Theresa's Thoughts

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Summer

Oh where has the summer gone?  I am slowing getting myself ready for the new school year. I've begun checking in with Twitter more often as my PLN is such a motivation for me. They unselfishly share resources and information.  I have learned a great deal from the group of educators I follow.

There are 27 days left before I return to the classroom.  It will be an exciting year.  I will be teaching the same classes again but each will be different.  I have new activities, new classroom dynamics and more to get ready for.

I will get back to my habit of weekly blogging as well. I sort of slipped up in the spring due to much more on my mind - including some health issues.

A summer following my son around the golf course as he competed for the second summer has helped me stay in shape.  He had a much better summer.

I've found new ideas for my students.  I will continue to encourage the use of web 2.0 tools in class.
Watch for more!

It's been a while

Don't think that I have abandoned this blog. I have simply gotten wrapped on in some personal issues that are taking way too much of my time but are very important to me.  I am hoping for a resolution this week when I return to the doctor for a diagnosis (hopefully).  I am hoping that it turns out to be something other than their initial ideas because I am not ready to deal with an incurable, somewhat treatable debilitating illness.

School is quickly wrapping up and we are heading into the home stretch.  There are 26 days with students and 11 days of exams left before vacation (of course, this does not count weekend).

Handed out final projects two two of my full year classes today.  Marketing will be creating either a sports team or an amusement park.  Business law will be creating a paper and presentation on a legal issue.  Ownership is well on their way to finalizing their business plan and word processing 2 does their exam in class.

I did make my reservations for edcampphilly. I am looking forward to meeting some people face to face after interacting on twitter for more than a year!!  Emily is coming with me since my coworker would not commit to go.  We will hit up either KOP or Ikea on the way home. Should be a fun way to celebrate the birthday weekend :-)

Easter Sunday

The gorgeous weather in CNY the last two days has kept me focused on enjoy the time away from school more than getting ready for a new week of classes. We have had two record breaking days in a row - and we were off from school!!  I have spent time outside and enjoying things at home. We even made the inaugural trip to the ice cream stand last night.

I continue to fight with Lifetime basketball hoops about our three week old backboard that now has a hole in it. Sean hit it with a shot and it cracked. Well, tell a 14 year old to stop shooting baskets and see what happens. He will shoot for hours to release his stress and there is plenty of that right now.  Lifetime is making the whole process difficult.  If they don't just replace the board, I will have to figure out my next option.

Now, Easter Sunday has arrived. We will have dinner at moms later on and then it will be back here to get work done and get ready for tomorrow and the upcoming week. I need to have the week ready to go as I have to take Thursday off to go to the doctors to find out what is really going on inside this body of mine. I hope for some serious answers and the end to prednisone - which right now is a wonder drug to me.

Topics for the upcoming week will include fashion marketing, management and operations in ownership and the ending of commercial paper and the start of personal concerns in law.

The week that was!

This week has been most troubling for me.  It has been one of the longest weeks in recent memory even though it is still just 7 days long all together and 5 work days.

I think part of this is because last week really carried over.  My 14 you freshman boy is seriously ADHD. He was not growing as he should so his pediatrician opted to take the risk of cutting his medication to see if growth would occur.  She indicated that this would likely lead to a drop in grades and a further appearance of ADHD symptoms and put this in writing for his school.  Well weight gain and growth have occurred for Sean so her medical judgment is sound. He is gaining about 1# per week and has grown about 1/2 inch.  Yes, his ability to focus has plummeted! 

On Monday, I learned from both of my children that someone they call a friend had committed suicide and was found in the park next to the school. This his both kids hard and lead to many different conversations.  This young man was outgoing and incredible. He will be terribly missed. My oldest opted to email her professors and attend his wake/funeral last night.

I have spent the week attempting to give the principal at school some room but deal with my concerns that Sean is being punished for his ADHD as his teacher's gave him U on his weekly report which made him academically ineligible to compete in athletics. This is the one piece of success the kid is getting.  They have this set of firm rules and it does not matter that there is a medical issue. They don't bend.  This is challenging for me because I teach in a district that BENDS just about EVERY rule to meet the kid where they are.  I requested that he be given consideration that his ADHD is contributing and was met with a resounding NO, we won't do that.  I even said to the principal that he is being punished for an issue that is beyond his control.  Still, no.  This leaves me with a decision to make. Do I file a civil rights violation case since he has a 504 and this is why.  The director of special education is hell bent that he does not qualify for OHI IEP even though ADHD is causing him to not meet his potential and is limiting his ability to learn and do work.  It might also be time for due process request.

