Hello, all! It's been really hectic here lately and I haven't done as much walking as I would like. Yesterday it was only 10 minutes on the treadmill. Today I did Walk and Jog, which is 2.5 miles in 30 minutes. I'm still behind for this week's Walk Diet and I may not get caught up. I've decided that's OK as long as I continue walking consistently.

School is going great (mostly). Tuesday night I had a mother call saying her daughter was in tears over her homework for me. I was doing a workout, so I called back and the child answered. In the end, she explained that there are a number of personal issues going on that are making it hard for her to focus. First, her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer this summer. Then, she decided to go off her ritalin and is discovering that maybe she SHOULD be on it. I think I made some progress with her, but she's a very emotional young lady, so you never know.

Then, today I ripped into my Spanish II class. They have a chapter test tomorrow (the first of the year) and we were reviewing all period. About 3/4 of the way through, there were several students who were being quite disruptive and getting worse. I had already tried to "sh" them in a variety of polite ways, with no success. So, I lost it! I was at my side board and marched to the front of the room, grabbed a stack of discipline forms, slammed them down, and asked, "Who's name am I writing down first?" They got very wide-eyed and silent. I went on to explain, in a not so calm voice, that they had no right to interfere with other people's learning, which they were doing. That some of the worst offenders were the ones whining about not understanding the material, but were NOT coming in for help and were NOT paying attention. I added that there was NO reason that 5 of them (out of 18) had D's and F's as of today, when 75% of their grade was simply DOING the work and handing it in on time! I think I got their attention! The rest of the class went well and I reminded them at the end that I hoped they returned tomorrow ready to behave appropriately.

We'll see......One of them even had the nerve to "suggest" that I rethink my grading to base it ONLY on participation! I didn't say what I was thinking (good thing). She can't even DO a partner activity and stay on task the entire time, so her grade would be HORRIBLE if I did as she suggested!

Well, enough of my rant! I don't know if I'll be in tomorrow. We leave VERY early Saturday for the Twin Cities, so there's a million things to do before we go.

Have a great weekend!

Michele

Just a quicky to say that I am still among the living. Today was my first day with students. I think it will be a great year once I get in the swing of things. Right now I feel so disorganized and as an anal person I am NOT comfortable with that feeling. I move classrooms EVERY hour of the day. My life is on a three shelved AV cart. We had so much crap to hand out to various hours plus my teaching stuff. Everything got mixed up and I couldn't find a thing I needed on my cart! Hopefully that will get better as the year goes on. My knee is aching already from walking on cement all day. My throat hurts from projecting my voice all day and I am oh so tired from getting up at 4:45 a.m.! After lunch my body thought it was nap time. It was quite a shock to my body to realize that not only was there no time for a nap but I couldn't even fit in a bathroom break! I know things will settle down next week but until then I may qualify for temporary insanity!

Sue

.........yeah.... cement and standing/walking all day! Not being able to get to a bathroom! Projecting all day..non stop! Needing eight pairs of eyes! STAYING on schedule no matter what the darlings are up to! (I'm not even close to successful with this yet!)

Ohhh wait! I've got a tale to tell.... one of my kidlets goes to the hallway restroom and completely undresses.... not a stitch... NOTHING... everything off ...right down to no socks and shoes...every bit of his clothing was in a pile...outside of the stall...he was standing on the toilet looking out, yelling for me. This happened not once but twice in one day! I tried to remain calm. I about went nuts tho! I asked him what he was doing and he said and I quote, "Getting nekkid!" to which I responded and I quote "Do you see anyone else getting naked?" (Which he thought was a hysterical comment! Today I refused to let him go to that restroom today! This is going to be a very long year!

