I am about to leave work in my half drenched pants ( have to love carrider duty in the rain) and ride to Forsyth to see my girls! Jennifer, Sarah and Emma Grace(the littlest of our girls) are going to have a slumber party tonight. I am so excited as we have not seen each other since December. It is just too long! This weekend starts a sequence of fun weekends to look forward to:
Today through tomorrow : Girl time! Girly music, not so healthy food, and lots of talking up while we ooh and ahh over how much our little Emma Grace has grown ( She is almost a year old!)
Next Weekend: Starting Friday Brad and I will be in Greenville, SC for Spring Break and our one year wedding anniversary
The third weekend: Easter! Who doesn't love Easter?
While I forgot to pack my camera, I am sure Monday will bring a recap of a great time with my best friends!
Pray for safe travels for me and Sarah!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Changes
So due to the increase of third grade FOCUS students from ten at the beginning of the year to 24 or 25 right now, I have split third grade into two separate groups and combined 1st and 2nd grade into one class. As a result of this change, I spent the whole week doing lessons that focus on teamwork, leadership and cooperation. Not only did I think that taking the time to do this was important for the children, I could use the hours invested in these lessons as time toward my internship. Now at the end of the week, I am glad I took the time to do it.
Third Grade B is doing outstanding. They really listen to each other and value one another's opinions. In honesty, I thought of the two third grade groups they would struggle more. This was because there were more students in that group that were not in FOCUS at the beginning of the year and there were no natural leaders. It turns out that has been a blessing and really strengthened their morale as a group. We have done so well this week I bought them a treat and movie to celebrate today. And to just show how wonderful they are, two of my little girls just bought enough Capri Suns and fruit rollups at the Relay for Life stand in school so that all twelve of their classmates can have juice and an extra treat. How generous! They continue to amaze me everyday.
Third Grade A is struggling. I love a lot of the children in the group enough that I would take them home with me and raise them as my own. However, there are some STRONG personalities in the group and that has really come out this week. Some people have short tempers and some just like to hear themselves talk. They have a long way to go before they can be considered cooperative. We are phasing in group work with groups of three working on skits right now and going to groups of four next week. I have also talked to the children who are not part of the conflict alone and told them how I am relying on them to assist the others on being cooperative. We are not having a celebration in there. I am hopeful we will get to a point where we can next week.
First and Second grade is also doing very well. Each Second grader has a first grade buddy that they are responsible for picking up on their way to FOCUS. THey take such pride in no longer being the FOCUS babies and for being in charge of something. The first graders feel so proud that they are being placed in a class with second graders. It ends up being a win - win.
And speaking of changes.....we found out who our new principal is this morning. Her name is Daundria Phillips. She is currently an Assistant Principal at another Gwinnett County elementary school. She seems really sweet and very team work oriented. She scores a point with me for not being a coffee drinker. It will be hard to change after working for the same person for five years. However, I agree that with change comes positive.
Third Grade B is doing outstanding. They really listen to each other and value one another's opinions. In honesty, I thought of the two third grade groups they would struggle more. This was because there were more students in that group that were not in FOCUS at the beginning of the year and there were no natural leaders. It turns out that has been a blessing and really strengthened their morale as a group. We have done so well this week I bought them a treat and movie to celebrate today. And to just show how wonderful they are, two of my little girls just bought enough Capri Suns and fruit rollups at the Relay for Life stand in school so that all twelve of their classmates can have juice and an extra treat. How generous! They continue to amaze me everyday.
Third Grade A is struggling. I love a lot of the children in the group enough that I would take them home with me and raise them as my own. However, there are some STRONG personalities in the group and that has really come out this week. Some people have short tempers and some just like to hear themselves talk. They have a long way to go before they can be considered cooperative. We are phasing in group work with groups of three working on skits right now and going to groups of four next week. I have also talked to the children who are not part of the conflict alone and told them how I am relying on them to assist the others on being cooperative. We are not having a celebration in there. I am hopeful we will get to a point where we can next week.