My students at work have been less than at the top of their game. I have worked to create various lessons and activities. Many opt to not do work. I have students at risk of not graduating and their parents excuse them for the 7th senior skip day of the year. Yes, our seniors feel they should get to take off the last Friday of every month because it has been declared senior skip day.  So, mom and dad call them out of school.  In a few weeks, some of these same parents will be calling asking me what their child can do to pass my class and graduate.  It is another frustration.

We are awaiting numbers for next year so we can see what we will be teaching and get the master schedule set.  They were supposed to be out today, but they have been delayed.  It should be interesting to see what kids selected.

Whew, what a week!

I don't know what made last week so long but it seemed to go on forever and was not the best one going.  I seemed to be a step behind every day.  I never did really feel caught up.

On Friday, I did make it to my doctor's appointment to find out why I felt 300 years old.  Every joint and part of my body had been hurting for weeks.  They are running a string of blood tests to find out what it might be.  Tests for everything from thryoid to lymes disease to arthritis and some things in beween.  She also gave me a 5 day script for prednisone which has really made me feel like myself  for the first time in at least a month.

We take our group of students to NYC on Friday of this coming week.  It should be interesting and fun. Some of this group has never been there before. We will also attend the Knicks game on Friday night and have a full day on Saturday before we head back to Syracuse late in the evening.  It will be a whirlwind trip.

Have got my pile of grading done but will need to record it tomorrow. Most of today was spent getting Sean organized and ready to try to salvage the rest of his year from hell.  I sent off a long email to his teachers making a simple request to share his homework for the week with me so that we can monitor it better at this end.  He is growing so the medical issues were valid but he is not doing well without his concerta.  It's been a long year.

I think the issues with Sean and his med reduction have finally caught up to me.  Little things in class that used to just roll off are bugging me.  I had a conversation the other day where we figured out I don't get a break from the distractions of ADHD now.  I have the awareness but need to keep my head cool with a student is fidgeting and being annoying with mannerisms.  I tolerate sitting on desks and windows as long as they don't disrupt others.  Some students seem to appreciate it.

I hope to get back on my regular routine this week.  I did get my little netbook and broadband adapter this weekend.  I am going to opt for the prepaid adapter at this point. I am so disgusted with Verizon that I don't want another contract with them. Depending on how it goes, I may opt to sign up at a later date.  It is interesting using the little netbook with the same size hard drive as my full size Acer. Battery life is very good.

What a week

I am so glad it is early Friday evening!  This was a really long week for me.  I started out behind due to crazy things at home. 

I had my mid-year evaluation on Thursday. Some of my goals have been pushed down the priority list by the district which is disappointing. My department chair was told I should not really pursue splitting my marketing class into a semester class and making two new classes (to be offered in opposite years) sports and fashion. We are sending more and more students off into these two fields so there is interest there. I will likely still do it so we can make the proposal in the fall and get it in place for 2011-2012.  The rest of the time was spent discussing my use of Web 2.0 in the classroom. Our dean was impressed and interested. He would like to see some of the work and application of the tools.

My one class is officially blogging on kidblog.org. It is working out and they seem to be exploring the site and most have made their first post.

My class using glogster is enjoying it.  I am sure they can see where they can use this site in other classes.  Time will tell. I will see the results of their work on Monday when it is due.

Students were antsy this week and that did not help. I am starting to see my frustration level rise at work to the point that little things are starting to really bug me. I need to work on this.

Today was just long. I shared mid-mark grades and kids were stunned that if they had not done much work, their grades were low.  Gee, if there are 3 assignments and you did one earning a 50, you really thought you would have a passing grade?  A couple of students stayed after to get a couple of things done so that they can raise their 5 week grade. I used the time to encourage them to make it a plan to get it done on time as it really does benefit them.