Our local paper is published on Thursdays. One of my students and I made it to the front page! We were eating lunch together. (as I'm mandated to do for the first 10 days! ...ahhh, isn't the teacher nice? eating with her new students! RIGHT! LOL) While it isn't the most complimentary photo (I actually look horrid AND have ALL of my chins exposed!), I am THANKFUL that I do NOT have my mouth open OR have the fork shoveling in my lunch! We were famous at school for about 10 minutes! WhoooHoo! Thankfully, the photographer was in the cafeteria and not the hallway restroom a few minutes later!

gotta run...
hope everyone is well!
take care,
meeee

Hi, all.
I want to thank those of you that posted funny stories. The laugh was appreciated.
Today at school was pretty hellish. My mentor is definitely channeling the team-leader from my last school. She gives me wrong information all the time and insists I do things that the administrators for special ed say I don't have to do. Things are also definitely not better administratively. I don't have respect for any of the admin, and I don't think they have any respect for me. My school has decided to do fund collection for the Hurricane relief... and they're using the Red Cross logo. They aren't allowed to do that without getting permission and signing a contract that ALL the money will go to the Red Cross. There is no cost involved, we're just protecting ourselves. Of course, they did not do this. I checked with administration... and also with the financial director at the local chapter (I'm there every night, afterall!). The principal didn't get it (he says, "We're not using the Red Cross... it doesnt' SAY Red Cross! Obviously, he doesn't understand that logos and symbols are copyright protected too!). I also had one student bleed on me twice in one day: my non-English speaking child pricked his finger on a staple in his bookbag just right to bleed like a stuck pig. Around the end of the day, he had a major nosebleed... and while we were trying to get it stopped and him clean, we had a firedrill!!! Then, the janitor and an administrator argued over who was going to clean up the blood in my classroom. I said I'd do it, but that wasn't allowed. Of course, the child speaks no English, so I had to drag him to the nurses office both times!
I also taught a class tonight: 25 people, 4 hour class. We didn't have the video, and most of the forms were missing. I have my own materials, but I ddin't know I'd have access to a LCD projector, so I didn't have my laptop. The school printer ate all of my transparencys...
It was a long day. But even with that: I have a roof, a nice bed, a TV, adequate food (most of my meals this week have come from 7-11, so we can't call it good... that is, when I remember to eat!). I can take a shower when I want, and have a kitty cat to cuddle. I am much better off than all of my clients. And I am very grateful for that.

Mouse,

I understand your concern regarding the misuse of the RedCross logo! However, I'm also positive that there are many people doing the exact same thing as they don't have any idea that they need permission and contracts from the Red Cross. (BUT your school has no excuse since you told them!) People feel the need to help in some way and throwing change in a jar adds up!

I know my own school is doing a similar "drive"...and I'm nearly certain that the sign says Red Cross on it along with the Red Cross logo...and I'm also nearly certain that there has been no contract signed or permisssion granted to do this. I work closely with the SCA sponsor so I'll ask her today!

Last year, our school did a similar drive and sent a chunk of $ to the Red Cross after the tsunami....not a huge amount, but what was collected was 100% ! The Red Cross took the donation! They didn't seem to worry about permission or contracts! Maybe an added paragraph to the thank you letter that says something like "next time, ask first, please!" ??? I don't know! But I am certain that most people are "breaking the policy" quite honestly!

I am so thankful that the Red Cross exists! I got our first bag of ice from a Red Cross truck back when we were suffering after a hurricane! (There was also much more relief...more than just a bag of ice... for the area from the Red Cross locally! They set the first shower trucks up here! ETC...) I hate to imagine what would have happened to the GulfCoast people without the Red Cross and other church groups and individuals! Thank you, Mouse, for your time and hard work! You know that you are making a difference and truly helping people!

meee

Gotta be brief.....

Michele- have a great trip!!!!!! Relax and enjoy, fill us in with the details when you return.


Sue- hope ya feel better.....knee and voice. Can't imagine teaching from a cart, but I hear it is done at times......hang in there!

Mouse- yup, that is what it is all about.....you are blessed....and so many do not have even close to what we have. And I so feel for those whose lives were wrecked by Katrina.....as I know you do too.

Robyn- ok, my flasher moved to the state of Florida!!!! Love your stripper story......keep smiling, hon!!

Pam- perhaps you were the first person to ever attempt to make this sniffler follow some rules! Congrats.....

