Week of Challenges So Far - June 23

Well this week looks like it is going to be a week of challenges.

Sunday
This week did not start off well on Sunday.  Megan is leaving her cat Gizmo with me for a couple of months until she gets settled in Washington.  While I figured there would be some "adjusting" for Squeak, I had no idea she would react the way she has.  She has been around other cats but she has really taken to only being a single cat since she got here in November.  Needless to say, Gizmo and Squeak are NOT getting along.  I am not sure if it is because Squeak is old and going blind or not but this is really stressing her out.  All I hear is hissing and growling from her and she runs from Gizmo.  She has not really left the bedroom either since Gizmo got here.  She is parked on the bed and does not move at all.

On top of that concern, I went to Disney with Jessica and the kids on Sunday morning.  However, the kids were NOT into going.  They fought and argued almost the entire time so it was not enjoyable after the first ride. Now, I will say they did pretty good waiting as long as they did for the first ride but after that it was over.  I think they were too tired to have gone and they did not sleep in the car on the way there so they were acting sheepish and did not want to walk.  Because of that, they both wanted to ride in the stroller but putting a 4 and 6 year old in a stroller together is not a good thing.  So we came back early because they were fighting and arguing.

That evening I went to dinner at a friends and watched True Blood as well.  I have to say, I am a little worried because there was NO ERIC and on top of that, it looks like they killed off Tara in the first episode of the final season.  Not sure how I feel about this. I kept wanting someone to wake up and for it all to be a joke and Eric and Tara are still there.  Guess I might have to go back to the Charlaine Harris books!!!

Monday
So I am officially tired.  Gizmo, Megan's cat came to stay with me while her family moves to Washington and then I will take Gizmo up later.  However, Gizmo came Saturday night and both Saturday and Sunday night Gizmo and Squeak have been fighting and waking me up around 3:00 am in the morning.  While it was not a huge deal on the weekend, it is now Monday and I am feeling the lack of sleep.  While Monday was relatively calm by 1:00 in the afternoon I was struggling.  I got a second wind and off it was to catch up on tasks and move forward.  Ali and I worked on Master Schedule and I made it to the gym - Yea Me!!!!  However, I crashed hard Monday night.  I got home and fell asleep on the couch without even realizing it.  I woke up around 12:00 pm and move to the bedroom to continue to hear the two cats hiss at one another and again at 3:30 am this time, fight and hiss as they chased each other around the house and not in a playful way!!!!  I am not sure if this is going to work.

Gizmo!!

Tuesday
So this morning after the 3:20 am fight between cats was the hissing contest between the two to see who the dominate is.  This resulted in Squeak hiding under the covers and growling uncontrollably.  And to think, I thought another cat would keep her company.  She so wants to be a single kitty!!!  I got to work and did not sit down to catch my breath and rest my mind the entire time.  It was a crazy day.   It started with eight pre-service teachers coming to do observations because apparently we are the only school in the area allowing students onto campus during summer school to do observations.  In addition, I had a 9:00 am meeting with a new teacher and it seems the crazy kids today in summer school decided it would be fun to use cell phones and talk during class therefore resulting in more teachers sending referrals to the office.  After summer school was out, I met with the principal's secretary for paperwork, poster creation and planning followed by working on master schedule until 7:00 pm with Ali.  I left the school and went to the gym to work out to get home about 8:50 pm.  Today was a terrible day!!!  I was so irritated with the entire day and the feeling of not accomplishing what I wanted in addition to disappointing news that evening, made me fall asleep right after my shower at 9:20 pm.

Wednesday
Guess what…..I woke up at 3:00 am again with two cats chasing each other and hissing like crazy in the apartment!!!  This can't happen.  Squeak has refused to leave the bed.  This seems the only place she feels safe.  She is not following me to the bathroom anymore, coming to the den for treats or anything.  Since Sunday night, I am not sure she has left the bed while I am here.  I am sure she has, I just don't know about it.  I am afraid I am going to have to see if Megan can make other arrangements for Gizmo. While I ADORE Gizmo and would love for him to stay, Squeak is just too old to put through this stress.  When she passes I will be devastated and I, myself, might have to be sedated so I really hate stressing her this way.  She is just not acting like herself and is acting so strange!!!    I got a lot done today!  For as crazy as yesterday was, today was a little calmer and I was able to get caught up on paperwork, items that need to be done and feel better!!!  I am still VERY TIRED, but at least a little calmer.

I had to tell Megan that we needed to find a new plan for Gizmo. She understands but I feel really bad because I really love that cat and wish he could stay.  Squeak just will not allow it. When I got home tonight all the cushions were turned over on the couch and some were on the floor like they were fighting and trying to hide from one another. I just don't think this is going to work without Squeak passing away.  Megan was good with it, she is going to ask her mother in law to take Gizmo but I still feel really bad because that means it is more stress for him also.

This evening I work with Ali till 8:30 pm on the master schedule.  We are trying to tame THE BEAST and it is getting a little better but it is baby steps as we go!!!  We have gained some percentage points in scheduling all students but I wish we had greater increases then we do because it feels like all this work is for nothing!!!  However, I know it is progress!!!  I left work at 8:45 pm only to get caught in the beginning of the start of construction for the night on Freeway 215.  So rather than taking me 30 minutes to get home it was about 50 minutes.  It is weird when they start construction at night.  There is a police officer that drives like a drunk back and forth across the road to stop traffic for about 5 miles as the traffic thins down to one lane.  I was waiting for major accidents!!!!

