Friday, February 22, 2008

Chaos in the Middle!!! :)

What a day!!! It's raining here which we need desperately! Don't know where you are located but the Southeastern portion of the U.S. has been in the midst of a terrible drought for about a year...maybe a little more.

In Social Studies my teammate is teaching about Imperialism. So to that end, we are watching an edited version of "The Last Samuri." This is a great movie and I'm kind of glad to have the opportunity to get some grading done while the kids are watching.

We are also at the end of a schoolwide fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. My homebase has never won the contest so I begged them to bring in money this time...not quite sure how much we've collected, but my Student Council reps are downstairs counting it right now. I really hope we "place."

The step team is going to a competition today. This is a MAJOR accomplishment for these girls! Most of the girls (not all) on the step team are from homes with a low SES. It's fantastic that Mrs. B has sponsored this program for the last few years. She has even turned it into a mentoring program and all the girls have a mentor! How awesome is that??? You ROCK Mrs. B!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Robin

Monday, February 18, 2008

President's Day

We're out today because of President's Day. I'm supposed to be doing math for a class I'm taking, but I'm not. I'm doing laundry, and chillin' out. It seems like it's forever since I've just been able to relax.

The other thing I'm doing is making shrimp and grits for my students to eat for lunch tomorrow. Several of them brought me money so I could purchase the stuff I need to make it and begged me to make it for them. I told them I'd serve them lunch in my classroom tomorrow, so I will be cooking that tonight and taking it to school tomorrow. I hope they enjoy it as much as my family does.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

BINGO!

My teammate and I took our students to the county library way back in the Fall. The day we went was the same day that some people came to the center of our city to protest the Jena Six...it was very interesting for us to be having a bag lunch in the center courtyard of the city when there was a demonstration being held.

Anyway, today, the teen librarian came out to our school and played book BINGO with our students! It was so much fun! I love doing things like that! The kids were so excited that they had a VERY difficult time being quiet enough to hear the librarian call the BINGO numbers. I love doing stuff like this. The kids always enjoy it so much! This is part of why I became a teacher...to try to inspire kids to be the best they can.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Fishy Fishy

So Greg gave me the aquarium I gave him back in the day. He helped me set it up in my classroom last year sometime after Christmas. So I am not very good at keeping it up so it's gotten COVERED with algae. I took everything out last week with the exception of about half the rocks, the water, and the fish. We went to Fintastic tonight and got a couple of live plants and I'm going to get a few more fish tomorrow and we're going back to the school to work on the tank. I want to get all the algae out and make it pretty again, so we're going to work on it. I hope Greg will teach me how to take care of the tank...his version of teaching and my version of teaching are totally different.

Hope everyone out there is doing great and has a great weekend.

Robin

Thursday, February 7, 2008

This one's for you....PAMELA!

I found out today that a dear friend of mine has been reading my blog! YAY ME! I really didn't think that anyone except for the Patties were reading it...thanks girls, for leaving comments!

Any of you who read this blog, especially those in education, know that there is so much that goes on that doesn't make it to the blog. There are things that are hilarious that I don't post, things that make me angry that I don't post, things that make me look long and hard at what I'm doing here that don't get posted, and the list goes on. No matter how frustrating the days are, or how hilarious the days are (thanks to Bret for giving me a really good belly laugh yesterday!), or how blah the days are, I am blessed to be able to work with such wonderful people each day!

I was just griping to Pam about maybe 1.2 bazillion things that have been going on in my life. Thanks, Pam, for letting me gripe! It always makes me feel better when I have someone who will nod their head and say "I understand how you feel" even when I'm just griping.

On top of having friends at work, I get the priviledge of working with 58 very different, dynamic, complex, excited children everyday! How many people do you know who look forward to work everyday? Today, I'm just thanking God that I have a job, and it's one that I love!!!

Please also remember to pray for the Lawrensons. There are some great pics posted on Nate's blog today, of Gwyneth without anything on her face. Check it out by clicking here.

Monday, February 4, 2008

Yea Ryan!!!

Ok...I have two younger brothers. One of my prayers for them both has been that they find someone to marry who loves them for who they are. The youngest, Ryan, has recently found a girlfriend named Lindsey. I've only spoken to him a time or two about her, but it just seems right.

Please pray for them, that God's will for their lives will be whether it is together as a married couple, or for each of them to remain single.

Thank you!
Robin

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Oh yeah...

I forgot to mention that Nate, Tricia, and Gwyneth Lawrenson seem to be doing very well! It seems like Tricia might be activated again on the transplant list very soon...which is very exciting. Please continue to lift this precious family to God in your daily prayers. Nate was able to hold Gwyneth and has posted a video of that event on his blog. It's very moving, but get ready if you go to watch it...take the tissue! http://cfhusband.blogspot.com.

Thank you!

100 days

Yesterday was the 100th day of school for us here in Rock Hill. I know this, not because I am counting, but because in kindegarten, being able to count to 100 is a BIG DEAL and I have a daughter in kindegarten. We sewed 3 buttons and hot glued 97 buttons onto a tshirt for her to wear as her 100th day project. So...that means 80 days left until summer break. It doesn't seem like June will be here that quickly, but then again, I didn't think we'd be getting ready for Valentine's Day this quickly either, back on Aug. 11. :)

Things seem to be settling down for me just a tad...I've come up with a plausible idea for my Action Research project for my Ed. Psych. class and I've figured a way to keep up with all the reading for both of my classes. The next big hurdle is finding the time to finish my distance learning course in time to get approved for the next distance learning course.

For anyone out there who may read this and has been wondering about my super smart student, here's a brief update:

His mother finally came in for a conference and both of us were able to lay some things on the table that we felt needed to be said. Basically I believe that this student doesn't like me, which doesn't hurt my feelings...I don't expect my students to like me because then I would be assuming that I'm perfect and we all know I'm not. But the student's mom was able to tell me a few things about why he doesn't like me, some of which I can and will work to change (his perception based on my actions) and I was able to express to her how much I truly need her support at home. So then the guidance counselor spoke with him and he admitted he'd been, for lack of a better word, bullying me with his comments. He also said that he'd stop doing it because he knew what he was doing...the guidance counselor explained that I was willing to change some of my behaviors but this adjustment wasn't going to be one-sided. For the last three days, this child has been a tremendous asset to my class! He is working hard to maintain a level of respect. And I have prayed about this situation every day! Thank God for holding us all through this situation. It's not over...we still have 80 days together (tee hee) but things are looking better! Thanks for the encouragement I received from a couple of you who have commented.

I still love my job and am thankful for the ability to go in and do what I love to do each day of the week!!! Truly looking forward to the next 80 days!