Keep On, Keep On, Keep On Movin'

Remember the Brady Bunch episode where the kids sing on a talent show, trying to win money to purchase an anniversary gift for their parents? They called themselves "The Silver Platters" and one of the songs they sang was "Keep on Movin'." That has been my motto as of late...

School Stuff:
--I teach in the 3rd largest school district in the state of Florida. (I was also recently informed that we are the 15th largest district in the U.S. Wow.) Due to the large amount of schools, things like painting are done year-round rather than just during the summer.

Our school system re-paints the interior of all buildings every 7 years. This year my school is on the schedule to be re-painted. This means that classes have to be held in the Media Center, or auditorium or other creative areas while individual classrooms are being painted. I was fortunate because my entire hallway was painted during winter break. Thus, I didn't have to endure the hassle of teaching in an unusual place like many of my colleagues have.

However, when I returned to school after winter break my classroom was in disarray. Due to my building being painted over the break, all of my belongings were shoved on the window sill/counters and most furniture was shoved together in the middle of the room:






It took two mornings going in early and 2 evenings staying late to get my room re-organized and back the way I like it. I still don't have all of my posters re-hung....

--Our district also schedules two big "Walk Throughs" per year. These are days when district personnel from every department come to tour the school, observe in a variety of classrooms, and meet with the principal to provide feedback. Usually the Walk Throughs are held in October or November and then again in April or May.

My school had the first Walk Through this year the week after Thanksgiving. However, glitches occurred and the representatives for social studies, phys ed, and language arts were unable to attend for some reason. Thus, they bumped our 2nd visit from April to this past week. So in the midst of re-organizing after our classrooms were painted, we had to prep for visits from the big wigs.

Emma and I stayed late at my school 2 different evenings so I could get things "just so" in my classroom before the walk through. Murphy's Law of my life----for the first time ever no one came to my classroom during the Walk Through. (Usually since there are only 5 of us in the reading department we ALL get visited during district walk throughs.) Sighs...

School Reports: The 7th grade assistant principal came to me just after the visits were completed and said there was a "reading department emergency." I worried that one of my colleagues had been hurt. She then informed me that the principal was meeting with the district personnel who had finished the Walk Throughs and they were upset I had not sent her (the principal) any updated reading department reports. I explained that I usually only send reports once per quarter, and as 2nd quarter is still in session new reports hadn't been sent yet. It irked me a bit... I haven't done anything wrong or out of the norm, and didn't appreciate the insinuation that I had.

Books: I've been reading up a storm. One of my New Year's resolutions is to keep better track of my book reading this year. Last year I did not keep close track and I know I read things that did not get recorded on my "Books Read" list.

I received the 10 books in the "39 Clues" kids' series for Christmas and finished the last one this morning. What fun reads!

DH: Said I could read the last novel he finished. 90,000 words, wowsers! I am stoked---he's let me read a sentence or chapter before, but never a whole book. Yay! I will start it this afternoon. :)

Emma:

While cleaning our computer desk today, I found a few Emmaism's I haven't posted before.

9/18/10 While walking the dog with Grandpa:
"When it's hot outside, hot air comes out of your mouth."

11/11/10 On only wearing socks and underwear:
"Look, I'm a pattern: Naked, not naked, naked, not naked."

1/10/11: "I was just a little bit hot, so I took my shirt off while I was pretend cooking."
(See pics below.)





I think that's all the latest.