I will be MIA for a few days......my email is hopelessly messed up and I am taking the computer for repair.
Hope everyone has a great weekend! See ya sometime next week!~
Ginny

And Hi to anyone I missed..............
Ginny

Evening All,
Yeah we all made it through the work week and to the weekend!!
Sorry I didn't get to reply last night. I went to my dentist appointment and was able to get my filling finally fixed. Well I was there they offered to do my 6 month cleaning and whiten my teeth for free. So I just had to take them up on the offer. Than I made a trek into Curves. The girl working there last night even worked out with me. So it made my workout seem like it was over in a flash. I came home to do work on my computer for almost 4 hours. With an hour break in there long enough to walk to my mil's and visit for an hour. Didn't get go to bed until after 12 and got up at 5:30 to do my walking video and start my day all over. But the good news in all of this is that I got my lesson plans and copies for next week done this morning before school started. I was also able to enter grades in my computer before leaving school today. So I was happy with all that I got done on so little sleep. Came home to take a nap only to be woke up by my stepson playing in the hall right outside my bedroom. Needless, after being woke up and trying to go back to sleep, I couldn't so I just got up. My dh came home and was suprised to see me up. He asked why I was not napping still. When I told me about being woke up, he immediately went into his son and talked with him. I got a sorry, a hug and a kiss out of that deal from my dss. After seeing everyone off either to go home with their mommy or go to a football game, I treated myself to a take-out meal from the Chinese restuarant on their diet menu. I was only able to eat half of it, so looks like I have dinner for tomorrow evening. Don't know what my dh is going to be eating. LOL. Now I am relaxing and enjoying the peace and quiet.
Robyn, just loved your getting neekid story. Two years go my favorite student ( I know we are not suppose to have favorites, but he is just a special little guy) went to the bathroom by himself. He stripped down to nothing but just his t-shirt and walked down to the office. He has a very special bond with my principal and walked right into his office. My principal started to talk to him and than realized that he only had a t-shirt on. He immediately calls the school secretary and office aide to come to his office. He tells them that they need to help get my student out of the office with the rest of his clothes on. It seems that my little guy went and used the bathroom and than decided to go talk to the principal, but he forgot to wipe his backside. So we get the phone call that my aide needs to come to the office immediately. She comes back with our student in tow, just laughing. So now we keep a much better eye on him when he goes to the restroom for this very reason. Hope you were able to survive your first week back to school.
Summer, hope all is going well for you. No more run-ins with the Nimrod, I hope. Are you getting into a routine yet?
Michele enjoy your trip. I would love to go to the Mall of America sometime. So please share with us how your trip was.
Sue, sorry to hear that your life revolves around a 3 tier AV cart. Hopefully once you get back into the swing of things , you will find or develop a system that works for you. Take it easy this weekend and rest your legs.
Pam, that was a neat way of rewarding your crier. Congrats on getting her to make it through the class period. Keep up the good job!
Mouse, is your mentor even someone who has a special ed. degree? My mentor for my current position wasn't. Thank God I wasn't new to special ed. She was clueless on a lot of things and I didn't really get much out of having her as my mentor. Hope things get better for you at school. Have you found a gym yet that meets your needs?
Ginny, sorry to hear that your computer is under the weather. We will miss you over the weekend. Take care of yourself and make sure you are able to squeeze in a walk or two. I have faithfully done my walking videos or dvds every morning before school, since school started. So hopefully I can keep this up.
Well I better go. I need to regroup before Sunday. My dsss' have another football game. This time it is away, like 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours away. So we have to leave at 10 in the morning to be there by 12. The game starts at 1. So it looks like I will be bringing a book with me to read will waiting on the game to start. Lord only knows what time we will get home that day. I hope in time to get a walk in with my dh.
I think I am going to go watch a little tv since I really haven't done that this week. Once school starts my tv watching goes down to about nonexistent. I will have to make sure I do schedule in time to watch Biggest Loser. I love that show.
Talk to you all later. Have a wonderful, relaxing weekend!
Kerry

