Around 10:45 today our principal got on the intercom to inform us that we were currently under a tornado warning and that we needed to take our kids to our tornado shelter until further notice. So I took my 21 students down the hall to the 14 X 16 ft tornado shelter that we had to share with 40 other 7-year-olds. Initially, they told us we'd probably have to stay in there for about 20 minutes. Then 20 minutes turned into 45 minutes which then turned into over an hour.
And amazingly, during that whole time, we didn't have a single crier or complainer. The kids handled the situation beautifully. They sat quietly just the way we practiced. After about half an hour of crouching in the "safe position", we let our kids put their heads up and read them a story...then another story...then another. About midway through story number 4, we got the okay to send the kids back to class.
It was past noon by the time we got back to our classrooms and we had missed our lunch completely. So we took our kids through the lunch line and just ate lunch in the pod. The kids loved it. The teachers, well....let's just say we survived.
We later found out a tornado had touched down about a mile and a half east of us. Craziness. Just goes to show, there's never a dull moment in teaching!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Letter from a parent
Below is an email I got today from a parent. It happens to be the mom of one of the little girls I mentioned in my last post:
Hi Becky,
I wanted to send you an e-mail and say thank you for calling me yesterday and giving me a report on how *******'s reading is going. I was so happy to hear the news and share it with ******* after school. She has been working really hard and we are glad it has paid off. I appreciate you working with her this year and keeping me in the loop. The extra books you have been sharing with us have really helped too. I hope that you have a say in what teacher ******* will get next year and I hope it is someone who will continue to challenge her to do her best and is also equally as good at communication.
******* has really enjoyed having you as a teacher this year and again thank you for taking an active interest in her academic success.
See you tomorrow,
****
Hi Becky,
I wanted to send you an e-mail and say thank you for calling me yesterday and giving me a report on how *******'s reading is going. I was so happy to hear the news and share it with ******* after school. She has been working really hard and we are glad it has paid off. I appreciate you working with her this year and keeping me in the loop. The extra books you have been sharing with us have really helped too. I hope that you have a say in what teacher ******* will get next year and I hope it is someone who will continue to challenge her to do her best and is also equally as good at communication.
******* has really enjoyed having you as a teacher this year and again thank you for taking an active interest in her academic success.
See you tomorrow,
****
After a very busy and stressful day, this was seriously just what I needed. It made my day! It's nice to be appreciated!
So proud!
I have two girls in my class who have struggled all year long in reading. They are both super sweet girls and they've certainly tried hard, but reading just wasn't something that came easily to them. One girl in particular, I could tell, just wanted it so bad. She's worked so hard at school and at home.
Well, all the hard work finally paid off. I tested both these girls this week and they just rocked! They both know nearly all their sight words and they both scored 5 levels higher on the DRA reading test than they did last quarter. This is incredible. Most kids, on average, increase by 2 levels each quarter. I think for these girls, it finally just clicked. They are both now reading on grade level and I couldn't be more proud.
Well, all the hard work finally paid off. I tested both these girls this week and they just rocked! They both know nearly all their sight words and they both scored 5 levels higher on the DRA reading test than they did last quarter. This is incredible. Most kids, on average, increase by 2 levels each quarter. I think for these girls, it finally just clicked. They are both now reading on grade level and I couldn't be more proud.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Moving is EXHAUSTING!
Wow, what a week! I honestly don't know if I've ever been so mentally and physically exhausted in my life. And the thought of tomorrow being Monday and me having to go to work makes me want to cry.
Here's a rundown of our moving week:
Monday - James and I both left work early to go close on our house. After an hour of signing paper after paper, it became official. We were homeowners!
Tuesday - Despite getting an early start on packing (over a month ago), James and I still had quite a bit of last minute boxes to pack. Between writing sub plans and packing, I had a very busy night!
