The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly... or something like that

Well, I had an excellent weekend! Started it off by going to dinner/movie with Jamey Friday night. We went and saw "Confessions of a Shopaholic" which was really hilarious, and sadly I could relate to some parts! :( lol We had a good time, and after I was done I headed home and started packing. Saturday morning, I got up bright and early at 7am and took a shower, then got all the rest of my stuff ready to go to Port Aransas, TX for the night. I swung by the grocery store for a couple things I needed and got cash back so I'd be ready for the weekend! We rolled outta SA around 10am, and got into Port Aransas, TX (after only 1 stop with two 4 year olds, that's AMAZING!!!) around 1pm! We got a little scared on our drive because about 5 places we called inquiring about vacancies said they had none! UH-OH! But we finally found a 3 bedroom gulf view room at La Mirage, and held it with my credit card! We really came away with a very reasonable price! For the room and all our groceries, etc. out of the 7 adults we came away having paid $57 each! Not to mention we had an absolute BLAST together, and it was fun to see D-boy and Nico playing all day/night!

We headed back Sunday afternoon (checked out of the room around noon) and headed to eat some lunch. Afterwards, the D3's and I hit up some of the shops in town and finally made it out of Port Aransas around 3:30. When we got back in town, I headed home and proceeded to do a lot of nothing (I SHOULD have been doing some laundry so that I wasn't left with 2 loads tonight!).

Today was a Prof. Develop. day for all of us... the kiddos weren't there, and we had a late start (thank GOODNESS!) to the day. Then we got an hour lunch and came back for a meeting in the cafe. It was all about how things will be changing in the district and more specifically our campus... and I have to say I was very excited about the changes I heard them discussing... some of which could possibly be having "Saturday School" for extra tutoring from 9-noon on Saturdays... Not to mention they want to crack down on students' behavior and hold them more accountable for things... they also want the teachers to deal more with the kids' behavior rather than sending them to the office with a referral. It's so foreign to me, because I dealt with some DIFFICULT behavior at the other ES I worked at in MY CLASSROOM... I NEVER sent a kid to the office, and honestly wouldn't have unless it involved violence (like fighting, or some sort of weapon)... I think that our dynamic is different on our campus though... we don't have street-wise kids... we have kids that are spoon-fed and expect to have everything handed to them. I think our campus needs to implement a "self-managers" program where kids checklist things everyday (based on 5-7 virtues, depending on the chosen program)... it seemed to really work at the other school I was at. We'll see what happens. At any rate, I really think there's a good chance a lot of teachers will leave our campus because they don't want the change that will happen at our campus... which means more opportunity for me to get my chance since I'm so willing! WOOHOO!

That's the other good news. I got an email from my principal the other day letting me know that my not being chosen for that Kindergarten position I interviewed for was NOT a reflection of my interview, or how they felt about my teaching abilities, etc. That they are very proud and happy to have me on their campus doing the work I do with the students and are happy with how hard I work. I was glad to hear this, because I was really over-analyzing how the interview went and was VERY afraid that I may have screwed my chances for a position next school year with something I said in my interview. But I think that I'm VERY MUCH on the same page with the administration based off what I said in my interview, which will help me GREATLY for a job next year. Hopefully they'll remember some of the things I said about my behavior management and all actions having consequences and very consistent ones... and that I like to hit all the different learning styles of kids in my class. SO... anyhow, I look forward to having a good conversation with my AP about her trip to Beaumont to observe a school there (she shared her experience with us today) and what she saw sounds a LOT like what I experienced at my student teaching campus. :-D

Another good note (and the last one tonight as this post is getting REALLY long)... I'm going to the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo tomorrow night... to see JOSH TURNER with Jamey! We're SO excited! YAY! Anyhow... until next time...

Peace, love, happiness,
Kels

Happy with the decisions...

The ones made in lieu of Mr. Phelps' actions. I feel justice has been served... although I never found a clear explanation of his 3 month suspension from Olympic events. I don't know if that applies immediately, or if it won't go into effect until swimming events start back up. At any rate, I think that it's good that he's gotten some sort of consequences, including losing his Kellogs deal. I was pleased that Kellogs would want to maintain a squeaky clean front (although, I'm sure there are other people/things Kellogs supports that could be corrupt in some way they just haven't had the skeletons in the closet revealed).

On to other things... today is my Dad's 61st birthday! Happy Birthday, Dad...!



We celebrated by installing a new ceiling fan/light in my room yesterday. It took us about 1-1/2 hours. It wasn't difficult at all... the worst part was for my Dad... the way my bed is positioned in the room, it's under the fan... so the entire installation was done with him standing on my bed... poor thing! Looked like he was trying to surf the entire time! We had a few good laughs about the installation.

This week coming up should be pretty good. Things will be a little hectic this week... I think there are 2 or 3 ARD meetings (for Special Ed.)... Friday afternoon all the classes are having their Valentine's Day parties... I'll have to stop in Ms. Burd's room to see the kiddos in there for sure! I think that Daughn and Jamey and I might go see the Shopaholic movie on Friday night... and then Saturday we're going to Port Aransas, TX for Saturday night and coming back Sunday... :) Monday I have work, but it's a student holiday... I am hoping we don't have to come in til like, 8 or 9 and that we can take it easy... and of course I'll have an hour lunch that day! WOOHOO!