Wow... two nights in a row! Do I get a prize?
Robyn: I definitely understand where you are coming from, but I feel as if I have some responsibility to the school & to the organization that if I know something that might make it easier, I should at least try. It wasn't so much about signing the contract but about making sure that the information they are giving is correct. I don't remember the contracts from before 9/11, so I think it is a result of the media flap over how donations & money were handled then. If the contracts were in place, they weren't as stringent. But the REd Cross got a lot of bad publicity as a result of media attention to 9/11 donations... and this has caused extreme hardship to many local chapters. My chapter in Central Maryland is pretty hard hit constantly because the majority of our clients were inner city Baltimore residents, and we have a lot of fires there. My current chapter is better because we don't have as many fires and we have some pretty awesome fundraising going on.
And, honestly, I can't imagine the REd Cross busting on a school; they might, however, shake their finger at me as knowing better. Plus, many of the flyers for one of the fundraisers (ALL of them, actually) have incorrect information on them including a wrong web-address for the Red Cross.
Kerry: That is EXACTLY what I am going to do... on Sunday. We're not opening the chapter Sunday, so I intend to sleep late and maybe go out for brunch with friends (if they're home, I think they may have gone out of town), and then work on school stuff. I have to go in tomorrow to help with casework and train a new caseworker. We're getting hit pretty hard with clients. My mentor IS a special education teacher, and in fact, she's the multiple & severe disabilities teacher. She knows all about what I need to have and do in order to be successful with the kids... especially the paperwork for Community Instruction & work/study jobs! I don't understand the problem, honestly. But I'm getting that strong vibe that she's looking for a way to get me in trouble, and unfortunately, she has that reputation among others in the department.
Ginny: You are so right, of course. As usual.

As for me, last night when I posted, I hadn't read the class evaluations from the class I did. Most of the participants took their frustration over how classes are being handled out on me. I admit it was my fault for forgetting the video tape... but I can't be responsible for the lack of course paperwork and materials since I didn't get anywhere near the box of stuff until the class started. They weren't interested in the class itself, just in knowing what they'll encounter and do when they are deployed to various shelters for Katrina. I can't answer those questions, which made them more frustrated... It was a long 3.5 hour class. I'm disappointed that they couldn't empathize with the chapter as an entity: that we have to keep day to day operations flowing, while also running a major disaster operation... without any extra personnel. The paid staff is doing their regular jobs AND helping support us. My chapter is very small, and doesn't have a large disaster crew pool to draw from. The main complaints were that they couldn't get through on the telephone...
I am not sure I'm making any sense right now. I think I'm going to goto sleep.

Robyn your nekkid story just cracked me up! I don't know how you lower elementary teachers do it! Congrats of the famous front page picture! Maybe you could get extra copies and autograph them for all of us!

Mouse - You are so right about putting our troubles in perspective. There are so many people who would love to have our problems instead of theirs! Sorry to hear your class didn't go well. Was it a one shot deal or do you get another chance to prove yourself?

Ginny - I hope your computer is fixed quickly. So how is your bus run going? My children get to keep their same driver from last year which thrilled me to no end. They keep flipping routes around. The woman they had last year was so good to them (and me). I am sure your students and parents feel the same to have you back.

Pam - Congrats on getting through to your crier. Hopefully she will continue to feel safe with you and not do that anymore. Sometimes it is amazing to me how much power we have to make or break a student.

Kerry - I hate TV but I do watch the Biggest Loser! Does it start next week? I just saw the first promo for it last week and I can't wait. Last year I didn't start watching until about 1/2 way through, then I was hooked. I don't want to miss a single show this year! Is it still Tuesdays at 8:00?

Today I am suppose to meet some friends for breakfast. We meet the second Saturday of the month. Unfortunately I usually email everyone to remind them and I forgot this week (darn working messing with my free time again!) so I am not sure if anyone will show. I will have to go anyway just in case. I guess I could take my children so I won't have to sit alone at least. Bowling also starts this weekend. My children bowl EVERY Saturday. Plus it is in the middle of the day (12-3) so I am pretty much screwed for most activities. I have to keep telling myself that I only have them for a short time so I need to make the best of it and they do so love their bowling! My DH and I bowl every other Sunday night with my DM and DU. I, myself, am not much of a bowler so again it is just for the bonding.

I was much organized on my cart yesterday. Plus I didn't have as many students having "emergancies" that they thought required my immediate attention, so it was much more of a productive of a day. I want to come up with a name for my cart though. I thought you all might be able to help. I'd like something catchy like the Meals on Wheels slogan. I have thought about Room to Go (like room to grow) but I'd like something humorous too. I'd like to have a license plate made up so I can hook it to the front of the cart. I know I'm weird but if I don't find the humor in it, it will bring me down and I don't want that.