My first period class got talking today about wanting to be done and out. They are mostly seniors and ready to move on. I got nostalgic and discussed the whole everything changes for you when you graduate. All that you have known and are comfortable with, changes and goes away.  It really is the last chance to be young and carefree.  One young man was very good at expressing his frustration that he has several teachers who hold regular discussions but not "real work". He's not feeling challenged and would rather be home sleeping. He, and many others, are in positions that they only need two or three of their classes for graduation. They are in a tough spot. So, the teacher in me, got onto the fact that they should be gaining something from all of the other classes and that each of them are contributing something to their day.  Bottom line, the students want to be challenged - or at least so it seems.

Later in the day, I had to again deal with cell phones in class. Why can't they just play by the rules and leave them in their lockers. We are a district that wants them in their lockers.  It's frustrating that some of them can't keep their hands and eyes off them.  I try to set a good example and don't bring my phone to class and don't use it in front of them.  I always say that if someone needs me, they will call the main office and the office will contact me.  Today was the second day that our principal used part of morning announcements to review behavior expectations including the proper use of phones in school!!!

Stay tuned for more.

Wednesday.

So far, this week have been interesting.  First, it was tough to get back into the routine on Monday morning.  Yesterday, found the website I wanted to use blocked right before I needed to have kids use it and today, I got stuck in an accident backup and missed out on a my quiet time before school started.

Monday, I tried to ease most of my full year classes back to the routine by discussing their article summaries/current events and eye spy reports due.  Of course, very few had them which was frustrating in many ways. These are long standing assignments that have a set due date each month. I took the approach that if a student did not have their completed work with them, they should tell me what they WILL write about.

Tuesday, I  had planned for a class to use edu.glogster.com only to find it block. I was successful in getting the site allowed (using the edu version) and got the class (business ownership) onto it today. Of course, they found the message function and status update right away!  The novelty wore off and they realized they could only connect with students that were sitting in the room with them and they got to work.  Positive comments flew around as most of the class liked it once they started to play.  It took a minute for them to get the idea that it was really an electronic poster.  They have some interesting profile pictures up!

Tomorrow, I will be introducing kidblog.org to my marketing class.  It should be interesting. I hope it will be a worthwhile practice for them. 

I have to thank my PLN over on Twitter for sharing so many wonderful resources with me and giving me the courage to introduce them to the classes I teach.  My first experience was positive when I had two classes use Animoto.   When I get braver, I will attempt some of the collaborative sites like wallwisher or etherpad (If it is not blocked).  Next year, I will seek to go with much few papers and more digital. I have created drop.io boxes but have not yet introduced them to my classes.

Today, I was tired from lack of sleep from the Nova game on Saturday night, little sleep on Monday and a long day yesterday since I went to the SU game vs. St Johns.   I am hoping for a great night of sleep tonight.

Snow day - finally.

So, we live in lake effect country - that area around the Great Lakes that can easily see tons of snow at a moments notice. It usually brings us many school delays and all of our snow days in CNY.  This year has been different. The lake effect machine seemed to only work on weekends and all the major snow storms have missed us. We find ourselves in the last days of February and we just got our FIRST snow day of the year.

The day is good because it means my sick boy can rest. He slept for 13 hours.  I was up and showered when our superintendent closed us for the day. See, here in CNY, we don't close the night before. You watch the TV between 5 and 6:30 and hope your district scrolls across the bottom.  I am sure there are many happy children around CNY today.  The news has made a big deal out of the fact that this is the first snow day! The problem with this is that we have not had many weather events this year so our media is all over this one like a wet paper towel.

I figure that I will go out and do some snow removal in a little while, do some more later this afternoon and a third trip this evening.  If I can stay on top of it, it won't be so terrible tomorrow to deal with since Sean won't be helping.

I will tackle some of the grading in my bag and get some prep work done on this wonderful day.  Homemade mac and cheese is going to be on the horizon as well.  Since we are due to get another chunk of snow tonight, tomorrow could become a 2 hour delay day but not likely a closure. Back to back closings are an even rarer treat in Syracuse.

Sunrise

Yes! Today we actually got to see the sunrise!!! Additionally, it was light when I drove in this morning.  Spring definitely cannot be far away!

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