First and Second grade is also doing very well. Each Second grader has a first grade buddy that they are responsible for picking up on their way to FOCUS. THey take such pride in no longer being the FOCUS babies and for being in charge of something. The first graders feel so proud that they are being placed in a class with second graders. It ends up being a win - win.
And speaking of changes.....we found out who our new principal is this morning. Her name is Daundria Phillips. She is currently an Assistant Principal at another Gwinnett County elementary school. She seems really sweet and very team work oriented. She scores a point with me for not being a coffee drinker. It will be hard to change after working for the same person for five years. However, I agree that with change comes positive.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
Who Would Have Thought
Yesterday started out like a normal Sunday. We got to church in time for Sunday School. Started our lesson in there and then the sound of Jason's voice started being accompanied by louder and louder plings on the metal roof of the Family Life Building. Still, Sunday School was finished and so was any resemblance of a normal day....but mostly for the better.
When we got to the sanctuary, we had opening prayer, sang some hymns and after the offertory was played and collected, Brother Tommy announced that we would be calling off the rest of the morning service because the parking lot was icing up and we needed to get home. However, Brad and I and Dan and Jan ( the music minister and his wife) ventured to Subway for a sandwich. It was snowing pretty well by the time we got out but not to allow snow to put a kink in the day, I still had a baby shower to help throw for Brad's cousin. So Brad and I traveled off to Jack and Christina's to pick her and Carter up for the shower. This is what our house looked like at that point.
Our House on the Way Out To the Shower ( about 12:40pm)
The shower prep started at 1:00 and the shower was to go til 4:00. It ended up finishing up by 3:30. By the time Christina, Carter and I got out to the car there was a good inch to inch and a half of snow on it. When we got back to Jack and Christina's after the shower, Brad and I left in a hurry to make sure we could get home. These are the sights that we saw on our way home:
The Road from Jack and Christina's to Our House
Farms on the Side of the Roads Blanketed with Snow
3210 Battlement Circle Blanketed with Snow at about 4:00pm
Once we got in the house, we were like a bunch of little kids. We ran inside and put on our ski bibs and hats and gloves. We got back out in the yard and made snow angels ( something my husband had never done before), made a snowman ( using M&M's for eyes, nose and mouth) and threw snowballs at each other. It was so much fun. Then we had a hot kettle of water waiting on us when we came inside, watched Finding Neverland on DVR because our satellite wasn't working and had chili for dinner. It was a great day. The only thing was putting a slight damper on the day was that Gwinnett wouldn't cancel school for today. It was so frustrating because our neighboring counties of Walton and Barrow did quickly.Well at 5:15am today I sat in front of the TV and after fifteen minutes ( and two stations) of newsreporting, it finally said "Gwinnett, DeKalb and Fulton schools are closed" You better believe I got back in the bed. I got up at 8:25 and I made chocolate chunk pancakes and Brad cooked up some sausage. I am so happy to have a holiday. We were not scheduled to have a holiday until Spring Break and the last one we had was Martin Luther King. That is a long stretch to go without a holiday and all that happens now to make this day up is a teacher workday becomes a day with students. Well worth it! I will be working on Masters things a lot of today but it is so worth it. The memories we made yesterday and the time to relax while being productive is something I needed.
Our SnowMan
Brad's Snow Angel
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
An Update
So in the footsteps of Jennifer, I too am going to assure ( again) that I am not out of the blogging loop permanently...just temporarily. Here is an update on what is going on with us:
- I am two weeks away from completing all the classes for my Masters degree. Woohoo! This is such a great feeling as it will free up my at home time and my Meredith time. While the next two weeks may be hard ( finishing a powerpoint, one more test, an article summary, research proposal and another test), I can do it and then I can enjoy my after school life.
- My internship for my Masters degree is starting in March and will run through next March. I will complete it while I work full time as a gifted teacher. The beautiful thing is that there is some overlap in my Gifted responsibilities and counseling. These would include all the assessment I do and the plans for education. However, I am also going to be the counselor during summer school and talk to students about how they can improve in the areas that they fell short in on the first attempt on the CRCT.