Okay enough run on sentences for one morning! My brain is mush and I am thinking I am going to need some Mystic Chai Tea to help me face the day!

Sue

Hi to all!!! This has to be a quickie...I will only get personal with Robyn who had me laughing hysterically at my computer screen...Rob, that is something you will never forget.

I've been kept away by my computer problems caused by all BIL's "help." I want my old hard drive back with all its bugs...at least I got my work done and printed on it. I haven't been able to print a document since he "helped" me out. I sort of solved the problem myself yesterday at the crack of dawn basically because I was desperate and wasn't gonna give up. I have an entirely new curriculum this year which by the way, sucks. I have to learn it and write lesson plans on it this weekend remembering to stick in the CT frameworks for every objective. I also have my first assignment due Tuesday. Both need to be done today after I work out at the gym. Tomorrow is trying out the new church again and going to my niece's birthday party.

I had my first personal training appointment with Radke. OUCH!!! I can barely move, but after exercising today, things should loosen up again.

Nimrod has been driving me NUTS constantly. He has this way of being nearby no matter what part of the building I'm in. He says, "How's it going?" about 500 times per day. After asking once or twice, is it really necessary to ask over and over and over again?! I am a friendly person and always greet people in the hallway, but he is forcing me to avoid eye contact or just nod or grunt. Besides the annoyance factor and the risk to my health and safety, the other downside to him lurking around is that he never bathes. The B.O. on him is so potent that you smell him before you see him. There have been a few times his fragrance has almost knocked me off my feet.

One more thing before I head out to the gym. I've been asked by the director of early childhood to give a district-wide workshop at our city's early literacy conference!!! After popping some Imodium, I said, "yes." I am terrified, but I am going to do it because I know this is a great opportunity for me. The reason I've come as far as I have in my career is that I've never said, "no" to my director. I've always taken her up on her challenges and with God's help and guidance, I have succeeded. So, in spite of being totally intimidated by what I've taken on, I'm going to do this and hopefully do it well.

I hope all of you enjoy this beautiful weekend. Keep praying for those affected by Katrina and remember those who we lost on tomorrow's anniversary. It is time for this country to care about every man, woman, and child...got that President Bush?

Oh Gees.... does President Bush read our thread??? Cause if he does...ya'll haven't heard me RANT yet!

Hey to everyone. I've got to leave for baseball in 22 minutes...and I've got to change my clothes yet. So please forgive me for not getting too personal!

Sue...Re:your cart's name... PM me with the name of your school, your last name, your "subject"...and let my sarcastic brain get to work! LOL I'm SURE we can come up with something! hehehe

Mouse... I totally understand re:the contracts, etc... and your responsibility! Of COURSE you should have tried to make things "legal" and fix the errors..like website addresses... I forgot to ask the SCA gal about our drive...She was in my room for the better part of the day...but our goal was to keep our nudist dressed! (Which we did! ) He also worked very very well using a 1/2 hour contract. I didn't have time to think about my ? as I was running around marking the contract and praising for remaining dressed...AND teaching the rest of the kidlets! Oh mannnn do we have room to grow!

I came home from work after 6 dragging a bag of chinese food with me. We ate. I told my dh that I *HAD* to lay down for a second.... and I woke this morning when my alarm went off to go to WW. I'm still tired... HOW can that be? OY!

Gotta run... I left this sitting here while I got dressed...but we're going to be late to baseball now! ARGGH! Hi to everyone!

take care,
meeee....

