I can't believe the speed with which the weeks are passing already. I jut posted on Saturday, got busy, and it is Thursday tomorrow. My life is passing by at a tremendous rate of speed, and at my age that is not the most welcome news. On the other hand, things are mostly well. The kids fluctuate from day to day, but I think that is to be expected. None of us are the same person on a daily basis. I am not sure why they should be any different. I may have mentioned before that I like this group pretty well as a whole. If I haven't, I should mention it now, and if I have, I will say it again. I plan on taking over the speech program from my wife, who has a master's to work on, and that includes the junior high speech group as well. I did a chaperone gig at the high school speech competition last year, and I guess I will actually be coaching at both this year. It will give me a chance to bond better with the kids, and I am looking forward to it.
In other important news, happy anniversary to my Mom and Dad tomorrow. On September 1, they will have been married for sixty-one years. Not bad. I will be excited to make the sixty-first anniversary of my birth. Marriage is a different creature entirely. I am enjoying it quite a bit at this time, I must say. (That is to keep me out of trouble with the little woman!)
The rain continues, and I am hoping that the trend will not continue for the long holiday weekend. My review of the weather forecast does not cause optimism. It will be nice to have a few quiet days nonetheless. And the thought of no alarm clock for a couple of days doesn't exactly break my heart. A little rest will be a nice thing.
Off to home, dogs, and hearth...another day in the record books.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Peaceful Nighttime...
The day was productive...in some direct ways and some that were more subtle. I can feel change coming on, and it feels like the right thing. I can't point to one thing, but more the combination of a lot of small things at the same time. It is a good thing, and feels very natural. I have been waiting for this for a while. We will see how it goes from here...
Saturday Work Day
Here again on the weekend...the week was a good, and busy one. I like this year's crop of kiddies pretty much, even if they have noticed some impatience on my part. They still want to come and hang around at the end of the day despite their immense suffering at my hands during the school day. How resilient!
We are doing another two-day inservice thing. We are committed to a certain number of them by contract. The idea that we are trying this year is to front-load them in the school year so as to have them finished well in advance of the late winter-early spring blues. I think that we do not have much of anything of that sort after February. It makes it nicer then, but it makes the first part of the school year pretty tiring.
The way that we do the two-day thing is to stay until 6:30 on Friday nights and then come in from 8-12:30 on Saturday. Breakfast is included, and you have to like a boss who will come in early to cook for his employees. This week we are kind of short on staff for various reasons, so we are concentrating on getting a number of necessary things done in the classroom. My problem at this particular moment is that I stayed up a little too late last night after a steam at Joe's, and I am not really feeling the motivation that I need to get things done. On top of that, my wife is in Anchorage for the next day or so, and I suspect that I am moping around feeling sorry for myself. I should get at it so that I can get all of my stuff done today and relax tomorrow. I just need to get convinced of that fact, and all will be well.
I feel that I am off to a good start this year with classes. I am really trying to focus on getting a routine set with the kids. I think that they are getting it for the most part, too. Of course, there is some goofiness, but that is to be expected, even if it has to be dealt with. Kids, after all, are kids, and will always be on some level. I doubt that all of the behavior programs in the world will change that. It still is nice to get some basic perimeters established for acceptable behavior.
In more real-world news, there are reports of moose sightings in the neighborhood recently, which is cause for much excitement. Hunting season for moose begins on the first of September, and anticipation is beginning to build. The opener will dovetail nicely with the Labor Day weekend for our kids, but I do have to remind them about getting their pass requests filled out. The district has a permission arrangement for traditional subsistence activities, but the request needs to be submitted in advance. A word to the wise is in order.
The weekend awaits, which means that I need to get busy here right now and get my work done...wish me luck!
We are doing another two-day inservice thing. We are committed to a certain number of them by contract. The idea that we are trying this year is to front-load them in the school year so as to have them finished well in advance of the late winter-early spring blues. I think that we do not have much of anything of that sort after February. It makes it nicer then, but it makes the first part of the school year pretty tiring.
