MLK Holiday Week - Sorry No Pics this week - Been busy!

Hello Everyone,
   I hope you had a great MLK weekend and got a lot done as well as enjoyed yourself.  I spent all of the weekend working on the PhD and I am sad to say I am not further along.  I am so tired of thinking about it and reading about my case studies that I just want to be done.  I have not really done anything fun on the weekends since December due to this monstrosity and I am really ready to be done with the paper.  I know I will finish but I am really struggling right now!!  Ugh!!!

  Tuesday was the start of the new semester for us at North High School.  We are on a year long schedule so we started the second part of the semester.  We are now in quarter 3.  Tuesday was pretty uneventful at the school, kids were calm and teachers were calm.  I was able to get a lot done and talk to students.  That evening Meg and I went to eat dinner and attend the board meeting that lasted FOREVER!!!  At this meeting the board discussed approving the school calendar for the next three years, apparently they do this once every 3 years so right now I do not have a 2014-2015 calendar to work from.  Ummm…. that is kinda hard when planning.  All the districts around mine are on a calendar where they finish the semester before the Christmas break so students and teachers both have a true break.  I cannot tell you how many teachers wrote on Facebook during the break they were grading papers or reminding kids about projects.  I remember teaching and having to do this over the break as well as opening up my classroom for research and help.  It is not really a true break and makes you resent the class a bit and the situation.  Well the Calendar Committee presented calendars that would allow the district to start earlier, finish before Christmas break and be aligned with the other districts around us.  I was so excited for many reasons but also because it would help student adjust to college, give them and teachers a true break, as well as provide time for admin to move classes around and identify students who may need to re-take classes or have alternative placement to graduate.  All great reasons that were presented to the board and seriously - I don't get it - but they want to stay with "what they have always done."  My mouth dropped open, my heart dropped to my stomach and I became more and more irritated as some of the board members talked about how it should not matter what Secondary Students needed, it was only about elementary school students not being able to go outside because it was hot.  Okay people, I know I am from SC and am use to some of the humidity and heat so CA weather does not bother me but it really is not that bad.   In fact, if people are worried about air and elementary age children, it is better for the kids to be in school.  A lot of the students in my area don't have air conditioning.  I was just so surprised at the dissension on the board over this issue - absolutely crazy.  Well maybe because I am secondary and have experienced both calendars and see what is better for kids is why I am having this problem.  I have to tell myself to calm down……!!!!!!  I got home at 9:30 pm from the meeting and finally fell asleep around 11:00 pm.

  Wednesday was long and busy.  Busy is better than bored and I need to stay busy.  I dealt with another investigation involving accusations, pictures and Facebook.  I think I need to do a presentation to students about digital citizenship, red solo cups, hand gestures and other crazy pictures students send via text and on FB.  Having to explain to a parent about what their child is sharing via text and Facebook is no fun at all.  This is the new digital age that we live in and it is part of the job and what we have to deal with.  That afternoon I went to a manifestation determination meeting about IEP's and 504's.  While it was extremely interesting there are so many little details that we have to watch and be careful with that I think I need to go back to school.  LOL!!!  Good thing we have great support in the district.  That evening I spent time at the Personalization of Learning Kick Off meeting.  RUSD is looking at Personlization of Learning and making sure every child has what they need to be successful. It was a great night and a lot of fun and an introduction of what is to come for the future of RUSD.  I am excited that I get to be a part of this as we plan and work to go forward.  It is an exciting time in education and also a little scary as we put devices in students hands and have teachers change the way they are teaching to address student's individual needs.  So I got home around 10:00 pm on Wed night and crashed.

Needless to say I am struggling this week with tiredness.  I am not sure how I am going to make it the next two days which have late nights as well.  This is not even my supervisory week, that is next week.  LOL!!!  Today, Thursday was tough, because I had a student come and tell me they are having to go to the Alternative school starting next week.  He did not pass all of his classes first semester so he has to go there to be able to earn credits to graduate in June.  He will not be able to graduate from North and while I am excited he will graduate, I will miss seeing him at school each day.  Most of you know I make connections with people, and students pretty easily.  I am able to connect with students in most cases and have good relationships with students.  This young man is one of the first students I met and I have written about him before.  He is the student who I helped purchase the Homecoming Dance ticket for him and his girlfriend in the fall.  This is one of those young men who have had a rough schooling and wants to graduate.  He came by my office on Thursday to let me know he will be leaving today and enrolling in the alternative school on Friday.  He wanted to tell me good-bye and he asked me if I would attend his graduation ceremony in June when he graduates from the Alternative school.  I cannot tell you how much this warmed my heart and touched me that he would like me there.  He also proceeded to tell me that if I would have been at the school since he was there as a sophomore he feels he would have connected with someone and done better.  Just one more reason why ever single child at a school needs an adult / advocate / mentor / advisor during their high school years.  I am going to miss this young man but am excited he will be finishing up his high school education.