Afternoon Ladies,
First of all congrats to Robyn on her 3.8 pound loss. Way to go, Robyn! Keep up the great work!! Hope you weren't too late for your son's baseball game. How was the game?
Congrats to Summer on your invitition to present at your city's literacy confernence! When is it? Hope your weekend is relaxing, even though you have work to do today with your new curriculum/lesson plans and assignment for grad. school.
Sue, will have to think of a name for your rolling classroom. So did you have anyone show up at breakfast? Have bowling this weekend! The Biggest Loser is starting on Tuesday, the 13th at 8 p.m. for 90 minutes. I have an important phone call at 8 that evening, so I might have to tape it. So I don't miss anything.
Mouse, hope you are finding some time to relax after your stressful week at school. Hope the next time you teach that class, the people are a little more understanding and have some common sense. They shouldn't have taken their frustrations out on you. That was just wrong.
Pam, hope you are having a much quiter weekend this weekend. Are you able to do things that you want to do this weekend? Maybe you need to return the favor to your dh about last weekend's fun!
Michele, by now you are well underway of shopping and enjoying the Mall of America. Hope you are enjoying your weekend away!
Ginny, hope your computer is easily fixed and you can connect with us you! Miss you!
Well I got up this morning, went to Curves, to Wal-mart and was back home before 9 a.m. Got my shower, got dressed and went to the bank before 10. So I must have really enjoyed my time alone last night and got my batteries recharged to do all that on a Saturday morning. Usually I would just sleep in until about 8:30-9:30 and than get a slow start to my day.
Well I better go and get busy doing some chores around the house. Talk to you all later. Have a great afternoon!
Kerry

Hey!
So glad it is the weekend. Remember that wretched sinus infection that had me "falling" into the fish pond? Well, it has dragged off and on since then. However, it had gotten so bad that I was ready to pull all of my teeth and put a drill into my forehead. After crying, I met my husband at the door on his way into the house and said I am going to the doctor, I can't take this anymore. So, I went and the immediate care closed at 5:30, I was about to die. Made it to the urgent care with three minutes to spare. I was in and out of there in 11 minutes. Only to find my car dead. With half a bar on my cell phone, I called hubby who couldn't get it started. Ughhhh. So, anway I started this really strong antibiotic that the doc calls guerrilla-cillin. He said it will kill any kind of bug. There is a warning label on the actual antibiotic...........So, I went to work yesterday feeling strung out, and shakey and jittery, and weepy. I worked until 11:00 at which point I called the office and said I HAVE TO GO HOME......... I slept for three hours. I have had no more pain. However, now I feel like I have a cold......and one of my eyes was stuck shut and gooey this morning. So..... I am glad to be rid of the sinus pressure. I still feel yucky though.

Robyn: Hmmmm, is that a new policy at your school??????I was laughing so hard. Ha! Glad it wasn't me!

Hey to everyone else.

Gonna go turn on the dryer and take a nap.
Pam

Pam: You poor thing. I'm so sorry you were so miserable. Feel better.

Kerry: You're so busy busy busy you're making me dizzy!!! I don't ordinarily have that kind of energy either. Good for you!

Robyn: You go girl!!! Great job!!! That weight is just falling off of you!!! Oh, and please rant away...I love it when you rant and rave especially when it is a just cause. It is so funny to me that you fell asleep so early the other night, but I have to say, Friday nights I totally crash after a looooong week at school. And with what you've been dealing with, it is no surprise to me at all. Get rested and enjoy your weekend.

Sue: You've got a great attitude about your cart. At the moment, I'm pretty much brain dead from school work yesterday, so I don't have any snappy ideas. What does the abbreviation DU stand for? Damned if I couldn't figure out that one. Enjoy bowling. In my household it is making sure DD gets to gymnastics, cheerleading, and Brownies...so I get it.

Mouse: Rest up while you can. Keep fighting the good fight.

Ginny: Miss you.

Well, yesterday, I worked out hard and am having difficulty moving my body parts this morning. I worked for 5 hours on my assignment for school, and as far as I could tell, it came out good. I had to read a book of various humorists and then write a spoof on two different comedy writers. You wouldn't think this would take 5 hours, would you? But, you see, it had to be funny...and unless I'm inspired, that takes me some time to conjure up. Then I moved on to my new curriculum. ICK!!! I hate it. It appears that I will have to use parts of my old curriculum to make sure that these kids will be truly ready for kindergarten. This lamo curriculum will not prepare them enough for what they will be facing in K. Finally I had some time to read my Janet E. I'm almost done with TO THE NINES.

Today we are trying out the new church again and then we have to go to my DS's house for my DN's birthday party. Goodie goodie gumdrops.

Oh I got it Sue...DU is uncle!!! Sorry, I must have been having a "blonde moment!"

Enjoy your Sunday everyone!!!