The way that we do the two-day thing is to stay until 6:30 on Friday nights and then come in from 8-12:30 on Saturday. Breakfast is included, and you have to like a boss who will come in early to cook for his employees. This week we are kind of short on staff for various reasons, so we are concentrating on getting a number of necessary things done in the classroom. My problem at this particular moment is that I stayed up a little too late last night after a steam at Joe's, and I am not really feeling the motivation that I need to get things done. On top of that, my wife is in Anchorage for the next day or so, and I suspect that I am moping around feeling sorry for myself. I should get at it so that I can get all of my stuff done today and relax tomorrow. I just need to get convinced of that fact, and all will be well.
I feel that I am off to a good start this year with classes. I am really trying to focus on getting a routine set with the kids. I think that they are getting it for the most part, too. Of course, there is some goofiness, but that is to be expected, even if it has to be dealt with. Kids, after all, are kids, and will always be on some level. I doubt that all of the behavior programs in the world will change that. It still is nice to get some basic perimeters established for acceptable behavior.
In more real-world news, there are reports of moose sightings in the neighborhood recently, which is cause for much excitement. Hunting season for moose begins on the first of September, and anticipation is beginning to build. The opener will dovetail nicely with the Labor Day weekend for our kids, but I do have to remind them about getting their pass requests filled out. The district has a permission arrangement for traditional subsistence activities, but the request needs to be submitted in advance. A word to the wise is in order.
The weekend awaits, which means that I need to get busy here right now and get my work done...wish me luck!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Stuff!
Exciting news reached my ears at the end of the day-three totes have arrived from the East, and some swag got here from Amazon. Our neighbors took delivery on a new 40-inch flat screen TV last night. Yes, it is horrible to be so materialistic, but when you live this far out, new arrivals are fun things. It means that I may have fresh razor blades, and other good stuff that we shipped out to ourselves. It is hard to avoid the Amazon/Home Shopping Network mindset sometimes. I found myself thinking idly about a 4-wheeler the other day. If you had asked me about that one a year ago, I would have offered consoling remarks about your sanity. Things change.
The second straight day of girls' open gym is going on, with musical accompaniment, in the background. I hear laughing, and it is clear that the role of the school as a beating central heart in the lives of its kids and the community is fully operational at this point. It will get busier from here...
The second straight day of girls' open gym is going on, with musical accompaniment, in the background. I hear laughing, and it is clear that the role of the school as a beating central heart in the lives of its kids and the community is fully operational at this point. It will get busier from here...
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Starting to Pick Up Momentum...
The week is beginning to pick up speed...I was just thinking how much I hate Mondays, and it is nearly Wednesday already. Before you know it, Friday will be on our doorstep. Of course, this is a long week due to inservices on Friday and Saturday, but the next week will take us into the Labor Day weekend.
My kidlets are kinda ok and kinda flaky by turns, and I associate that with junior high generally. I would like to get them into some kind of working order in the next couple of weeks, just the same. It would be nice to see some actual work getting done.
The rain has come back a little off and on, but on the whole the weather is much better than it was when we first arrived. Last night, it was windy and a little chilly, but the sun was shining and it was a great evening for a walk. It almost made up for the tub full of dishes that was waiting for me when I returned. Of course, that was the product of delicious cookies and wonderful dinners, so I can't really complain, even if I want to.
More tomorrow-sounds as if the rain is returning here to stay for a few days...
My kidlets are kinda ok and kinda flaky by turns, and I associate that with junior high generally. I would like to get them into some kind of working order in the next couple of weeks, just the same. It would be nice to see some actual work getting done.
The rain has come back a little off and on, but on the whole the weather is much better than it was when we first arrived. Last night, it was windy and a little chilly, but the sun was shining and it was a great evening for a walk. It almost made up for the tub full of dishes that was waiting for me when I returned. Of course, that was the product of delicious cookies and wonderful dinners, so I can't really complain, even if I want to.
More tomorrow-sounds as if the rain is returning here to stay for a few days...
Monday, August 22, 2011
Monday, Monday...
Much as is often the case, Monday was a little ragged on the student front, especially in the afternoon. I suspect that there were a number of sleepy/silly heads in the group, and it did them no real good. They were good-natured about it, even though they clearly did not care for their punishment. Not to worry, we will start over all nice and clean in the morning.
Of course, I might have been in kind of a raggedy mood myself, too. I had some weird dreams, and I apparently was not the only one. I am not sure that Monday is my best day of the week, either. Somehow we all got through, and we will now move on to Tuesday. Hope that things go better. I still kinda like them, though...