On Friday, we had the last of the personalization summit where we are looking at the Gates Foundation grants for Personalized Learning.  We have to fill out the application to be eligible for the grants if the district is awarded funding for the next three years.  This is a big if and we will not know if the district has been awarded grants until the end of February at the earliest.  I am a little worried / okay a lot worried about North taking on too many initiatives at one time to implement.  I feel like it means we will be doing a lot of little projects but not doing anything well because we are all doing little things.  This is a huge problem.  The plate becomes toooooo fullllll!!!  For the teachers, students and administrators!!!  On Monday I have a meeting with the Interim Superintendent to talk about the purchase of technology for the school.  This is the 1:1 device talk and depending on how this goes determines what and if we will have devices for our students / 9th graders next year.  I am not nervous about the meeting itself but more about the outcome of the meeting and if we will get materials or not for the school.

Today was EdCamp / Nerd Camp.  It is a free workshop where educators hang out and discuss topics that are of interest to them.  It was really very interesting and allows you to talk with people in the classroom and finding out their point of view and information they have to share about what is and is not working in their classrooms.  I won a door prize.  An interactive white board!  I am excited to try it out at school this upcoming week and see how it works and if we should look at purchasing some for our school.

This week I am REALLY in turmoil over what I cannot control.  I know that I can only control my actions and time.  I know that I can control things which are inanimate and non-living for the most part (maybe not the ocean, moon or rivers, but you get my drift). I am struggling with wanting something to happen so badly, that I do everything in my power to make it happen, yet the final outcome is really out of my control because another person is involved.  I guess I need to work on my persuasive essays / arguments - opps - for my Common Core friends, argumentation with evidence cited (LOL!!).  

January 13 - Exam Week

Its Exam Week at North High School.  Hooray!!!  We are on a year-long 6 period day schedule that ends on Thursday, January 16.   So this week we have had three days of exams, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in which students leave campus at 1:00 pm.  While I would like to say it has been a relaxing week, it has actually been very busy trying to get caught up with items.

Monday night was Admin Induction.  Yes, you heard me correct, I am in an Induction class for administrators!!!  It is a good thing and one that allows us to network, talk and share concerns.  This week we talked about Crucial Conversations that we need to have with different people.  It was a great class and one that we learned a lot from.  We were provided two books that I do want to read, just not sure when that is going to happen.  Too bad nobody wants to give everything to me on Audiobooks.  LOL!!!

Tuesday was extremely busy.  There was so much going on that all of us had to work to cover all events. Megan had to come back from her PD.  I had to come back from a meeting, Lynne was at another meeting and Mike and Rich were covering basketball at different places.  On top of that, we had the EXAM Cram going on and a program on drug use at the school.  All of this ended with a missing student, who was not really missing, just not listening to her dad and doing what she needed to do, which makes for tense situations with parents.  I walked in the door at 8:30 pm.  Poor Squeaky was all alone!!!  Needless to say, she let me know about it.  LOL!

Wednesday was pretty cool.  My principal and I went to Sweetwater High School in National City, CA to meet with the admin at the school.  Sweetwater has a very large ELL population and the school has some interventions, programs and a school culture that results in student achievement.  Meeting Roman, Juan, Tony, Hector and some of the other teachers was fabulous and we got lots of great ideas to work to implement in RUSD.  I am excited about hopefully making some changes to benefit our AEL (Academic English Learner) students!!!  I did make it to work out tonight as well for an hour.  It was nice to make it to the gym for the first time in awhile.  I really want to get there more often but I just have trouble with times.  However, I discovered today I might have realized my issue.  I got home earlier today than usual and went and got my nails done.  I got something to eat around 5:30 pm and then went and worked out at 7:15 pm.  I think part of my issue is times of eating.  I get so hungry and then don't eat well when I get home but to some extent I think my body does not like the time.  Eating dinner earlier today really helped me feel better.  I am going to try it for awhile and see if this is in fact part of my issue.  On the way home from the gym, I did look at the moon and tomorrow is a full moon. While this may not be a big deal for some - it is for me.  Tomorrow is a half day, a full moon will be out and we don't have kids until Jan 21st so the full moon will have passed.  (Me sighing and smiling)!

Programs for Students at Sweetwater High School

Thursday was interesting.  I would like to start Project Lead the Way at our school and we had the CA rep come and talk with us. I would love for us to do the Bio-medical Sciences at JW North and we have a benefactor who is willing to provide us with money to get the program started.  The problem is getting the district to approve us to start the program and potentially even the Engineering portion as well.  The problem is another high school in the district has the Engineering Program and they don't like us to have competing programs since we are a District of Choice.  UGH!!