Wednesday - After he got off work, James came and met me at school. Our realtor had dropped off our key earlier that afternoon. So as soon as I finished my sub plans, we headed down 151st to our home for the first time. We had both packed our cars the night before so we could drop off a load. We were both giddy with excitement as we walked into OUR house! We looked around and were pleased to see that it was just as fantastic as we had remembered. After looking around and taking it all in, we knew we'd better get to work. But we needed food first. So I went and picked up a pizza and we ate our first meal together on the floor of the livingroom of our home. We ended up having to go back to the old place to sleep that night since our new bed wouldn't be delivered until the next day.
Thursday - Let the moving begin! We had our cable guy coming Thursday as well as the Nebraska Furniture Mart delivery guys. So James spent the day going back and forth between the old place and the new place bringing loads of stuff. Our friend Jared came and helped out, which was nice. Meanwhile, I stayed at the new place putting stuff away. The worst part of the day came when the NFM guys came to deliver the fridge and it didn't fit because of the molding on our wall. We were incredibly frustrated but luckily the delivery guys were really cool about it. They said we could keep the refrigerator (for up to 30 days) until we were able to go pick out a new one. Thursday evening, Jen and Rory came over to look at the house. Rory cooked us dinner. Yum!
Friday - I had told my students that I had a "surprise" for them. The surprise was that I was going to bring my dog in to school for them to meet. I already talked to my sub and told her I'd be coming in at 1:00 that day. So after laying shelf paper all morning, I took a quick shower and then went up to the school. It was nice to have a break, but I also felt like I really needed to be back at the house getting stuff done. After I got back from school, James and I went to NFM and picked out our new fridge. It's scheduled to be delivered by next Thursday. Once we got home from NFM, Lisa and Jenna both came over to look at the house. They helped me face my nemesis (shelf paper). Shortly after they left, my dad and my sister Nicole showed up. I was so excited to see them since I hadn't seen any of my family since Christmas. So I decided since it was after 9:00, I was allowed to have a break and relax for a while. So I opened a large bottle of wine and then accidentally drank it all.
Saturday - I woke up early with a killer headache. Stupid wine! Saturday was the day to move all our furniture. Jen's mom and dad met us at the old house with their trailer. Between Jen's parents, Jen, me, James, Dad, Nicole, Lisa, and Jenni we were able to get everything moved in two trips. Impressive, huh? We took a short break a little after noon to eat some pizza, then we were back to work shuffling boxes around and organizing the kitchen. By the end of the day, pretty much every box on the main level had been unpacked and/or moved to it's proper location. We also got a lot done in the basement! That evening, one of our neighbors came over with her husband and two kids. They introduced themselves and welcomed us to the neighborhood with a plate of (DELICIOUS!) cookies. It was so sweet! Later that night, Braden and Diane were in town, so they came over to look at the house then we all went to Austin's for dinner and drinks.
Sunday - Nicole and Dad left as soon as they got up. Our two big projects for the day were to get food in the fridge and to paint the dreadful pink room. We managed to accomplish both! Pictures to come...when I'm not so tired.
Here's a rundown of our moving week:
Monday - James and I both left work early to go close on our house. After an hour of signing paper after paper, it became official. We were homeowners!
Tuesday - Despite getting an early start on packing (over a month ago), James and I still had quite a bit of last minute boxes to pack. Between writing sub plans and packing, I had a very busy night!
Wednesday - After he got off work, James came and met me at school. Our realtor had dropped off our key earlier that afternoon. So as soon as I finished my sub plans, we headed down 151st to our home for the first time. We had both packed our cars the night before so we could drop off a load. We were both giddy with excitement as we walked into OUR house! We looked around and were pleased to see that it was just as fantastic as we had remembered. After looking around and taking it all in, we knew we'd better get to work. But we needed food first. So I went and picked up a pizza and we ate our first meal together on the floor of the livingroom of our home. We ended up having to go back to the old place to sleep that night since our new bed wouldn't be delivered until the next day.