Thursday
Gizmo went back to Megan today.  He is going to go and stay with her Mother-In-Law.  I love the little guy but the two cats are sparring at 3:00 am in the morning, which causes me to way up and then I don't go back to sleep.  Therefore putting me in a "out of it state."  So, I packed Gizmo up and took him to work and Megan will come and pick him up this morning.  The ride to work with Gizmo was fun.  He cried for about 5 minutes and then curled up and took a nap in the carrier.  When I got to school I let him out in the office and he went to sit on top of the cabinet for awhile and then came to sit in my lap.  He is such a sweet kitty.

Well today was a little better as far as what was going on.  Summer school got started and went fine today.  No problems there!  However, our three loud girls were at it this afternoon with one another yellowing and screaming.  I have to see them tomorrow morning now.  This afternoon we had a course catalog meeting until about 5:15 pm and then due to traffic I got home about 6:20 pm.  This is why I either leave school at 4:00 or stay till about 6:00 pm.  I hate sitting in traffic and driving so slow.  Megan is staying with me for the next two days with her daughter Willow so they had just gotten here when I got home.  We got their car unloaded and then ran to get food.  As I sit here at 9:00 pm, I am exhausted and I did not even work out this morning!!!

Friday
This morning was packed with answering questions, completing interviews and discussion of where to go next with the Master Schedule.  We hired a SPED teacher today who we are really excited about.  We are still in search for a second SPED teacher and a PE teacher but I will be going to the District Office on Monday to review paper applications for the PE position.  That afternoon we will have interviews for our ROP teacher for the LAPS Academy.

I decided to leave early from work today.  Summer School ends at 1:20 pm and I left about 2:30 pm.  Everything was done - well, everything that needed to be done for Monday - okay kinda.  But I have been so tired this week that I felt like staying would have been just spinning my wheels.  I have had so much on my mind and trying to deal with Master Schedule and all the other small items has really given me a brain drain and I am just exhausted at the end of the day.  I also needed to take a pair of shoes to get fixed and Megan is stain at my apartment with Willow so I would like to get home and see some them.

Traffic was not completely awful on the way home - I guess I left in time to beat the rush.  I was able to drop off my shoes and I went by and got ice cream from Sonic.  Now, this was probably a big mistake. I ordered a small ice cream cone and did not even pull up when they came walking out with a melted cone.  I know they must have made it for someone else and it was left over so I said that to the guy - I was not even at the window yet.  He said no, the machine was just acting funny. REALLY!!!! Come on dude!!!  If it is acting funny then tell someone and fix it or don't serve it!!!!  Needless to say, I will not be going back to that Sonic anytime soon.  Good thing there is only 9 cents left on the gift card.

I got back to the apartment and Megan had put Willow down for a nap so it was nice to just sit / lay on the couch and talk a little.  She leaves tomorrow (Saturday) for Washington.  I will be taking them to the airport.  Now, while I feel sad about this, I know that I will see Megan again at the end of August when she comes to the AVID conference in San Diego and we will be driving her car up to Washington the following weekend.  This means I will also get to see Sarah who has just moved to the same area for her residency.  When Willow woke up we took her to the mall to let her release some energy so she would quiet down and go to sleep.  It was strange to be at a mall on a Friday night rather than a football or basketball game.  LOL!!!  The joys of a summer schedule!

Saturday
I don't sleep much, I need to sleep more but I am one of those people that when I wake up, my mind starts racing about things that need to happen, should happen and what I have to do that day.  I wish I could clear my mind and go back to sleep sometimes but this week has been tough for me.  As I sit and type this I get forlorn and sad.  Friendships are very important to me and I treasure them immensely.   I love spending time with my friends creating memories and therefore I am really struggling with a few situations in my life right now.  I know it is due to lack of sleep and stress but I also  know the rest of the weekend will be rough for me since I have some downtime.  I probably just need to give it some time but patience is not really one of my strengths. (I know, I can hear people laughing)!!!

I am trying to find things to look forward to this weekend to take my mind off things.  So, I will be doing some PhD reading and writing.  Tomorrow, I am going with Jessica to run some errands and will see Erin tomorrow night to watch True Blood.  I am hoping to get in a couple of workouts this weekend also.

Summer School Starts!!!!

