Snapshots of the 2010-11 School Year


I randomly decided to check out my past blog posts and realized it had been 6 months since my last entry.  Much of that was due to my hectic but amazing summer which I wouldn't have traded for anything (but more on that later).  Today officially marked the day where I am exactly 1/3 finished with my 2nd year of teacher.  Although I can say it is much less stressful than the 1st, I've still got a long way to go before I feel remotely satisfied with some of my units.  I don't think anyone can ever be truly be content with their teaching because there's always something that could have gone better or been explained more thoroughly and on and on and on...

Even though I get frustrated and tired and cranky some days, here are some pictures from this first third of the year that remind me why I enjoy what I do...

  In "Snack Tectonics" we used Fruit roll-ups (which melted to the 

plastic in my room :S), graham crackers, and frosting to illustrate

how the Earth's oceanic and continental plates move.  After the

activity, one student felt the need to eat his in this manner.  Sigh.

He is also one of the ninjas at the bottom.

  This is the majority of my Second Chance for Struggling Readers
students.  Although I went into the year dreading to teach this class,
it honestly has become my favorite.  It's rewarding to see students
get into a particular genre or author and be "hooked".  The male
student in the white shirt on his knees in the left of the picture read
over 2,000 pages last quarter!  

  My Language Arts students were assigned the task 

of creating a game to illustrate their knowledge of a 

certain type of noun.  One student created a kind of 

mangled game of Twister with common and proper nouns. 

 I just love the boy's expression in this picture!

  These 2 boys are definitely some of the "clowns" of the 8th grade but

they also know when it's time to buckle down and get serious.  For

twin day they dressed as ninjas and kept switching seats the entire

class and maintaining the same posture and gestures.  It was 

extremely hard to keep a straight face with this sight looking at me!

Cleaning Up

As I am sitting at school on Memorial Day, cleaning up the remnants of my first year of teaching, I came across a letter from one of my EXCEL students.  EXCEL is similar to a homeroom in which you have a small group of kids (12-14) every day for about 20 minutes.  This letter was one of the end of the year activities in which the 8th graders write a letter to a 7th grader telling them what will be different and important to know next year.  This letter made my day and appreciate the fact that I made a difference for one student.

Dear sevy,
  Hey there!  I'm writing you a letter about eighth grade.  There are a lot of things you are going to need to know in order to become an eighth grader.  Number one: Always respect your elders no matter how they act.
  Anyway being an eighth grader is a lot more fun than being a sevy!  Just trust me.  There are some really cool teachers.  Hopefully you'll be in the EXCEL of the most amazing teacher ever!  Ms. Huling...well she will be Mrs. Rahmiller.  Ms. Huling has inspired me the whole year.  She's like my hero.  I'm not even joking.  If you couldn't tell, she's my favorite teacher.
  Anyway, on with why being an eighth grader is amazing.  you can get seconds at lunch.  That's pretty cool.  Also you get better at sports.
  Every three weeks we change literacys with Ms. Huling, Ms. Kreb, and Mr. Karels.  If you ever have any questions just ask.  It's always better than just sitting there doing nothing.
  There is more homework in 8th grade but just deal with it and get it done.  Then if you do that you'll be fine.

This student has also decided to use her running talent and try cross country in the fall.  (Although I did put a bug in her ear she did make this decision by herself)  She is so excited about it and on the day of the meeting she ran around the halls trying to round people up.  I'm so glad I get to work with her in the fall! :)

Whirlwind

These past few days and nights have literally been a blur.  As evidence to this, it's only 7:52 p.m. and my head is bobbing as I write.  Track is on my mind and I just wanted to share a few highlights of the week.

Tuesday night the girls ran at Hudson against some BIG schools.  The race of the night for me was definitely the 1500 with my 8th grader who is quite literally a string bean.  We had a little pre-meet talk about really getting after it tonight since it was her only race, and she took that to heart.  She was looking so good until she had 300 meters left and she came around clenching her side.  I just screamed, "Work through it!  You've got a great time going!" and prayed she would finish.  With 100 meters to go, a girl tried to pass her and somehow my runner found another speed and cruised to a 2nd place finish in 5:42!!  A major PR!  Later that night my "stud" as I refer to her ran a 2:44 in the open 800; she's such a smooth runner and it hurts me to think about all the pain she is in with her muscles around her knee.  I don't know how she manages to pull out PRs every race but I'm fine if she continues down that path.

Tonight was our own Husky Invite.  I was a bit worried about how the girls would respond with only 1 day of recovery, but they rose to the occasion.  To start things off, one of my 8th grade high jumpers decided that she would improve by 6 inches and jump 4'6"!  And the best part was, I was right there running the event to watch!  The next impressive feat was my 4 x 800 relay team cruising to a win and setting a meet record in probably 20 some mile per hour winds!  As the night went on things just kept getting better and better; well, besides hand-offs that is.  After it was announced we had one the meet the team took a victory lap - took me right back to my days of high school track.  I can't wait until our conference meet on the 17th - I really believe we are going to do some special things that day.

