Riding the Band Bus

You'd think with many, many years of band trips under his belt, PrepBandLeader would have figured out this Chicago trip. Apparently, the bus drivers had PrepBandLeader right where they wanted him. (Where that might have been, I don't know.) PrepGirl made it back from My Kind of Town, Chicago Is.. at 1:30 AM this morning. LawyerBoy was asleep in front of the pond, just waiting for the busses to pull in. PrepGirl couldn't find him because all the other parents were NOT asleep in their cars and assorted SUVs; as a matter of fact, they were standing around looking for their children while LawyerBoy snoozed away. PrepGirl had to call him. She had no idea where he was. Let me just say that it's a good thing she had the presence of mind to call him and not me. There's no telling what I would have done with a 1:30 wake up call. Kicked some LawyerBoy butt, perhaps.

Suffice it to say that all are home, safe and sound. Quite road weary, but happy to be here. And they won first place in all their competitions.

March Madness, Part 2

I really should post on this more often, but this time of year really sucks the life out of a teacher and a mother.

Report cards went home Wednesday. My one student who did quite poorly didn't come. She came Thursday and I've been getting some e-mail from her "mother." I think they are from the student. You should read this stuff - I think she thinks she is getting away with something. I want to say I am surprised that I didn't hear about the grades which were earned. But we all know when we'll hear from everybody.

I've been teaching Great Depression and World War II; in the spirit of Performance Based Instruction/Assessment, I had them write a letter to Eleanor Roosevelt. I haven't read them yet, but I am hopeful.

On the homefront, the 9th grade formal was a huge success. PrepGirl was beautiful and she had a phenomenal time. She recovered from the dance just in time to board a bus and go to a band competition in Chicago. Just 700 miles away. And two weeks from now, we'll know if BrownBear made it into 6th grade. I can't wait for April

March Madness

Tonight is the night of the 9th grade formal!! Here we go, PrepGirl!

Writing Assessment

This is the first year our state has required our fifth graders to be assessed on the three different types of writing: narrative, persuasion and informational. I am personally terrified on many different levels. First, getting them to sit still for over 120 minutes. They're not built for that. Not even Brown Bear is built for sitting still for over 2 hours. Second, just getting them to read the topic and understanding what is being asked and doing the pre-writing. That is key to a good essay. We've written and written and written and ..... some of them still don't get it. They think that pre-writing is looking in the air for their rough draft (which some of them will try to re-write in their best handwriting as their final copy.) Third. See parentheses. Fourth, bubbling. Our assistant principal is our testing coordinator. She wasn't at school today. I was going to do my bubbling (don't ask. If you have to ask, you're not a teacher.) this afternoon, but was informed that we couldn't until after the students finished the test. And I'll be where after the test? All together now... the beach!!!! And you wonder why I am short of breath?

Bueller Alert

Ferris Bueller's Day Off is on. Bravo has sanitized it for the youngsters - I don't care; I still watch it and love it. "Take a hot bath and wrap a hot towel around your head." "You wouldn't let me stay home if my eyes were bleeding." "I asked for a car and they gave me a computer." "Dead grandmother?" "So that's how it is in their family." "Rooney, I don't have all day to bark at you, so I will make this short and sweet."

If you ever go to a restaurant and hear the hostess calling,"Bueller, Bueller!" and see her seating someone, it is likely to be me. I love seeing people look around to see who in the world is with Ferris Bueller.

Getting Ready to Go

Nothing is harder for me than getting ready to be away from the classroom. I know what needs to be done, but, my word, it is hard getting it all done. When I agreed to go away with PrepGirl for her Spring Break, I forgot that the Writing Assessment was going to be given the morning the day we are going to leave. Some bright bulb at the county decided we were going to give it on an early release day. I can scarcely breath just thinking about it, but we have to cram it in, plus feed them lunch and get them home by 12:15.

Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? Well, I'm going to finish some plans and I am going to see the ocean for a few days.

Sounds great, doesn't it?