Monday, June 16, 2014

Summer School started today.  I was at school at 5:30 am this morning to get things ready.  I was at school on Saturday in an attempt to put thing together but it ended up that there were so many events that we could not set everything up for Summer School.  We had to put rosters on the doors, pull out the boards, get the gym ready and set up the Chromebooks for the guidance counselors.   While it was not hard, it was just time consuming.  By 7:30 am, we were ready to go and we let students and parents into the gym to sign up on the wait lists and wait until we could put kids into classes.  We kept the guidance counselors in a separate room so they were not bothered and Rich and I answered questions for parents and kids so the guidance counselors could really focus on the students and getting students into classes.  This plan worked so well with everything that we did to front-load summer school that we had students in classes by 9:15 and were sending students home because we did not have room for them.  The other two high schools had students in classes by 10:00 am.  However, I will say that we had two assistant principals so that may have had something to do with it.  Nah…..we are just that good!!!  LOL!!!!    Rich went around and did the "discipline" talk with all the classes as I dealt with the technology issues and supply issues of teachers.    At the end of the day, we had all the kids into the classes and dropped the ones that were no shows in class.  By the end of the day we were good to go and had a smooth transition into summer school.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014
So today was the day that we had to tell kids no and sorry.  We had lot of student show up saying they forgot summer school started yesterday and asking if they could get into classes and of course we cannot because they already missed 5 hours and we turned so many students away yesterday.  Online Virtual School is closed as well as regular seat based school now also so students are out of luck at their point if they are trying to sign up for first session.  I feel bad for all the excuses they give from sick on Monday to have to go to take my grandmother to the doctor but if you make exceptions for one then you have to make it for all and they only have 24 days for a full year of classes so there is no room for excuses.  Online is a little different and if they knew they were going to miss something they needed to do online because they can work at their own pace when they want to as well.

In the afternoon I spent time planning for the Data Team Training I am doing this summer with teachers.  I am nervous about this because while the teachers are already meeting in content area groups, they have not really been looking at their data and making instructional decisions.  Therefore using the five step process will be a good thing but I worry about them rejecting the process before they give it a chance.  The end of the day was crazy.  We had a student who was making threats against a teacher and the school on Twitter that had to be called in and talked to.  I did not have to sit in on that meeting but I find it scary that students will make threats repeatedly and this is a smart kid also, he should know better.  The scary part is that he is a senior and getting ready to go to college and made repeated threats over a period of time.

Wednesday, June 18
So, Data Teams is today.  This sets up the tone and expectations for the upcoming school year.  I am really nervous about this.  If I mess this up or the teachers don't buy into it, I am sunk.  I know that Steve Ventura has trained me well.  I know my work in Lexington Richland 5 has prepared me to lead this training and answer questions.  I also know that my conversations with Sara Longshore, Erin Doty and Kaaren Hampton have allowed us to think through all the possibilities and be prepared to train a group of teachers in the Data Team Process.  My work in Lexington Richland 5 was mainly to "fix" teams that were having problems but I have never had to train a group from the beginning.  I am a little worried I have too much for each day and will not be able to get through all the content. However, better to plan too much than not enough!!!

Training went incredibly well.  There were 8 of the 16 teachers that need to be trained there and it was a great group.  They were open to new ideas, trying something new and looking at data in a different way!!!  They asked some fabulous questions and there is a lot more clarity on what their roles are during this upcoming year for Data Teams.  I am very pleased with the progress we made and I am looking forward to training the next group and getting started during the 2014-2015 school year.

Thursday, June 19
The second day of Data Teams training was today and while it went well today was step 4 and 5. If you know the Data Team process then you know that Step 4 is Choosing Instructional Strategies.  This is a hard step because at this point, teachers are being asked to commit to a common instructional strategy to do with their classes.  This becomes a problem because all of a sudden there is concern about everyone doing the same thing because they are being asked to change from "what they have always done."  It because a situation where teachers begin to complain that they have to change.  This is not a bad thing, we want change but teachers sometimes feel they are being questioned on their ability to make decisions and do what they want when really it is what is best for kids!!!!   The final step is one that often gets missed because it is looking at Results Indicators.  This step involves identifying what you are looking for form the teachers and students and is almost an extra step.  Many people don't like to do this step but it helps because it allows you to see if the instructional strategy chosen really did work so it is a crucial step.  In addition, it allows the team to make mid-course corrections if necessary.

My overall opinion is that Data Teams need to meet on a regular basis but we have to start somewhere so we are going with twice a month and I am hoping they will meet some in the 15 minutes before school or after school that is part of their contract this upcoming year.  That is the HARDEST thing about coming from a non-union state to a union state - the contract and making sure that I don't do anything that causes problems / grievances.  In SC, we do trainings and ask teachers to stay and for the most part because we do not abuse them, they do it.  In CA, it is hard to get many teachers to do anything outside of their contract hours therefore making it so you have to pay the teacher for anything outside their normal day, which we did in SC, it just was not this bad to get teachers to stay.

I left work at 5:45 pm to make sure that I got to the Karen Allen Salon form my appointment.  when I got done, I was so tired that I went strait home and ended up crashing on the couch.  I fell asleep and did not wake up until 11:30 pm on the couch.  I went right back to the bed and fell asleep again.  This is not like my at all so I don't know if I am getting sick, am really just this tired or what.  I am hoping to catch up on some sleep this weekend but we will see……

Friday, June 19, 2014
Today we saw more students who are getting in trouble during Summer School then we have all week. Students are now bored and tired of being in class for 5 days and now they are starting to keep their cell phones out and be defiant to the teacher who has up to 45 students in the class.  It is getting ready to be the end of Day 5 today and there are only 19 more to go but I know it will get progressively worse as we go.  I wired with Ali today on the Master Schedule a good bit and we have a plan.

1.  Make the board match the computer.
2.  Identify our special populations and programs.
3.  Fix the programs and populations issues.
4.  Start plugging away at looking at the conflicts that we are having and begin working on those.