Also on my mind is my extreme enthusiasm as I coach.  It didn't take N-P long to realize I really really get into races.  Back in cross country I believe some parents probably thought I was crazy tearing off around the course screaming and yelling my head off; I know the kids did at least.  Tonight was fairly typical - getting way too into a middle school meet and screaming and running around.  I was told, well, more like reminded, after the meet that coaches are not allowed within the infield.  I know the comment was solely directed to save me from any trouble elsewhere but that's not what bothers me.  I hate doing something wrong especially when I'm trying so hard to get something good started.  I know where this program has been, and I just want the girls to love track and appreciate the sport.  Tonight I have this horrible sinking feeling in my stomach that I can't shake; I want to be taken seriously but I know sometimes my eagerness might be interpreted as laughable.  It's just so difficult for me to sit back and observe everything from behind a fence.  It's like watching a basketball or a volleyball game from behind closed gym doors.  I feel trapped and hate being outside of all the action, but there's nothing I can do about it.  In these next few days I know I'll have people comment on my actions, and that bothers me even more.  I guess all I can really do is put the situation in the past and correct it on future occasions.  It's going to be a challenge, but it will be beneficial for me to become more credible as a coach... and less of an athlete.

Little Memories

Each day I am so very thankful for my fiance and love of my life, Ryan.  Now that April is here, my mind has been traveling back to memories from a year ago when our relationship began:

•  Ryan's first attempt at asking me out on a date failed because of one of my food quirks.  He was searching for a toilet of all things at Menard's in Waterloo and called to see if I wanted to get coffee.  Not even thinking, I said no since I don't like hot liquids.  About an hour or so later I realized what I had done and redeemed myself by suggesting a trip to get a drink some time.  Thank goodness he was still interested!
•  In my first undertaking to get into his truck in the College Square parking lot, I frantically looked around trying to figure out how I was going to get up onto the seat.  Not coming up with any genious ideas, I literally put my hands on the far edge of the seat and dragged myself in hoping he hadn't noticed my clumsiness.  I found out later he had just decided not to comment on my struggle.
•  Having ice cream at Coldstone and sitting next to some giggling ladies who toasted each other with their ice cream cups:  "Here's to a good day girls!"
•  My T and Th class schedule:  Conditioning Theory, SEC computer lab - checking to see if I had an e-mail from Ryan and using my free time to reply, China, checking e-mail again on the way to Capstone, racing home while putting together all my clever remarks in my head to compose another e-mail

It's also been quite exciting thinking about how much more we will soon share together once we are married.  My collection of little memories grows larger every day but that will be nothing compared to when I get to spend each and every day with my then husband.  I can't wait! :) 

Descriptive Frustrations

  I am currently plodding through 8th grade descriptive essays becoming more and more irritated by the minute.  After spending weeks (quite literally) working on making bare statements vivid, focusing essays on a very short period of time (30 minutes preferably), and journeying through the writing process, here are some excerpts of the good, the bad, the ugly, and just plain funny:

•  Topic:  Connor the Cow
  "We had good days that were good and bad days that were bad."  "All of my cows were different; that is what I liked most about cows.  This year will definitely be different; each year is always different." 

•  Topic:  Barnes and Noble bookstore
  "I was trudging down the modern literature aisle until my mom and dad came and showed me the books I've craved since I was 10 years old."  Wait for it...  "...a biography on Albert Einstein and a book on the evolution of organisms.  It was like a kid in a candy store, so many choices, yet you only have 25 cents."  Real kicker:  "Later that night I just realized that all those years ago when I first started reading science books, my mind passed through a doorway which I like to call the gateway of knowledge."  (Also, cleverly, the title of essay)

•  Topic:  Getting Attacked by a Fat Cat
  "At last, the cat impaled my arm by using his near razor-sharp claws, and even though I tried to pull him off, he wouldn't let go.  I tried hitting him on the house, but when one of his paws fell off, he just dug his claws back into my appendage."

•  Topic:  Falling Asleep After Waking up from Surgery
  "I now know that my family knows I am all right.  I just wish that I could convince myself that as the pain starts to make everything foggy.  The world looks more like an old worn out comic book, but that slowly fades too.  I can't control myself any longer as I start to drift.  I want to stay but I'm suddenly tired.  So tired.  I guess the world can wait.  I just want a tiny nap, just a tiny nap.  That is all I think as an uncontrollable wall of sleep comes and covers me and pushes reality away and takes the pain with it."
 

Spring is fast approaching!

After seeing so many others join the blogging world and enjoying following up on others' lives I decided to take the plunge. I'm really looking forward to keeping an account of things that I always want to remember but never seem to find the time to write down. For example, I started writing down my engagement story about a week after the event occurred. Did I ever finish it? Sadly, no, and that was 4 months ago today. Considering I spend an obscene amount of time online and love to incorporate technology whenever possible this seems to be a good "fit".

Today's topic of choice my fianceé asks me? Spring is coming. After what seemed like an unbearably long winter, sun and warmth is finally on its way. Today I sat outside and graded some papers in a lawn chair in a t-shirt and capris. I can't even remember the last time I was out without sleeves and very content. I could also tell there was a vast difference in my mood, made me wonder if I suffer a bit from SAD. Okay, that's a bit overboard, but I think a lot of Iowans can relate to it. I've been so unmotivated lately looking out at all the gray foggy days and only wanting to lay around and sleep and relax. Today I just wanted to spend every waking moment outdoors - schoolwork was accomplished, had a nice 4 mile run, smoked some amazing BBQ pork ribs, and went on a walk with Ryan and Bailey (our dog). As we were walking around town, some amazing memories from last spring came flooding back, but I'll save those for later.

Spring also means track which I am excited and yet nervous about. Tomorrow is our first day of practice! I know coaching will be a lot different than competing, but I am thrilled to be sharing in my adolescents' successes, no matter how large or small. Who knows what the day will bring...

One last thing, Ryan is coming to school for lunch tomorrow which I have been ecstatic about ever since he suggested it a few months ago. Walking tacos, mmm!!!