Week Before Christmas Break

Okay, who ordered the full moon the week before Christmas Break???  It is only Tuesday as I type this and I feel like it should be Friday.  Monday started out busy and crazy.  Every time I tried to get into a classroom there was an emergency that needed to be taken care of.  I had every intention of getting into classrooms for observations and I never made it.  It seemed like there was just one referral right after another and for the week before break you really have to make sure that you keep the referrals caught up because the kids will not remember what it is they did when you get back from break.  On top of that, everyone's nerves are shot this week.  The kids are excited and ready for Christmas next week and on top of that it IS A FULL MOON!!!  Hormones are raging and things are nutty.  Police always say more crimes and such happen on full moons and nurses always say more babies and emergencies come into the hospital on full moons.  On a side note, it truly is a beautiful view driving to work in the mornings.  I can see the moon in front of me and if you look in the rearview mirror you can see the beginning of the sunrise.  Not a bad drive at all!!!    The day ended with a graduation meeting.  Yes, graduation is in June but we ended the last meeting of the day in a meeting preparing for graduation in a new stadium at the school so we are starting early.  It is going to be interesting to see how this turns out.    This is the start of a new tradition at JW North High School and whatever is put in place now will be here for awhile since this school works on tradition so much.  There are lots of varying opinions about our parking, lack of parking, where guests enter, where the graduates "stage," where they walk, where the leave, where the parents meet them, security, balloons, fireworks, sound system, stage and a 1000 other items.  This will be the rough year figuring it out and then it will be simple.  (Me grinning!!!)  Don't worry my LDHS friends.  I am stealing borrowing everything I learned at LDHS graduations to use here.  So happy I had such great experiences.   My actual day ended at the Riverside Educational Enrichment Foundation Dinner where teachers in the district were awarded grants.  The event was very nice and well attended.  North had about 8 teachers that received grants.  Lexington Richland District 5 had an educational foundation as well but I never knew how the money was distributed.  In RUSD, the money is done with a grant writing process.  It was great to see how many teachers participated and were awarded money for their classroom.  I got home at 8:40 pm and crashed at 9:30 pm - out like a light!!!  I think it was because I had no caffeine at all.

So on Tuesday, I started my day with some Hot Apple Cinder on the way to work from home.  However, I got halfway to work and realized - DARN IT, I LEFT MY LUNCH AT HOME!!!  Well that means I left my breakfast also.  I ended up stopping to get an egg and spinach wrap from Starbucks to start the day and figured I would just eat yogurt for lunch or someone would run to grab lunch.  It was a good thing I started the day with the egg and spinach wrap because I never got to sit down and eat or drink anything today.  From 6:45 am when I heard the first voice mail - well, let's just say it was over because after hearing that message and creating a plan to handle that situation, I had a parent-teacher conference, two incident reports, a bullying situation that involved a police report, another investigative event that required an administrator and campus supervisors along with a surprise visit from one of the tech guys from the DO, a classroom walk-through with students throwing items that had to be disciplined, students being sent out of classes and a variety of other small issues.  I literally forgot to eat lunch or drink any water today and now I have a headache and am trying to over hydrate.  However, you know that does not work!!!    Now the good news is that we are moving forward with parts of the Technology Plan that was developed.  I know this is going to make teachers, students and the administration happy and therefore I am excited about that aspect of the crazy week!!  Hooray - progress!!!  However, I also found out today that my district will not be paying us until January 2nd rather than December 31st.  Ummmm…… never heard of this before…… Not sure what the purpose is of this.  Someone told me it was so it was not on your taxes since it was after the first of the year but my point is, it is on your taxes for next year so what is the deal?????  We also found out that the 6% raise has to be voted on again for management - I knew it read funny.  I am being told that it is pretty much a done deal but somehow I have a very hard time believing that so we will see.  I will let you know on Jan 2nd if my check is higher.  It might need to be in order to pay the fees that may occur if the money is not there for my bills that come out the 1st-5th.  LOL!!  Just kidding, I will be fine!!!

Well, Wednesday was interesting and please know that I cannot put all the details here about what happened but I will tell you that I had my first experience with students sexting today and cyberbullying.  All in one day!!!  Needless to say today was an educational experience for me in many ways.  When I got home today I was exhausted and totally crashed.  I spent the majority of the day in investigation mode and talking with students, parents and the SRO.  In addition, I have several students who are having "issues" with teachers and the students are having a hard time "communicating" with their teachers.  I have been doing  lot of conflict resolution this week but it is quite humorous to hear what they tell me.  I am telling you - reality TV should be done in a school!!!  I am happy that the full moon is almost gone.  I know that Squeak gets mad at me because when I get home I am so tired that I clean up, get out clothes for the next day and usually sit for 15-20 minutes and read or watch TV with her before I go to bed.  I think she wishes I would sit with her more because she certainly talks to me.  I hope she is saying, "Mom, I love you," but I really think she is saying, "Where the heck have you been?"  When I am here she follows me around the apartment and lays with me or on the ed with me.  In addition, if I am in the kitchen she sits wherever she is in my way so I have to pick her up and move her or carry her around.  She is so funny even if she is a little "plump."

Squeak laying on me as I try and type.