- In regards to my gifted teacher position, I am really proud of myself. I started the year with:
5 second graders
10 third graders
10 fourth graders
16 fifth graders
After a whole lot of testing ( which I am not even done with), my numbers have really skyrocketed...
7 first graders
5 second graders
20 third graders ( and counting)
10 fourth graders
19 fifth graders
I like to give myself credit on giving kids who show the slightest potential a chance to prove themselves. Right now my biggest challenge is that the legal limit for gifted children served by a FOCUS resource teacher at any one time is 19( and that is observing next year's limit due to the budget cuts....it really is 17) and third grade has surpassed that. So right now I am looking at having some third graders come with fourth grade. That is fine except it makes next year challenging when some of the kids have already done a unit and others haven't.
- Brad and I are working on planning two trips. One of which is in April for our one year anniversary and has had little to no planning effort put toward it at all and a cruise in May to celebrate my "graduation" for my Masters degree. That one has gotten more attention and seems to be taking us to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Ocho Rios and Haiti.
- My goal once I am done with my Masters class is to start working out again. Pick back up with walking/jogging 2-3 days a week and Wii fit 2-3 days a week. I still weigh in at a weight my Wii Fit tells me is underweight but the packaging of it all is shifting and I don't like it. I just want to be in good health and good shape. I am not looking to lose weight.
- I used my crockpot for the first time last week and made a roast with carrots and potatoes. The meat lasted for two meals , appearing the second time as BBQ. My next goal is to make homemade spaghetti sauce in the crockpot.
- Healthwise Brad and I have done pretty well considering we both work in schools. However, I am trying to pick up a cold. My inlaws may have nipped it in the bud by giving me Zycam Nasal Swabs yesterday. I feel better congestion wise but I have a headache. It will get better.
That is about it on this end. I will be back full force in two weeks.
- I am two weeks away from completing all the classes for my Masters degree. Woohoo! This is such a great feeling as it will free up my at home time and my Meredith time. While the next two weeks may be hard ( finishing a powerpoint, one more test, an article summary, research proposal and another test), I can do it and then I can enjoy my after school life.
- My internship for my Masters degree is starting in March and will run through next March. I will complete it while I work full time as a gifted teacher. The beautiful thing is that there is some overlap in my Gifted responsibilities and counseling. These would include all the assessment I do and the plans for education. However, I am also going to be the counselor during summer school and talk to students about how they can improve in the areas that they fell short in on the first attempt on the CRCT.
- In regards to my gifted teacher position, I am really proud of myself. I started the year with:
5 second graders
10 third graders
10 fourth graders
16 fifth graders
After a whole lot of testing ( which I am not even done with), my numbers have really skyrocketed...
7 first graders
5 second graders
20 third graders ( and counting)
10 fourth graders
19 fifth graders
I like to give myself credit on giving kids who show the slightest potential a chance to prove themselves. Right now my biggest challenge is that the legal limit for gifted children served by a FOCUS resource teacher at any one time is 19( and that is observing next year's limit due to the budget cuts....it really is 17) and third grade has surpassed that. So right now I am looking at having some third graders come with fourth grade. That is fine except it makes next year challenging when some of the kids have already done a unit and others haven't.
- Brad and I are working on planning two trips. One of which is in April for our one year anniversary and has had little to no planning effort put toward it at all and a cruise in May to celebrate my "graduation" for my Masters degree. That one has gotten more attention and seems to be taking us to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Ocho Rios and Haiti.
- My goal once I am done with my Masters class is to start working out again. Pick back up with walking/jogging 2-3 days a week and Wii fit 2-3 days a week. I still weigh in at a weight my Wii Fit tells me is underweight but the packaging of it all is shifting and I don't like it. I just want to be in good health and good shape. I am not looking to lose weight.
- I used my crockpot for the first time last week and made a roast with carrots and potatoes. The meat lasted for two meals , appearing the second time as BBQ. My next goal is to make homemade spaghetti sauce in the crockpot.
- Healthwise Brad and I have done pretty well considering we both work in schools. However, I am trying to pick up a cold. My inlaws may have nipped it in the bud by giving me Zycam Nasal Swabs yesterday. I feel better congestion wise but I have a headache. It will get better.