The testing schedule is done for the Spring - thank you very much - with much collaboration.  I am very excited about the schedule and how beneficial it is for all students and teachers.  There is time for all teachers to have contact with all their classes during the three week testing period.  Yes, I said three weeks.  We come back from Spring Break, have a week of normal classes and then three weeks of testing.  The first week 11th grade students will be taking the multiple choice portion of the Smarter Balanced test in both Math and ELA while they are in their English classes.  The next week the poor 11th graders will be taking the Smarter Balanced Performance Assessment in either English or Math.  This portion takes about two hours and therefore we will be on an extended period Monday - Wednesday and all students will be taking some type of assessment or having some type of meeting.  Ninth graders will be taking the practice CA High School Exit Exam, 10th will be taking the California State Test in Science, 11th the SBAC Test and the 12th graders will be going to their senior meeting to talk about the rest of the Spring, Prom, and Graduation.  Then the poor 11th graders will have to take another test on Thursdays for two weeks.  One week will be English and the next will be Math.  I feel really bad for the 11th graders who are having to take 4 tests this Spring.  Poor guys!

On Friday, it was schedule brainstorming time!!  Presently we are on a 6 period day and we have a 0 period and 7th period that is not part of the normal school day.  We are getting ready to implement a Middle School Years IB program and we need to have a 7 period day.  Of course, I want to be on an 8 period day and am pushing for a block schedule.  Of course we need an 8 period day because of the challenges our students face in our school.  Our students need more opportunities to get support for the classes they are taking within the school day.  They also need more opportunities for classes they would like to explore before they leave high school in programs like Project Lead the Way, Internships and Mentoring programs.  We developed a block schedule that includes an 8 period day, and leaves a 0 period and 9 period time frame for students for instructional support.  I am very excited about the opportunity to develop a new schedule that benefits students and allows them more opportunities to be academically successful.

During lunch the Attendance and Discipline office went to the Mission Inn to eat lunch to celebrate Linda's upcoming retirement.  This is a restaurant at The Mission Inn, which is a fancy hotel and spa in Riverside with a historical presence.  I have walked through this area before in December but this was the first time that I have been here for lunch.  The food was delicious and we sat outside in 80 degree weather to enjoy our lunch.  Even the SRO joined us, since the Chief of Police was at the restaurant as well.  We really had a fabulous time and it was nice to relax and eat lunch together.

Mission Inn - Just one view

Another first on Friday was a restaurant called Hero's.  Megan and I met Trevor for dinner on Friday night just to catch up and say Hi.  We had a great time eating bad food.  They literally had a appetizer called Fried Junk and it was literally - curly fries, onion rings, jalapeno poppers, zucchini, and shrimp all fried and placed on a plate in front of us.  They also had baked mac and cheese with four different cheeses, bacon, peas, and bread crumbs.  Needless to say, it was interesting to eat here and I obviously don't need to eat anything on Saturday or the next week with all the food that I consumed in a 6 hour period. LOL!!!

I guess this long weekend I will be working on finishing up Chapter 4 of the dissertation and starting Chapter 5.  I am hoping to get to a point where it is done and I am refining so that I can do some more things on the weekends.  Since Thanksgiving, I have been staying around the apartment on the weekends to work on the writing and I am starting to go stir-crazy in some ways.  My confinement with the writing makes disappointments and no's in my life seem more exacerbated and puts me more of a depressed mood than I would like.  Therefore I really need to finish up this monster to get out of this funk.  However, when I think about taking a break, the cycle starts again and I just want to be done!  With that being stated. I am signing off so that I can finish some work in hopes to get this done so I can go back to hiking, visiting sites in CA and dealing with set-backs in a healthier way.  Wish me luck!! LOL!!!

This is Squeak's, "What are you doing?" look.

January 6th

Hello Everyone,
  I did not post last week because I was working on my dissertation and tried not to do ANYTHING but read, listen to recordings, write and sleep.  I got a lot done but now the question is did I get enough and am I on the right tract.  Earning a PhD is a lesson in perseverance more than it is about being smart.   I wish I liked writing more than I do so that I could get it done quicker but the idea of having to write it all out makes me pretty miserable, especially because my committee says that I am a terrible writer.  UGH!!!  So anyway, I am on my way and I have all my case descriptions done, now I am just forging ahead with cross case analysis and then chapter 5.

So we went back to school on Monday, January 6th and it was an extremely pleasant day.  You can tell everyone has had a break and is feeling more relaxed because I did not have ANY write-ups.  I was totally amazed and expected more of a ruckus but it was a day that allowed me to some things completed for school and plan a little ahead so that I an get behind later!!  You know, typical educator issues!!!