Thursday morning I got up and tried to sit with Squeak for about 15 minutes before I left for the morning but she really did not want to sit much.  So at work yesterday, I promised one of my darling students that I would come and watch her play.  So this morning as I was coming in at 6:30 am, my student was there dressed for her play and handed me a little stuffed bear with some candy canes.  She is so excited about this play and being on stage as well as happy that she and her teacher have come to a resolution for them to get along better in class.  So I started with discipline this morning doing the "regular" items like tardies, electronic violations and so on.  I got to a kid who is on his 15th tardy for the 2nd quarter (45 days) and we have 13 days left which means he is late almost every other day.  When I called mom, mom literally told me he should be excused because it is her fault.  Well I would have accepted that at Tardy 6 or 7 but not at 15.    I got to see the play today which was parodies of Christmas Classic like Twas the Night Before Christmas and Scrooge.  The plays were totally cute and my students as well as the others did a FABULOUS job!!!!  I am so proud of them.

My student who typically wonders all over the school actually made it three days in class with no truancies or tardies.  I am so proud of him!!!  Now, I have to tell you that I did bribe this child.  He usually comes and hangs out in the discipline office and then ends up getting in trouble and I needed him in class this week so I told him if he would go without getting "picked up" that I would get him a treat.  So I need to pick up Gummie Worms for him.  That was the candy he wanted.  Well, I left the school on Thursday night at 8:45 pm due to a Parent-Teacher-Student Association meeting so I went strait home.  However, I was sitting on the couch with Squeak when I realized I forgot and needed to write a note to remember.  The problem is I fell asleep on the couch before I wrote the note, woke up 30 minutes later and went to bed without writing the note.  Oops!!!

It is FRIDAY!!!!  It is the day before break!!!  Am I ready - HECK YES!!!  Bring it on!!!  As a curriculum specialist and administrator I want the teachers to continue to teach today and go bell to bell.  As a realist I know there is going to be parties in the classroom so there will be issues.  I am prepared for them.  BRING IT ON!!!! Then I remembered that I forgot to get Gummie Worms!!  Darn it!!  My admin friends tell me, just go to the liquor store around the corner and I look at them and say - "Are you crazy?  I am not going into a liquor store at 8:30 am in the morning, I like my job." Well, I learned something new today. I learned that in CA, liquor stores sell candy, drinks and such.  It is not just liquor like it would be in SC.  WOW!!  I went and got my Gummie Worms for student and yes, I did go to the liquor store but I took another administrator with me who had to pick up a gift.  LOL!!!  Well we got all the way to 5th period and then it began!!!!  We had a fight in one class between two students and we had a student who decided to throw something at a teacher.  I mean really people, is it too much to ask to make if from 1:45 pm to 2:51 pm without incident.  The answer to that is obviously yes!!!  It has been a heck of a day.  In addition, I had a parent tell my principal that I was the most unprofessional person she has ever met.  ME!!!  Really!!!  For those of you who know me, you know that a parent has NEVER said that to me!!!  Even the one parent who had the most complaints about me was singing my praises by the end of the year and told me how much I helped her daughter.  Well, as we all know, you cannot make everyone happy and I am finding as an administrator, parents will say and do everything they can to push your buttons to get what they want.  Thank goodness I have an AWESOME administrative team that I work with.  My principal is SO SUPPORTIVE, my BFAW has my back,  my office mate ROCKS and my other Co-Administrator just helps me laugh about it all!  Thank you!!  I also have fabulous friends in the district because after talking and texting with other administrators I know it is not just us that are having crazy things happen on campus. It is nice to know we are not the only ones.  Well, needless to say, we all wanted to get out of there this afternoon.  So for the third time this year, I left school to come home before 4:15 pm.  Once was in August to sign apartment papers, once was to pick up my mom at the airport and today.  So I packed up all my wonderful cards, plants and fabulous Christmas presents, including the addictive candy apple seen below, and made my way home where I unloaded the car and took a bath to relax before I did anything else.

OMG!  TO DIE FOR!!!!  This was so good!!

Now I am working on getting all of my schoolwork done so I can put away my present job for two weeks and work on the PhD!!  Wish me luck!!

I woke up with a raging headache this morning and tried to figure out what it is from.  The conclusion that I came up with is dehydration.  Upon reflecting over the past few days I very seriously double I have had 30 oz of water.  Things were so crazy at work that I don't remember drinking anything but something in the morning, as I was leaving to go home and with dinner at night Wednesday - Friday.  That is the only explanation I have for this monster that is beating in my head.  However, I am going to make the best of it because it is Saturday and I am suppose to go with Jessica and Michael to look for the last minute gifts for their kids. Since I don't have kids of my own I have never felt the panic when you cannot find the one gift your child wants, I have only read about it on Facebook and heard people talk about it.  I was able to see this and hear it in Jessica's voice today as she searched for the gift.  there was an hour there were we had to go to Plan B which was to go to Toys R' Us and just find something that the children might be satisfied with.  As we were walking down the aisle low and behold the gift was sitting on the floor.  There was 6 of them.  Michael immediately grabbed it and the store employee started laughing and said they had just put them out this morning.  With a sigh of relief we finished shopping and headed home.  Now, while this is only a paragraph, I am neglecting to say this search involved three other stops with a 3 year old boy who is starting to get sick in the middle of holiday scrambles.  I am excited that the kids will be happy on Christmas morning.

I came home about 12:00 pm and ate lunch, drank a lot of water and then crashed to try and get rid of this headache.  I don't usually sleep during the day but I took a two hour nap and when I woke up I laid in bed and read a book.  After resting for most of the day I decided to get my lazy tushie up and go to the gym and try and get back into the swing of my workout schedule.  After finishing up a walking workout I ran to Wal-Mart to pick up my White Elephant gift for a get together later this week and came home to work on getting dinner of veggies together, sweaters washed and ready for the PhD dive into coding tomorrow as Squeak follows me around the apartment meowing at me.  Wish me luck!!!!