Weekend

Today and Yesterday I have woken up before 7 am. I hardley ever get up that early on a weekend. Usually I sleep until about 10. It is kind nice to be up with no one else up, get a chance to watch the news and chill with my coffee for a while. I have a busy two weeks coming up and then Fall break. I have a after school book study, diversity training, and they teaching Thinking Maps the week after that for two 3 hour sessions. I was thinking about it and we are a down hill roll for a while. Wee have 2 weeks at school, then 5 days off, then 3 weeks at school and 10 days off. Come back have a few days til exams and the a day off, and it will be February and we will have a day off and then March hits with 1 week for Spring Break, the Easter in April, 2 days off in May and the it is June and school is over. I know school just started in August, but August, September and October seem so much longer than November, December, January, February, March, April and May put together.

I have 5 semester classes, so in the middle of January, I get 5 new sets of students, and I keep 1 class of jr.’s. I love the fact that I get to look at what I have done in these classes and I get a chance to change what did not work and add in and try something else. That is so AWESOME. I can do less bookwork and maybe more thinking maps and foldables in to both classes. I can add some labs in my sociology classes. I am getting a handle on the topics and feeling alot more comforatable with them. I LOVE MY JOB! IT IS SO AWESOME! Now I just need to get caught up again on my grading. Where is PG when I need her.

foldables

Today in my US History class we are using a 6 cut foldable for showign some of the new technology for WWI, anything from airplanes, trench warfare to blimps, and machine guns. The label the technology on the front flap, draw or find a picture for underneath the label then tellme about the technoloy under that, who, what, where, why and when. So much new stuff came out of this war and it ties into today. Then we are going to start our class discussion and notes on WWI.

I love my job!

You know maybe getting sick was for the better, I am enjoying being at work more and it has made me appreciate what I am doing. Today I am starting to get off all of the bloat weight I gained from all the medications I was on. Yesterday was my last day on them and I have gained about 15 pounds YUCK! So today I am eating friut salad for breakfast, and a chicken spinach salad for lunch and a yogurt for a snack. The weight will come off! I am also thinking about using my yourself fitness on the xbox or the wii fit when I get home, if my joints stop hurting. I could not sleep because of the steriods and my joints. It will ease up in the next couple of days.

Sick of being sick

Finally I am feeling better, not 100% but much better. I am still swollen from all the meds, but I am feeling so much better. I am turning over a new leaf today, my new mantra is “I LOVE MY JOB!” I think this is going to help.

It is starting to get busy , I have lots of after school staff developments, pull outs and then the holidays, it seems like school is moving in fast forward this year, and I think that is for the best, because it can only get better. I LOVE MY JOB! Now I just wish my husband would hurry up and find a job, any job. I want to sell my house and move closer to my son’s college and a better school district for my youngers kids. Out towards Denton or Keller. One step at a time right?

more training

I went to a great staff development session for Dinah Zike’s Foldables, last week, that I have been waiting for for 2 years for. They had it last year and then on the day of the session I ended having to home because my little one had gotten sick, but they gave me the book that went with the training. I love her books and foldables, my high schoolers even love doing them. I now have two fo her books for American History and World History and I think I am going to go find the others on at B&N or Amazon. We spent two hours cutting and folding in the session, so we could make every one of the foldables. I have been foldables for about five years, but now I can add more in to my US History and Economics class which will be great. If you ever get a chance to take a foldables class I highly recommend you do so, and if you get a chance to do one with Dinah Zike’s WOW! that would be even better.

Crud + work do not mix.

I have been out sick for two days and I did not want to come in today. I went to the dr and I do not have the flu, THANK GOD! But my lungs itch and I am coughing, which means my asthma is bothering me. I have antibiotics, mega steiords and all my asthma medicine and I am still having problems. At least is an easy day, my sociology class is finishing up America Graffitti and it is a pep rally day so the classes are shorter.

Saturday Training

Oh My God! The Thinking Maps training that my fellow teacher and I taught to the teachers went fantasic. We got some really great reviews from the teachers taking the class. It was a six hour training on a Saturday, and I can say I was so nervous to start out with, but once we got going it was so much better than what I expected. We trained 16 teachers and we have a total of 36 more to train as that is how many more books we have left. So will be doing a couple of more classes, I think we are going to do these in 3 hour intervals so that some teachers can do it after school instead of on a weekend.

Yesterday

For some reason I was so stressed out yesterday, I wanted to scream and rail at my last period class. It could have been the fact that I have to start training teachers on Thinking Maps Saturday. I am so afraid I am going to suck. We have spend 21 hours so far preparing to teach a six hour class. and we still have 3 hours on Friday. I do not think the Adm understand how much we are putting into this training. I do not think they care either. They are giving us four hours of Staff Development time for two six hour trainings and nothing for the 24 hours of planning. Oh well at least I am getting something for it all right?

pictures

Today I get a group email that Sr. Pictures are tomorrow. TOMORROW! I have my week planned and now it is jacked up because some lady cannot tell in advance when Sr. pictures are. It will practically take the whole period too. What does she think? That I plan on the fly? That I can just stop what I am doing? What is her deal. Last year she scheduled pictures on a district wide test day and had to reschedule it and then she had to reschedule it again because of another conflict and let us know 1 day in advance for the 9th, 10th, and 11th grade pictures. She seems like she cannot do her job, so why is she here? This has gotten beyond silly.

My week.

Yesterday I went to the Freshman football game with the cheerleaders, I love filling in when the coaches cannot go, that way I get a taste of it and not all of the hassle. The girl’s were great at the game, but horrendous on the bus there and back. I thought kids knew not to stand up and yell and scream while the bus is moving. The bus driver had to stop the bus for five minutes until I could them to stop and sit. It was sad. Coach was mad! I cannot blame her. It was only four girls out of twenty one, but still, they are all going to get in trouble. I still had fun though.
My Vertical Alignment session when good, or should I say horizontal alighnment becuase it was actually just Economic teachers. I did not have to monitor the PSAT, I got to go to training. YES! I learned about some of the lessons they do and got some great ideals. Now in December I go to a Vertical Alignment session for US History. For some reason my district has chosen to make it a big deal and we are speading about 25 hours of training on it. I do get tired though of all the useless training and pulling me out of my classes. Why not do the training during the week before school starts, that way I have something to do that week.