We even set up time to meet to work on this over the next few weeks to make sure what we can go ahead and start getting kids placed in the right places.   Again - Ali is going to be the life-saver for North this year as I learn the Master Schedule process!!!  Between the two of us, we will get it done but I do hope that I can contribute!!!!

I left work at 6:15 and made it to the gym.  I have to lose some of the 25 pounds I have gained over the last 6 months.  People just bring food to school and there always seems to be someone eating something or someone dropping off food.  I know that I don't have to put it in my mouth but if it is there, I eat it without thinking about it.  I am hoping to get to the gym more this summer.  I use to teach up to 6 Zumba classes a week and now do none.  I use to go to the gym at least an hour a day and I am lucky if I make it there three hours a week.  I have to make sure that I can get some of this weight off or I am going to need to buy new clothes.  UGH!!!!  I hate shopping, so I will take the workout avenue.  I got home and crashed again with Squeak.  She is acting very needy right now and wants lots of attention, it  is kinda cute!!

Saturday, June 20, 2014
I got up this morning and went to the gym.  I am tired of the Transformers movie already this weekend. UGH!!!  But I did my workout and came home, I thought it would be a "be at home Saturday."  However it was not, and that is fine.  We had an issue at the school as well and then I got a message from a friend I have not talked to recently and  went to visit them to try and cheer them up.  They have have a very hard few weeks with terrible news.  It was nice to visit and get caught up about what is happening in our lives and try to cheer them up with a listening ear.  Sometimes that is what it takes - just an ear to listen, a smile and a hug.  That is what friends are for.  After that,  I ran a few errands this morning to take back a picture frame, drop off shoes to go back to Zappos and came home to get caught up here with different aspects of my world.  I am hoping to get some reading done for the PhD in the next few weeks because I am really tired of having to think about it and I want it done!!!

While the weather here is hot, it is not humid so it makes it bearable and I am still living life without the air conditioner being turned on.  If you actually get in the shade it does cool off and it is wonderful.  Squeak is happy to have me here and Megan is bringing Squeak a friend this afternoon.  Her cat Gizmo is going to stay here with us for a bit while Megan moves to Washington and then Gizmo will follow later on.  I am hoping the two of them get along well and that Squeak will be happy to have a friend to hang out with.  Cross your fingers and hope!!!

The past few weeks have been tough at work with learning the new responsibilities of my new position and some things going on in my life right now.  I know that I can make it through this.  I have the support, love and friendship of some awesome people and I share that love, support and friendship with others so I know things will get better.

Finishing the First Year at John W. North High School

Sunday
Well if you read my blogs on a regular basis then you know that on Saturday I worked from about 11:00 am to 10:30 pm at the school doing a variety of activities.  These activities included painting, organizing, moving and finishing up the schedule for Summer School.  So on Sunday, it was play time - literally.  Jessica and I left at 8:00 am to go to Disneyland without the kids.  Hee Hee Hee!  We dropped my car off at a restaurant in Corona for later and proceeded onto Anaheim.  The really cool thing included us having adult conversations without discipline any children.  I know, I know….I love the kids but it was nice for some adult time.

We started our trip at Disneyland with a ride on The Pirates of the Caribbean followed by Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain.  After a full morning we stopped for lunch at The Golden Saloon to pig out on french fries and some ice cream.  Shhh….don't tell…..  After this we ended up riding Buzz Lightyear and visiting Innoventions.  We had quite a good time in Innoventions because Thor, Captain America and Iron Man exhibits were present. While there was no Iron Man, there were all the suits from the various movies on display.

Next, Jessica and I made our way to Asgard to visit Thor.  Ummmm……the Disneyland cast member was correct, Thor was worth the wait….Very attractive and he was truly in character pretending he did not know what a cell phone was.  He asked, "What is this thing called a selfie," which of course resulted in Jessica shouting, "Thor wants a self," and of course we had to take more than one!!!!

We then moved onto Captain American, who was built but definitely not like Captain America in the movie or Thor.  He was nice and we got a selfie with him as well before we went to meet Alison at the front gate!!

We picked up Ali and made out way to California where we went to ride the Cars ride.  This is an awesome ride which starts out with a "Sunday" drive in a little car and ends with two cars racing like Test Track in Disney World.  After that we went to ride the Hovercraft Tires where you sit in inflatable tires and lean to get them to move.  Wellllllll…..they don't move fast and you have to lean for a long time but it is an interesting concept.  Bumper cars as a hovercraft…….

Ali on the Tire Bumper cars

Jessica left to go home after this and Ali and I hit Disneyland again to rid Buzz Lightyear, Star Tours, Indiana Jones and to eat dinner at the Blue Bayou.  I owed Ali dinner at Disney for all the work she did on testing this past year.  I would have have made it through the year with all the testing without her guidance, help, tutoring and advice!  She is amazing!    We ended the night watching Fantasmic at a table that we "stole" on the terrace while playing Gin Rummy until it started.  Now, I know what you are thinking, "Cards….really….at Disneyland?"  Yes, the main reason we stayed so late was because I wanted to see Fantasmic so to get a good seat you had to sit for about two hours and we decided to play cards while we were there.  We had a great time chatting about vacations, Disney experiences and just playing cards!  We even met some people from Sacramento who were there on vacation and to pick their daughter up from college at UC Santa Barbara.  It is always nice to meet new people.  The show was awesome and well with the wait!!!!  We headed out of Disneyland and made it to my car by 10:30 pm and I was home by 11:05 pm knowing it was going to be a long day on Monday!

