and cut about 1 1/2 inches to make my hair healthier.

*Met Janet-poo for dinner. We ate here. Yummy!!!! We then hung out at Barnes & Noble for a few hours. I bought a How to Learn Russian in your car CD to help me learn a little of the language. I figured I might as well use that commuting time productively! :-)

*Dentist appt was on Wednesday. I had two fillings! I used Novocaine for the first time. I thought I could suck it up. No luck! :-( I couldn't talk normally for over three hours! My Mom called me to check in and she was making fun of me! No kidding . . . thanks Mom!

So, that was my week. Productive yet some fun thrown in for kicks!

I'm on April vacation!!!!!

It's official!

I'm on break.

It's a break but not a break.

Got lots to do.

Working a ton at Paws this next week. Want to make as much money as possible before I leave for Russia.

Have Doctor and Dentist Appt.

Have hair appt.

Meeting my friend Janet for dinner.

Going to New England Aquarium with my friend Michelle for the day (I work with Michelle). I best part - I can use my union card and get in for free! I'm so excited because I've never been here.

Fill out all my paperwork for the Fulbright-Hays grant. Trust me, it's a lot!!!!!!!

Do some school work. Joy - I can't avoid it.

I'll check in periodically throughout the week.

Have a great week everyone . . . . . .

Last day of Feb break

A Quote from the film Billy Madison:

Billy Madison: "Back to school! Back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool! I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight! Ohhhh, back to school! Back to school! Back to school! Well, here goes nothing!"

It's back to school for me on Monday. It's been a relaxing break.

We might get a snow storm tomorrow so who knows if we will have a delay or day off.

Am I bad for saying that I would like another day off?????

Winding down my Feb break

It has been a very good week. I'm relaxed. I'm content. I was incredibly productive. Life is good.

I work at Paws today, Saturday, and Sunday. I hope to see my favorite puppies! :-)

Tonight, I'm meeting Janet and Lauren at the Cheesecake Factory for a belated b-day dinner at the Burlington Mall. I enjoy spending time my girl pals! :-)

Got my federal tax and state refund checks (gotta love direct deposit!) this week. Added bonus!

Not much to complain about . . . until next week! :-)

Have a good weekend all!

Plugging along during my Feb break . . . . .

The week has been pretty good so far. Productive yet relaxing.

On Saturday, I worked at Paws. It was sorta busy in the sense of high maintenance customers. Lots of hand holding. I usually don't mind but some customers are more high maintenance than others and it can be a little frustrating.

Saturday night, I met Carla in downtown Portsmouth for a belated b-day dinner here. Very yummy! Afterwards, we went here for drinks and dessert. Again, yummy! I've never had a bad meal at any of the restaurants in Portsmouth! Amazing food! Thanks Carla for a nice evening of great food and company! And, I loved my b-day gifts too! :-)

Sunday, I totally vegged out on the couch and watched videos. I have Netflix and I'm working my way through The Golden Girls series. I used to LOVE that show!

Monday, I went to my old school to visit. It's been a while since I've been back. It was so nice to see all my former colleagues. I had a select few that I really wanted to see and visit. NH has their Feb break next week so I figured that this would be a nice time to go. Somethings never change in that school. The "old boys network/club" is still hot and heavy.

Today, I have to run a few errands and then I have some work to do around the condo. Mostly organization and cleaning type of stuff. I find during the school year that certain things don't get done or are pushed aside. I like to use my breaks to get that stuff completed. It's not stressful type of stuff just things that tend to get pushed aside that at some point needs to get done.

Hope everyone has a nice day - :-)

Almost on Feb break!

As of today at 2:02 pm, I will be officially on Feb vacation!

I'm looking forward to some much needed time off. Of course, I do have a list of stuff that must get done over the break. And, I picked up some extra hours at Paws. Some quality time with friends is scheduled too.

It's still a break from school and student drama!

I'll be checking in throughout the week - I'm here but not here. :-)

Ellie the Cat and I will be enjoying each other's company too! :-)

Have a great weekend all!