For the most part it has been a relatively nice week.  On Tuesday, the High School Task Force met and we had a great discussion and then some of the Asst Principals went out to eat dinner together.  We had a great time at a cool "Design Your Own Burger" place where they also have veggie burgers.  We had a lot of fun talking about our holiday breaks and the exciting things happening at our schools.  Wednesday was slow and while it took some time to get things done, answering a lot of questions and planning with the Admin team it was a good day.  The seagulls they told me about have "descended" upon the campus.  I really do mean this with all honesty.  The seagulls hang out in the trees and on the roof until the bell rings and when the kids go to class they dive down to pick up the leftovers from the ground.  It really is a sight to have 12-20 birds circling you and coming down very close - they are not intimidated at all.  Now, imagine 12-20 birds and the excrement that is around as well.  It really is a challenge to stay out of the birds way.  Now, on the good note, this only happens from about 8:00 - 8:15 and then again after lunch for about 20 minutes.  Thursday was a busy day as well.  Non-stop and go, go, go!!!  Mike and I planned for Spring Cleaning on the campus this morning and then I dealt with discipline issues the rest of the morning.  This afternoon was dedicated to teaching Depth of Knowledge to teachers and RTI planning.  Needless to say, I am feeling a bit brain dead right now.

Notice the birds.  I tried to catch them in flight!!

On top of all this, I think that Squeak is either meowing at me because she misses me or because she wants a friend.  On Tuesday night she was in the apartment crying and I kept calling her.  When I got up to find out where she was, I found her in the guest bedroom on the bed, looking at the sliding glass mirror closet doors.  I think she was talking to her reflection thinking it was another cat.  When I picked her up she leaned like she wanted to bump heads with the other cat but of course only hit the closet door.  Then on Wednesday night she decided to get inside my bag and lay there with me for about 30 minutes. This is the same bag that I sometimes carry to school.  I have decided she must want to go with me.  She really is comical!!!

Squeak is ready to go to work.

See, she is comfy!

For those of you that remember, I am an Athletic Trainer so I am around athletics all the time.  I spent 13 years in Laurens District 55 High School with all students who play basketball being about 5'7 therefore no height on the team.  Well this year, North HS has an awesome team as usual and when you look on the court they are not 5'7 - they are 6'2 and so on!!  Wow, a really tall team.  It is humorous from my point of view!!

No short boys on this team!

  Well the end of this week has turned out rather interesting.  We had some students that decided to come to school late.  Well, they were hanging out at the local shopping strip mall and someone called the school so we had to go and pick them up.  When they got back, as we normally do, we searched them for drugs and drug paraphernalia.  Well, needless to stay they were clean, which was absolutely GREAT!!!  The only problem was one of the girls had a tool she was not suppose to have which ended up being considered more dangerous than I thought it to be.  She stated a friend gave it to her and she was giving it back to them today.  That led from one thing to another and therefore she is suspended.  I probably should be watching more reality TV and shows than what I do to learn more about different types of weapons, tools, drug paraphernalia and things people have. I don't think the Disney Channel is cutting it, but I do like there is no cussing, death or MAJOR drama on the Disney channel as there is in real life teenage lives.  With that being said, if anyone knows of any good shows for me to watch to "get with it" let me know and no, Duck Dynasty does not count.
 
  Well I got to leave school early for Friday - 6:00 pm and was able to spend a relaxing evening doing shopping, cooking and catching up with some emails.  It was nice to be able to relax even though I know I need to be reviewing the PhD.  I really just wanted to let my brain rest for a little bit.  Saturday was nice.  I had breakfast with a friend, got laundry completed, cleaned a little and relaxed pretty much all morning.  I hung out with my BFAW (Best Friend at Work) and her family on Saturday night.  I have been introduced to the world of sushi and since I am a vegetarian (not pescatarian) I am not sure if you could even day that I eat sushi.  Anyway, avocado rolls, cucumber rolls and veggie rolls are yummy!!!  After dinner, we made our way to the JW North's Theater for student One Acts.  Now, let me explain this.  Students write and direct short plays and put them on in January.   I was not sure what to expect but I have to say they were pretty amazing, a few were weird and I did not really understand them but they were pretty funny.  There were two spoofs on Disney Princesses which were hilarious!!!!  There was a One Act with singing and dancing that was great as well, it reminded me of Glee.  Another hilarious performance was of two girls who "called on" the diva powers of Miley Cyrus and Beyonce to help them dress for a party.  Of course Miley Cyrus and Beyonce "Slammed" each other and it was hilarious.  The students at North High School are absolutely talented and amazing as well as the theater teacher.  I truly enjoyed the performances, even the ones that I did not understand simply because the students got into the plays so much!!!!

Spoof on Disney Princesses

Miley and Beyonce

  I leave you with a picture that was sent to me Friday morning.  I absolutely love this picture because I like how the fox looks like it is smiling.  It absolutely made my morning and got me through the day when I needed a laugh. I really wish I knew what the circumstances are of this picture.  I can only imagine the fox looking into the wind and squinting.

What does the fox say???