Monday - Wednesday
Well it is the start of the end of the first school year for me at John W. North High School.  I am getting ready to finish my first year as an assistant principal in California.  The next three days are exam days with Freshman, Sophomores and Juniors as the seniors get ready for graduation rehearsal for formal ceremonies on Wednesday.  It is going to be a crazy next three days as teachers try to get things finished to get out of here as quick as possible and students are on edge waiting for their grades to find out if they will be attending summer school.  I started off the day dealing with pot brownies from Friday.  We had two individuals who had to go home because they ate a brownie laced with marijuana.   Of course on Friday they said they did not know what was in it, who gave it to them or what was in it.  However, on Monday they were signing a different tune, they were blaming a particular person and stating they knew what was in the brownie when they took it.  Of course in the class of 36 people, no one else saw anyone else with a brownie, and the person they say gave it to them denies it.   I mean really……  So we had to suspend the girls for two days and they came back to take their exams on Thursday.

It is Tuesday and there are two more days to go and today is the day that we have the senior breakfast and more graduation practice.  I am telling you.  There are more celebrations, parties and practices in the last three weeks than I have ever seen a SC high school do.  I know many of the schools out this way do this because Michael was doing this a lot last year and the other schools are doing it but I find it funny that so many of the schools do so many celebrations for high school.  Wow!!

Today is graduation day!!!  Another practice this morning and this afternoon is the day the students walk across the stage.  We have 12 students who did not pass and will not be walking across the stage but other than this we have close to 550 graduates.  At 3:00 pm we went into graduation mode and started having people on campus.  At 4:00 pm we had people in line waiting to get in, graduates on campus and t he K-12 teacher reception in the multi-purpose room (MPR).  This give all the staff and faculty from the schools students attended to come and eat some appetizers and join us at the graduation to celebrate the completing of these students K-12 schooling.  My job for graduation was visitor side supervision.  Basically, I hang out on the visitors side of the stadium and welcome people, deal with issues and make sure everyone is okay.  I only had one parent get mad at me, which is pretty good since most of the time when I work graduation in the past I have anywhere from 20-30 parents mad because they don't have seats, have to stay seated or climb stairs.  I also had a diabetic man start to get woozy but we got him into the shade, got some water and some sugar for him and all was well.  I also had a young man end up with a bloody nose of which we got to the bathroom and got cleaned up.  Graduation went off without any issues.  The speeches were great, the kids were wonderful and did what was asked and while the crowd was not the solemn crowd that I usually have while I am working graduations in South Carolina it was most likely because this was outside in a stadium.  However, high school graduations are just that, high school graduations.  In the end, the graduates are excited at the end, they want to say bye to everyone and the they are super excited to be with their families celebrating.

Graduates coming in.

Getting their Diplomas

Megan and Leann Selfie!

After Graduation

Thursday 
Thursday was a little nutty at school.  The teachers are all excited to leave and there is so much to do to close up the school as we also start Summer School and plan for a new year.  This has been the busiest week so far with things that had to be done on other people's time table and support them as far as students, faculty and staff.  While testing was busy, this has been exhausting at this point and I have been having a hard time sleeping. LOL!!!!  I did not have to go to the Grad Night at Magic Mountain because I am working summer school, so rather Megan went to the event.  This allowed me time to get things organized and move into my new office.  For those of you that know me well, you know that for me to be able to get started with work, I really do have to be organized and have everything in place.  I will stay up for periods on end and continue to work for hours on end to get organized so I can be successful at whatever I am working on.  Thursday was one of those days. For me to move forward, I had to spend time getting organized - no lie - it took pretty much all of Thursday.  We had teachers checking out all day long and therefore the day was fragmented for me because I would start something and then stop to move onto another task and then begin again.  It was a good thing I was just organizing, which was easy to start and stop.  I did leave work at 6:15 pm to make it to the gym in order to have time to workout.

Friday
Today was a quiet day in the morning.  I was able to get lots of things done.  I got the stored science equipment moved to another room.  I got the tech cables picked up.  I was able to get the last of my notebooks set up in the new office. We discussed some re-arranging of office materials to make a larger conference room for parent teacher conferences  On top of that we had summer school teachers coming in to get their classrooms ready for Monday morning.  That took a lot of time because we have a lot of teachers from other schools joining us and they are not familiar with the items on campus so I had to spend time today making sure all rooms had computers, materials were out for teachers and things are ready to go on Monday.  I spent the rest of the day moving equipment from one place to another for teachers.