That is about it on this end. I will be back full force in two weeks.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Another Step Closer to Being a Counselor ( If I Choose To)
On Tuesday, I received my PRAXIS scores electronically. While Georgia no longer recognizes the PRAXIS score as a certifying score, the University of West Alabama uses it as their comprehensive exam for the School Counseling and Guidance Masters program. Well, you need a 520 to meet the requirement and I got a 650! Yay!
I am very excited. Things are really coming together. Instead of taking the Georgia Certification Exam to get certified in Georgia, I am going to apply for counseling certification in Alabama and then apply for reciprocity. Anything to avoid taking another test.
Now all that stands between me and completing my degree is four more weeks of these two classes I am currently in ( educational research is NOT a favorite of mine) and then a 300 hour internship which my principal has allowed me to work on during summer school as well as during the course of this and next school year. By doing that I will get 90 hours out of the way this summer. Also a lot of the testing and meetings I give and conduct as a gifted teacher count toward counseling responsibilities as listed in the internship. So Masters degree ( and even better Masters level pay) here I come!
I am very excited. Things are really coming together. Instead of taking the Georgia Certification Exam to get certified in Georgia, I am going to apply for counseling certification in Alabama and then apply for reciprocity. Anything to avoid taking another test.
Now all that stands between me and completing my degree is four more weeks of these two classes I am currently in ( educational research is NOT a favorite of mine) and then a 300 hour internship which my principal has allowed me to work on during summer school as well as during the course of this and next school year. By doing that I will get 90 hours out of the way this summer. Also a lot of the testing and meetings I give and conduct as a gifted teacher count toward counseling responsibilities as listed in the internship. So Masters degree ( and even better Masters level pay) here I come!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
An Early Valentines Day
Last week my Valentines Day started early on Thursday. I had bought Brad a Valentines Card that day and when we sat down to dinner that night, he asked me if he could give me something that he bought me. He told me it wasn't for Valentines Day. I said that he could hold on to it and use it as my Valentine. He insisted on giving it to me and left the kitchen , only to return with six red roses. He had bought them to celebrate our ten months of being married as last Thursday was February 5th. It was very sweet.
Then on Friday night we opted to do our Valentines outing so we would avod the crowd this week and because we are going to go to UGA and see Classic City Jazz perform. We first went downtown to my favorite restaurant in the city, Chow Baby. I LOVE THIS CONCEPT!!! and wish they would bring out to the suburbs. You go through a line and build your own chinese stir fry dish and then they cook it on a huge wok for you and bring it to your table. The best thing is you can go through the line as many times as you want for $11.99. I like to do rice with sugar snap peas, baby corn, mushrooms, bell peppers, water chestnuts and pineapple. Then I add teriyaki and sweet and sour sauce and throw some chicken into my protein bowl. Yummy!
Once dinner was over, we headed back toward our neck of the woods and saw a movie thanks to a Christmas gift card from Daniel and Nan. We saw the new Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr movie New in Town. It was much cuter than I thought.
Overall, we had a very nice Valentines Day. We still will trade cards and small gifts this week but I am pleased with how the first Dillard Valentines Day went.
Then on Friday night we opted to do our Valentines outing so we would avod the crowd this week and because we are going to go to UGA and see Classic City Jazz perform. We first went downtown to my favorite restaurant in the city, Chow Baby. I LOVE THIS CONCEPT!!! and wish they would bring out to the suburbs. You go through a line and build your own chinese stir fry dish and then they cook it on a huge wok for you and bring it to your table. The best thing is you can go through the line as many times as you want for $11.99. I like to do rice with sugar snap peas, baby corn, mushrooms, bell peppers, water chestnuts and pineapple. Then I add teriyaki and sweet and sour sauce and throw some chicken into my protein bowl. Yummy!
Once dinner was over, we headed back toward our neck of the woods and saw a movie thanks to a Christmas gift card from Daniel and Nan. We saw the new Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr movie New in Town. It was much cuter than I thought.
Overall, we had a very nice Valentines Day. We still will trade cards and small gifts this week but I am pleased with how the first Dillard Valentines Day went.
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