Of course, I might have been in kind of a raggedy mood myself, too. I had some weird dreams, and I apparently was not the only one. I am not sure that Monday is my best day of the week, either. Somehow we all got through, and we will now move on to Tuesday. Hope that things go better. I still kinda like them, though...
Saturday, August 20, 2011
One Down, Several To Go...
We are done with the first week of school already, and it seemed to go quickly. Many of us were here working at 11 p.m. on the night before classes started, and some were still here when we left. For my own part, I still feel as if there are some organizational bridges that I have left to cross, but many fewer than I have had in years past. I suspect that part of it can be attributed to a greater level of experience on my part. I hope that while I was learning things the hard way that I actually learned something permanently.
My kids are a combination of new and old, and I think that I am fortunate to have a pretty good bunch on the whole this year. We have spent the first several days focusing a lot on my expectations for their behavior and class organization, and I am still learning a few new wrinkles as I attempt to make 23 kids in a small room work out as a practical proposition on a daily basis.
This year marks the implementation of yet another major curriculum introduction. That means that those of us who are implementing are feeling our way around another machine with a lot of moving parts. Some of the parts work better than others, and the purpose of some of the parts is not at all clear. We are scheduled for an inservice on the subject right after the Labor Day weekend, so it is hoped that we will all have some hands-on experience with the materials and can ask intelligent questions that will help to address our needs as the year goes on. All that in mind, the system will likely take a while to work out.
I am doing my best to impress on the kids that we are taking conduct very seriously this year. There is no way to tolerate a lot of screwing around in a room this small, and we have already had a chance to learn that Mr. Hicok is real serious about this point this year. The nice thing is that my little ducklings seem to be picking up that point quickly. I know that there will be days where the focus gets fuzzy, but I think that we can actually have some fun this year with a little imagination and effort on my part. I have to say that this is the most positive frame of mind with which I have started the school year so far.
The one gray cloud on the horizon (aside from those in the consistently overcast skies) is that my smart board and my computer do not seem to be able to talk to one another. That is not going to work for me at all, and I am beseeching help this weekend in addressing the problem. I suspect in part that it may be a connection issue, so I will try a little experiment to check that question out. This classroom has become smart board-dependent in the year since it was installed. There is no going back at this point.
On the domestic front, the laundry is progressing nicely, and the breakfast dishes are done. The house is straightened up, and I can tell that we are going to enjoy the comforts of the new home. Now, all that I have to do is stop goofing around and get some grading and lesson plans done. Time to get after it...
My kids are a combination of new and old, and I think that I am fortunate to have a pretty good bunch on the whole this year. We have spent the first several days focusing a lot on my expectations for their behavior and class organization, and I am still learning a few new wrinkles as I attempt to make 23 kids in a small room work out as a practical proposition on a daily basis.
This year marks the implementation of yet another major curriculum introduction. That means that those of us who are implementing are feeling our way around another machine with a lot of moving parts. Some of the parts work better than others, and the purpose of some of the parts is not at all clear. We are scheduled for an inservice on the subject right after the Labor Day weekend, so it is hoped that we will all have some hands-on experience with the materials and can ask intelligent questions that will help to address our needs as the year goes on. All that in mind, the system will likely take a while to work out.
I am doing my best to impress on the kids that we are taking conduct very seriously this year. There is no way to tolerate a lot of screwing around in a room this small, and we have already had a chance to learn that Mr. Hicok is real serious about this point this year. The nice thing is that my little ducklings seem to be picking up that point quickly. I know that there will be days where the focus gets fuzzy, but I think that we can actually have some fun this year with a little imagination and effort on my part. I have to say that this is the most positive frame of mind with which I have started the school year so far.
The one gray cloud on the horizon (aside from those in the consistently overcast skies) is that my smart board and my computer do not seem to be able to talk to one another. That is not going to work for me at all, and I am beseeching help this weekend in addressing the problem. I suspect in part that it may be a connection issue, so I will try a little experiment to check that question out. This classroom has become smart board-dependent in the year since it was installed. There is no going back at this point.
On the domestic front, the laundry is progressing nicely, and the breakfast dishes are done. The house is straightened up, and I can tell that we are going to enjoy the comforts of the new home. Now, all that I have to do is stop goofing around and get some grading and lesson plans done. Time to get after it...
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