Thursday - Let the moving begin! We had our cable guy coming Thursday as well as the Nebraska Furniture Mart delivery guys. So James spent the day going back and forth between the old place and the new place bringing loads of stuff. Our friend Jared came and helped out, which was nice. Meanwhile, I stayed at the new place putting stuff away. The worst part of the day came when the NFM guys came to deliver the fridge and it didn't fit because of the molding on our wall. We were incredibly frustrated but luckily the delivery guys were really cool about it. They said we could keep the refrigerator (for up to 30 days) until we were able to go pick out a new one. Thursday evening, Jen and Rory came over to look at the house. Rory cooked us dinner. Yum!
Friday - I had told my students that I had a "surprise" for them. The surprise was that I was going to bring my dog in to school for them to meet. I already talked to my sub and told her I'd be coming in at 1:00 that day. So after laying shelf paper all morning, I took a quick shower and then went up to the school. It was nice to have a break, but I also felt like I really needed to be back at the house getting stuff done. After I got back from school, James and I went to NFM and picked out our new fridge. It's scheduled to be delivered by next Thursday. Once we got home from NFM, Lisa and Jenna both came over to look at the house. They helped me face my nemesis (shelf paper). Shortly after they left, my dad and my sister Nicole showed up. I was so excited to see them since I hadn't seen any of my family since Christmas. So I decided since it was after 9:00, I was allowed to have a break and relax for a while. So I opened a large bottle of wine and then accidentally drank it all.
Saturday - I woke up early with a killer headache. Stupid wine! Saturday was the day to move all our furniture. Jen's mom and dad met us at the old house with their trailer. Between Jen's parents, Jen, me, James, Dad, Nicole, Lisa, and Jenni we were able to get everything moved in two trips. Impressive, huh? We took a short break a little after noon to eat some pizza, then we were back to work shuffling boxes around and organizing the kitchen. By the end of the day, pretty much every box on the main level had been unpacked and/or moved to it's proper location. We also got a lot done in the basement! That evening, one of our neighbors came over with her husband and two kids. They introduced themselves and welcomed us to the neighborhood with a plate of (DELICIOUS!) cookies. It was so sweet! Later that night, Braden and Diane were in town, so they came over to look at the house then we all went to Austin's for dinner and drinks.
Sunday - Nicole and Dad left as soon as they got up. Our two big projects for the day were to get food in the fridge and to paint the dreadful pink room. We managed to accomplish both! Pictures to come...when I'm not so tired.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Royals
James and I got to go to our first two Royals games of the season this past weekend. We had already been planning on going Saturday night for our friend Jenni's birthday (Happy Birthday, Jenni!!!) but Friday night's game was a last minute decision. After work on Friday, our friends Matt and Shannon called us. They said they had two extra (free) tickets for the game and wanted to know if we wanted to go. We figured...why not? What we didn't know at the time, was that the tickets were $100 Diamond Club seats AND it was dollar night. So in addition to having AWESOME seats, our personal waiter, and private bathrooms...we also had $20 each toward our tab. We all drank quite a bit in the parking lot and then continued to stuff ourselves full of beer and hot dogs when we got into the game. By the end of the night, between the four of us, we spent a whopping $20.
Thanks Matt and Shannon!
Thanks Matt and Shannon!
Nell Hill's
Nell Hill's
I'm looking forward to spending my $200 gift card to this place sometime soon...compliments of my amazing class/parents!
I'm looking forward to spending my $200 gift card to this place sometime soon...compliments of my amazing class/parents!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Teacher Appreciation Week
I often complain about all the hard work I do for my students (and their parents) and how it is so rarely noticed or recognized.
However, this week was Teacher Appreciation Week and it reminded me how fortunate I am to teach where I do. Blue Valley definitely has a reputation. They are a district with money. And while that has its ups and its downs, it has been a pleasure to work in such a great district. We have the resources we need to ensure success in our students. We have parents that are involved and eager to volunteer.
Yesterday, I got a gift basket from my class full of student-made cards, gift cards, and office supplies. I was overwhelmed by the generosity of my students and their families. One gift was brought in later in the day, for fear it would break in bottom of a backpack.
I love it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)