August 03, 2007

babies, vacation and Michael Buble

I am beginning to feel like everyone I know is having a baby and I can’t keep track of all of the names anymore.  Not to mention they are all spelling their childs name wrong on top of it all. So not only can I not remember what the name is, I have no idea how to spell it either.  Why are people making this so hard on me. 

So let’s see....
There is Katelyn Belle, Emily Elisabeth, Isabella Rose, and Meaghan Irene.  Not to mention work people. One person was out on maternity leave in the beginning of the school year, one person was out on maternity leave at the end of the year, and two people are due soon, I think in September.  Not to mention every single one of them so far has had a girl. 

So I’ve been spending a lot of time looking at baby pictures.  All I can think is, I can’t believe that these people feel mature enough to take care of a baby and have that much responsibility. I don’t like this getting older thing. 

So completely unrelated. I’ll be in Boston for about 5 days starting on Saturday.  I’m so looking forward to it.  Hope everyone is enjoying their summer.  I definitely am. Tonight I saw Jann Arden and Michael Buble at Radio City.  It was amazing.  It’s really late and time for bed.

July 31, 2007

Shining star

My principal calls me today.  The student I sent to summer school, is the shining star.  Imagine that.  Two years in a row, the kids who I sent to summer school end up being the shining stars.  I’m so happy for him.  This has probably really given him confidence academically. 

July 30, 2007

Babies

Another baby was born into the world on Saturday, Isabella Rose.  Another baby is on the way.  A friend from high school had her second baby Saturday. Another friend from high school just had her water break today.  They actually may run into each other in the hospital. 

July 26, 2007

If only you were here

It’s hard to believe until you see it with your own eyes, but today was my lucky day.  Let me just tell you that there is a man in Bayside who walks a PIG.  That’s right, Bayside, New York and a PIG!  At first I just thought that is a really ugly...um....ugly...what is that????? OMG, it’s THE PIG!  It’s very distracting and a populated area, I’m surprised there aren’t accidents caused by a pig sighting. 

July 12, 2007

I love summer

Life doesn’t get better than this....wake up when I don’t feel sleepy anymore.  Read a book for as long as I want to without any interruptions.  Not to mention the best part, watching my Gilmore Girls dvds and crocheting a baby blanket and last but not least blogging. 

Later this morning I’ll be going to my parents house to do some laundry (the accomplishment of the day, like I’m not just wasting away).  Someone from my moms job has a daughter who is going into second grade and apparently an amazing writer and asked my mom to show me some of her writing to see what I thought of it and see if there are suggestions I have what she can do to help her.  I did see her amazing flat stanley project on the New York Mets.  Apparently Flat Stanley went to spring training with the NYM’s (literally).  So she had pictures that they took and wrote all about it.  I totally thought that she got lots of help with it because it was amazing and not just because it was about the mets.  Apparently it was all her own work.  So from what I saw so far, I’m highly impressed.  So I get to read some of the writing when I stop off at my parents today.  I love writing, so I’m looking forward to it.  I think it’s the writing program we use at my school.  I really think that if I had learned to write using this program, I’d be a much better writer today. So I’m learning to be a better writer as well as I teach.  I just think it’s so much fun!

July 03, 2007

Summer is here

So I an officially on Summer Vacation and loving it!  It’s so nice not to wake up to an alarm going off. 

I got an email from one of my students today (the only student who I gave my email to).  I asked her to email me if she heard back from the show, “Are you smarter than a fifth grader?” She tried out to be on the show, and wasn’t going to hear back until the end of June.  So I asked her to email to let me know.  She emailed today to tell me that she hasn’t heard back yet.  I think I’m more disappointed than she is.  I really thought she had a good shot, but I guess there was just too much competition.  I guess you never know.  They may have selected someone who can’t make it to Hollywood to audition again and maybe they’ll call her.  (keeping my fingers crossed for her)

June 26, 2007

School stories

Just one half of a teaching day left.  I will be officially on my summer vacation at the end of the day tomorrow.

Just a few things about the end of the school year:

Today there was a food fight.  I shouldn’t say this but it was pretty funny. 

Soda exploded all over me in the classroom during out party. 

It was so hot in my classroom, I’m surprised I didn’t pass out from heat exhaustion. 

The kids are completely out of control because they are done and it’s too hot to be sitting in a classroom anymore. 

Report cards suck, especially when you aren’t giving accurate instructions and you have to keep fixing things because “someone” changes their minds about what they want. 

A child who is going to summer school, doesn’t seem upset about it and even the mother is happy about the news.  So that made everyone happy too. 

State Tests suck because....

Children who don’t get 4’s and they were expecting them end up in tears.  It just breaks my heart with the pressure and stress put on these children.  It’s like someone out there forgets that children are taking these “tests”. 

Children who don’t deserve a 4 sometimes end up getting them.  It’s not a reflection of what they were doing and capable of all year. 

Sometimes children have good days, and sometimes they have bad days.  Which ever day they may have on the test day may determine how this child will be labeled. 

During the tests I had a student start to cry during it.  He flipped out and couldn’t concentrate because he didn’t know “one” answer and he started to panic that he would fail “the test” and that would mean that he would be left back.  It just isn’t right.  It really bothers me that children are getting this upset and putting this much pressure on themselves. 

So after tomorrow...no more pencils, no more books, no more students attitudes. 

Actually I gave them each a notecard and asked them to write to me this summer and tell me how their summer is going.  Tell me about what they did and all of that fun stuff.  I hope they write to me.  Then they asked for my email, but I don’t think I want to email them over the summer.  That would be too much work to keep up with.  So I don’t think that will be happening. 

June 07, 2007

School year coming to a quick end!

I got the math scores for my class.  Let’s just say I’m very very happy and very very proud of them.  I have to look at the scores from last year and see who went up.  Now I can’t wait to go to work tomorrow.  I just wish I could tell them how they did.  Teaching can be very frustrating. 

One of my students scores are missing again.  So I have to wait a few days for the school to locate them again before I find out her score. 

I will be finding out on Tuesday which grade I’ll be teaching in September and which students will be in my class.  It seems like there is going to be a lot of changes next year.  All of the signs seem to point to me staying in fourth grade.  Who really knows though.  My principal hasn’t said anything to me yet wanting to move me.  Although, she has mentioned to my two other grade mates that she wants to move them.  I have no idea who I will be teaching with next year.  Everyone is trying to figure it out.  It’s the talk of the school.  Tuesday will be here before we know it though.  Less than three weeks of school left. 

I’ve been reflecting a lot on this year.  I can honestly say, that I’ve seen huge progress in the students in my class both socially and academically.  There has been tremendous growth.  I’m so proud of how well they did.  They worked hard and they proved to be successful.  I’m really going to miss them. 

May 31, 2007

just a day

Today was a busy day at work.  I was supposed to have a meeting first thing in the morning but the parent didn’t show up.  We had a writing celebration.  Thirteen parents showed up.  They loved the books the students made.  They came out amazing.  Then we went outside to the garden and we let our butterflies go.  Unfortunately, one butterfly had a broken wing and one died before we let them go.  It was still nice we counted the butterflies as they flew away.  I miss them.  I was worried the whole time I had them, but now I miss them.  Then we had a period where we got to play games.  So all in all a good day. 

May 28, 2007

Where will I eat?

Friday night there was a huge fire at our favorite pizza place in New Jersey.  So sad! 

Friday I found out that an Irish Pub by my apartment is closed and is going to reopen as a seafood place.  This is very disappointing.