Now, at 1:00 pm we had our summer school meeting.  I cannot say that I have ever heard of doing Summer School the way that RUSD does, but then again, there has not been a lot of summer school since budgets got tight in 2007.  So, in SC, we did summer school for math and ELA so students could advance to the next grade level.  Then when budgets got tight, we only did summer school on the computer as Credit Recovery.  Students always had to take a class and fail it and then they could register for credit recovery and when they passed the class with an 80, they were able to get credit and exit the class.  RUSD is doing credit recovery where we are having classes with real teachers.  I know, real teachers.  Students signed up for the class they desired to take and then we determined how many teachers we needed and set up classes that way.  We have forty different classes that will be going on over 24 days with 40 different teachers.  Now, these teachers are not all from John W. North.  There are some from different high schools and middle schools so we have new people on the campus and hence, had to do the 1:00 pm meeting.  The crazy thing is that it slipped my mind that all the teachers have packed everything away and I do mean everything.  There is not a dry erase marker, an eraser, stapler or staple anywhere on the desks.  It is crazy…..I remember cleaning up for summer but I never locked this much up.  I had emailed teachers and let them know we were having summer school in their room and asked them to leave out their items like their computer and low and behold, they still they put everything away, tried to lock up or take home their computer and on top of that many tried to get me to not use their rooms.  I hate it for them, I get that our rooms are our second home and we spend more time at work many times than we do at our homes so I get teaches feel their "space" is invaded.  However, our goal is to educate our students and do what is best for them and it is best for our students at John W. North to have Summer School on campus.  We will have over 1800 students on campus over the 24 days earning credits to be able to graduate!  Should be interesting to see what happens to the Master Schedule once they are done earning credits.

I also found out today one of my friends lost his dog.  Not everyone has such strong feelings for their pets as others. I am completely attached to mine and they are my children.  I love my kitties and see each of their individual personalities.  My friend who lost his dog is the same, he loves and trusts his pets unconditionally.  He took in two beautiful dogs awhile ago and has lived with these dogs for a long time on their own.  I have spent time with this fabulous puppy doing different things and am so sad she is gone.  It is so hard to lose one of our family members.  I have lost three cats recently.  Two due to old age, which I can accept, they were 14 years old.  However, in June when I lost Diego, the beautiful cat that adopted me, my heart was broken and Diego was only with me for about a year.  My friend losing his dog, brings to me the feelings that I am going to have when Squeak passes, hopefully a lot time from now, but she is 11 years old.  I feel terrible for him and his puppy family and my heart hurts for them.

Saturday
On Saturday, I went to school to work with Rich Davis and get everything ready for the students to arrive on Monday.  We have the lists hung in the office, we have the desks in the rooms, we have the computer cart set up for registration.  We are ready to go on Monday morning.  I spent the rest of the day getting set up and organized for the new work that I am about to take on at John W. North and whatever duties I am going to be asked to complete for the 2014-2015 school year.  I am finally organized and cleaned up ready to start working again heavily on the next school year and PhD that needs to be finished.  My office is moved and things are organized to a point where I can find them…so I figure it will only take a week or so to become unorganized.  LOL - no, its good and will be fine.

I left school around 2:30 pm and ran a few errands.  Now on Thursday on the way home, my check tire pressure light came on and I really thought it was just a change in temperature.  However, on Friday and Saturday my check tire pressure light was still on so I went by the Volkswagon Dealership to see if they knew what it was.  They checked it out and said at first there was nothing wrong and they just added air but then when they were about to give me my car back, one of the techs checked again and there was a nail in my tire.  Anthony, the service guy, was kind enough to go ahead and Have it patched for me so I did not have to go elsewhere or bring it back.  Needless to say, when I bought my car there, Scott Carter told me that he would be my car guy, just like  I had a dentist, doctor and bank and at the time I kinda laughed to myself.  However, he is my car guy.  They were very helpful in getting my tire fixed and getting me back to my Saturday.  They are also going to take out my dent that is left in my car from a acorn / branch / or whatever happened to the top of my roof on the driver side.  I have no idea when it happened or what it was but somehow, I ended up with a dent that I cannot see from the driver's side.  I don't get in on the passenger side so I would not have noticed it!  I am a little bummed but the VW place is going to get that out for me as well in July when I have time to drop off my car.

Overall
My first year at John W. North High School has had its ups and downs.  There has been positives and negatives at every step of the way.  I have grown as an individual, an educator and assistant principal with every new task, situation and challenge I have experienced.  I have also loved every second of it from the late nights, to the endless counting of tests, to the crazy excuses students give me for the odd things they do.  I look forward to another year of learning with my Administrative Team at John W. North, my BFAW's at our dinners, my time on the High School Task Force, board meetings, a new superintendent, new assistant superintendents and all the new things I will learn this upcoming year with new responsibilities.

June 2……..

Hello Everyone!!!  Hope you are doing well.  My SC friends are now celebrating summer break on the east coast and a lot of my friends here on the west coast have started celebrating summer vacation this week.  It is my district that does not start summer break until next week.  We graduate on June 11th.  Then I get my first experience as a summer school administrator!!!!  Looking forward to this new challenge!!!

So as I entered this week there was no time to sit and breath on Monday.  It was from one stop to the next and I am not sure that much got accomplished!!!  I tried to get some things off my "To Do" list and I did not get much marked off the list.  Monday night I left to go and get paint at Lowe's.  I get to paint an accent wall in my office.  Now, picking a yellow is harder than it sounds. If you go too pale it looks like a dirty off-white.  If you go too bright it hurts your eyes.  If you are not careful about a shade, it looks like dirty mustard color or has too much brown in it.  I ended up with a beautiful yellow that fits me perfect and is called "Gone Bananas."  I mean, how appropriate is that for an Assistant Principal office??????

