Snowy Dog

Snowy Dog
Originally uploaded by Hedgetoad.

Snow Day! I never though it would really happen... too much rain. It snowed most of yesterday (corn snow) and last night the temperature dropped below freezing and the snow really came down.

Why am I really excited? Another free day to grade papers! Thank goodness!

I Survived

Our annual food drive is finished. The students raised almost 500,000 pounds during the week-long event. I think it would have been more if we hadn't been in the midst of back to back storms, flooding and a tsunami warning.

My AP students are starting to write their first real "college essay." It'll be interesting to see how they turn out. A couple of students are having major problems because they went the SparkNotes route. I should have figured out that at least one had when I was asked who the "black man" was... I thought it was pretty obvious, but apparently not so much if you only print out half the SparkNotes. Make a note.

My other classes are going ok. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be during the Christmas Carol again with the sophomores.. I may regret it - so many of the students are really low readers. However, the only real other choice is Lord of the Flies. That's a hard one to do during the holiday season.

This weekend's goal: get reorganized! Being sick and foodball somewhat caused me to get completely off track and it looks like a paper bomb exploded on my desk.

As Time Goes By

Why has a month gone by since I've posted? This school year has become so busy, it's almost like first year all over again!

1. Due to a staff member leaving last year, I'm now the Honor Society Advisor. Sadly, this position does not pay actual money. It does carry quite a bit of responsibility at the moment as we begin the annual food drive. Next weekend, is our auction and I'm a tad worried about having something to auction. So far, I've received promises for a nice pen set.
2. I am getting paid to do Home Hospital for an ill student. Lots of running around gathering assignments and phone calls. At least this pays.
3. I started my Pro-Cert program. I initially had thought to do a program that only took a year... luckily I changed my mind and went with one that is much more flexible on scheduling. However, the first class started with a bang and I spent quite a bit of time working on initial assignments.
4. I have a dog and house, both of which require a lot of time. Walking, picking up poop, mowing. Mental Note: must remember to get those daffodil bulbs in soon.
5. I doing physical therapy twice a week for "tendonitis." So far, my insurance company has paid a bit of money, but I'm not seeing any real improvement. It's pretty much the same as always. On the plus side, I have met some nice people and made new friends.
6. I'm working on a project that probably should be taking more of time, but spends much of the time on the back burner.
7. AP classes, while fun, are a HUGE amount of work. Half the time, I feel like I've no idea what I'm doing and the students all know it. Plus, I'm drowning in paper.

Friday started our annual food drive. Now, lots of schools do food drives during this time of year. I remember my mother scouring our cupboards for weird cans for me to bring in and the little pile in front of the school office. Oh, for those simple days. Our local food drive is intense! This year's goal is over one million pounds between competing schools (last year was just shy). Each dollar counts as 10 pounds, so thousands of dollars go to the county food banks. Everyone in area participates and nary a soul dares to turn away a request.

Last night was the staff talent show - or rather, the lack of talent show. I sang the Oscar Meyer Bologna song (video may appear soon!) and apparently the students loved it. I think they loved watching me make an idiot of myself and all I can say is when the Sunday paper featured the show on the front page, I was grateful to not to be featured. Pigtails haven't looked good on me since I was 8.