Well the cats have found me…..I now have a pregnant cat hanging out at the apartment and yes, I feed her.  She is petite little thing and exhibiting the same behaviors that Spooky had when she "dropped her kittens" at the house.  She was very stand-offish and is not being very sweet and letting me pet her.  I am worried about how many kittens she is going to have and where she will be having these at.  i thought she might have had them over the weekend but she did not, she showed back up on Sunday night and was still pregnant.  She is a pretty cute kitty.

Tuesday was just as crazy but I like busy days.  If it was not for Ali Lattimer right now I am not sure what I would do.  She is helping with Aeries and master schedule for both Summer School and 2014-2015 school year.  I am learning so much from her.  I am worried about her leaving and me having to work with Aeries all by myself.  LOL!!!!    Tonight was Meg's going away dinner from the Asst Principals.  We had a lot of fun and got to eat Sushi together.  So while we had a great time, it was a little sad at the same time!!!

The rest of the week went well but was super busy.  I need a breather at some point…..  Thursday night was a new event called Baccalaureate for me.  I say new for me because this is not something that we do in the Southeast.  Basically the graduating seniors process through campus and there is a ceremony that includes speeches from valedictorians and salutatorians and performances from various other individuals and groups as a last hooray.  This is done out in the Quad and is really nice for the kids and parents.

Baccalaureate Ceremony

On Friday I spent most of the day in meetings to trying to get organized to move forward… It has been an incredibly busy week and I am ready for a break but I am not sure when I am going to get one.  Friday was a marathon day where I worked all day and into the evening as I supervised the play "Bat Boy."  Yes, you read that right and yes, it is the Bat Boy from The Sun.  I know, I know, crazy huh.  This was the last performance for many of the students in the Harlequin Drama Production Club and they did an amazing job putting together the play.  However, the Southern / West Virgina accents were pretty funny, they sounded like more drunk, slurred speech than accents but it was funny.  I wonder if I really do sound like they do.  LOL!!!

Bat Boy Program

Bat Boy

On Saturday morning I got up and went to work out at the Gym.  I was hoping for a breather this morning and some time to relax with some stress relief but ya know, that did not happen.  Sometimes life is too busy and I don't get what I want and I have to remember there will be time just not when I want it.  When I got to Gold's this morning, I found they were showing Hunger Games, which is a good movie.  They are not changing the movie daily but every two days so this is one of the ones that is not bad and I don't mind seeing.  I probably won't make it to the gym on Sunday due to my plans to go to Disneyland with Ali and Jessica.  I got back and got cleaned up and off to run errands I went.  I got the car cleaned, went to Sam's and the grocery store for the week. Then it was off to work I went.

Now, I know that people think I am crazy for the hours I put in but I am learning a new job while still trying to do my old job and therefore my time is minimal in both places.  I am feeling disorganized and therefore it is hard for me to get things done because I think about all the things I need to do.  Therefore I decided to spend Saturday getting those little things done and getting organized so I can have more time later.  So here was the list:

• Prep the calendar to be given out to teachers.
• Fix summer school issues with Ali
• Plan for New Teacher Meetings
• Plan for Discipline Committee Meetings
• Plan for Technology Planning Meetings 
• Welcome notes to new teachers
• Paint the office
• Clean out Storage Room 
• Move items to room 323
• Fix LCD projector
• Move computer equipment  

So….it was a long list and everything got done but the moving of the old computer equipment.  Thank goodness for Ali Lattimer and Mike Linares.  Ali did the summer school switches in Aeries as we got things together for next week.  Then Mike came in and helped me do all the cleaning and painting.  So….let's take a look at the masterpiece that will be my office.

Before Painting

WAIT FOR IT!!!!!

WAIT FOR IT!!!!!

After Painting

Just so you can see the color better.

Isn't it beautiful!!!  It makes me so happy to look at it with some color.  It is a bright yellow but it is an amazing color and I am very happy with it.  I hope it does not offend too many people.  LOL!  The closet got cleaned and organized and it is so easy to find the items that we need now.  In addition, I got all the boxes move to the other storage room and the cable got ran from the LCD projector to the computer so that hopefully that will work better and we can use the room with the equipment in the room already.  Thank you again Mike Linares for all your hard work tonight.  I know you keep saying that you have never worked as hard since I keep you so busy with cleaning, moving things and organizing but I do truly appreciate everything you do for the school, students, parents and myself!!

So tomorrow is Disney day with the girls.  I am so excited and am trying to stay as busy as possible right now.  Summer school is coming up and of course I am still working on m PhD so I should have plenty to occupy my time as I move forward!!!    Hope you all are ready for a great summer and have the opportunity to spend time with friends, family and those you care about.  For my friends in South Carolina, let me know if any of you are coming west!!  Would love to see you!!

Memorial Day and Birthday Week

Well I had every intention of doing a lot over Memorial Day weekend on the PhD but that did not happen the way that I wanted it to.  I worked on it, but did not get near as much done as I desired and was not able to look up all the articles I needed to since i am presently not enrolled as a student.  Opps!!!  Google is good for some things but when you need Academic Peer Reviewed documents - not so much.  I got a lot of items at least organized….

So school this week was rough.  Lots to do and such little time to do it in and everyone is worried about the end of school - what end????  We still have two weeks left and we still ned to be teaching and working to ensure students have every opportunity to make up work and pass their classes.   So many of the students have somewhat checked out with the last two weeks and now we are starting senior actives like assemblies, breakfasts, awards nights and we are not even at the end of school.  I find it funny to do a month long celebration.  In fact, we named salutatorian and valedictorian all the way back in January.  Crazy!!!!!!

So Wednesday, was May 28th - my birthday.   Many of you know that I don't celebrate birthdays the way that most people do.  This is for several reasons:  1) my birthday is always around Memorial Day so everyone is always busy or gone on vacation.  When I was younger and my mom did birthday partices, we always had to do them at the beginning of May because around my birthday school would be out and people would be gone.  2) My parents never really made a big deal about my birthday so it was just habit not to as well.  3)  I don't like to be embarrassed through people singing to me or making a big deal where people stare at you.  (I do like my friend Benetta's idea that a birthday is something you celebrate for you and therefore you take the day off and do something that YOU want to do!  I might need to adopt this!!!)  This year is the first birthday that I have not been near my mom, not that I saw her on my birthday but at least the weekend before or after we would get together for dinner.  Obviously that is a little harder this year.    I thought I had kept my birthday a secret from all but a few people (there was only one person who I really bugged about it), but my secretary did not let it go unnoticed or Megan.  I came into work to a treat of two sets of yellow flowers on my desk.

Set one by my computer.

Set 2 - On my desk.

When Jaque, my secretary came in, she brought me another set of flowers and a small cake, which was incredibly sweet and such a nice surprise.  I did split the cake with everyone in the office at lunchtime.

Flowers and cake from Jaque

So, I got a special delivery of flowers from my best friend from high school today as well.  It was of course a complete surprise and yes, I did cry about it.  They were beautiful!!!  Yellow flowers and a purple ribbon.  Jamie of course tells me the purple ribbon is a hug from her since she cannot be there with me on this particular day.

Flowers from my High School BFF - Jamie!!!

After lunch, I was working with a student in my office with my door closed and the Attendance Secretary called me to let me know she needed me.  This is very unlikely, since she never calls unless it is an emergency.  It had already been a crazy day and a hard day for me to begin with.  I finished working with the student and opened the door only to have the Multicultural Class sing Happy Birthday to me and provide a large poster that was a birthday card.

I left work at 6:15 pm to make it to Temecula to eat dinner with Erin and Bri.  Erin had decided we were doing this last week and I have to say that I was totally excited and thrilled that Erin and Bri were taking me out to eat.  We went to a restaurant in Old Town, Temecula called the PUBlic House and it was fabulous.  They had vegetarian options and we had a great time.  The evening ended with Bundt Cakes from the bakery across the way and it was delicious!!!!  However, all I can think about is the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding and how the lady could not pronounce Bundt and kept saying Butt Cake.  LOL!!!

Dinner at the PUBlic House

My Birthday Bundt Cake

 Thank you to everyone who sent me birthday wishes via Facebook.  I realize a lot of times we get distracted with Social Media and we forget to talk, but I do enjoy seeing what everyone is doing and it is nice to get birthday wishes via Facebook.

This weekend, I worked on Saturday to slay the Summer School Master Schedule Beast with Ali Lattimer.  It was a great reminder / refresher / lesson in how difficult the REAL Master Schedule is going to be and to work through the problems to make small changes.  I have a better understanding of what is happening now and where to go for the normal Master Schedule.  I don't think we are going to be able to slay that beast in one day like we did the summer school beast!!

The 99.8% are a result of three kids who are registered incorrectly or it would be 100%

After Ali and I finished the schedule, we went to see the new Maleficent movie by Disney.  It was AMAZING!!!!  I love the idea of looking at something from another point of view and this is the story of Sleeping Beauty from Malificent's point of view.  I was very well done and I encourage anyone who is slightly a fan of Angelina Joli, Sleeping Beauty or Disney to see it.  You will not be disappointed at all!!!

Hooray!!!  Great Movie!!!

Sunday was a day of catch up and planning.  I ran errands this morning to get groceries and be ready for the upcoming week.  While i was shopping I ran into these!!!  Debbie Bishop - I am sure you are loving these and enjoying smokes all the time!!!  Not sure how well these will cook over the fire but when I say them all I could think was Joe Adair Center - if I have to eat another Smore……..  LOL!!!!

However, if you use these in the microwave, I can see these being a great development.  I just think they would fall off the stick….  If anyone uses them, let me know, I am curious.

I also baked a cake today for Megan's birthday.  I know, bake……I don't do that well so we will have to see how it goes.  In fact, I did something off of Pinterest.  I know…I know…. it could be a disaster.  It took awhile but it is done.  Michael Roe's birthday is May 20th so the dinner at the Roe's tonight was to celebrate his birthday.  It was great to see his parents Tammy an Bill also while I was there!!!  His sister Sara and her family were there also, which is always fun!!  Upon return to the apartment, I went looking for the stray cat.  Yes, you heard me. ….  There is a stray pregnant cat that is around here and hangs out at my sliding glass door.  I have not seen her in about 48 hours so I am wondering if she has had her kittens.  I did not find her, but she did show up about 10:00 pm on Sunday night.  Still pregnant so no kitties born yet.  So….hopefully sometime this week!!!!!  I spent the rest of the night working on items with Squeak…See how cute she is…