Last night, a bunch of good friends at the fire house helped me celebrate my birthday. We had a great time and I got to escape my problems for a bit. Many drinks were had in my grandmother's name.
Today I achieved a personal landmark: I ran 40 miles in the month of June. It's not quite 10 miles per week, but it's close. Not only that, but I'm on a 9-day workout streak. I think I could keep this up. It's amazing how much extra energy I have when I'm not on my feet and teaching all day.
I made an appointment with a moving company. It's real. I'm outta Bridgeport and heading to New Jersey.
Lastly, I decided to head to San Francisco for a week. I'll get to catch up with my sister, and enjoy the MILD weather. I'm trading in the 90 degree days for 65 degree days. I don't like flying, but I've bought a season of ER on my iPad and downloaded a few podcasts. It's a long flight, but I think I can make it. My next update will come from the sunny Bay Area!
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Summer
I've been hearing complaints from some of my readers that I haven't updated in a while (Hi, Mom!), so I guess it's time. I haven't been busy (in fact, quite the opposite), but I've been preoccupied. My grandmother is sick, and while I'm trying to help out as much as I can, it's wearing on my family. I wish I could fix everything. Instead, I'll just help out with dinner sometimes and stay far away other times.
School didn't end with a bang, it was more of a pphhhhhtt. Like, when the whoopie cushion isn't really filled enough, and you don't even get that satisfying fart noise. That was how school ended. I got many well wishes from colleagues, but no fireworks. What should I have expected?
Last week, I took a trip to Atlantic City. I had a great time doing sensible things, and we got our hotel room comped. It was a lovely trip, but we decided against staying a second night because, somehow, those comp rooms end up costing way more than you think. I spend the next day sitting by my boyfriend's family's pool, soaking up the shade (it was over 90 degrees F) and reading a book. I bought a new book, The Emperor of All Maladies, which is turning out to be pretty fantastic. It is a sort of narrative history of cancer, from the first recorded descriptions of tumor-like things. I'm already at the first developed chemotherapy, and really enjoying the read. It's a good book for anyone who enjoys science history (is that even a thing?).
I also sat down with my grandfather, after purchasing a really cool digital voice recorder, to begin my adventure of writing his Holocaust survival story. That was an awesome and humbling and overwhelming experience, and I've only just begun. I'll share more details in future posts.
The rest of my time has been split between fire department adventures and triathlon training. I've gotten to go to one more fire department parade and attended a few ambulance calls. I love EMS. I love feeling in control of EVERYTHING.
The triathlon training has been fun, but challenging. It's nice to have the time to really work hard, and I've been really exploring my parent's neighborhood. It's really a new way to look at the town, after living here for 20 years. Exploring on foot makes it a more fun place, and I'm really starting to appreciate every little hill and dip. And, believe it or not, I am enjoying all the hills. It adds an extra little challenge to every run and bike, making it a little more interesting.
In the last week, I have run 14.3 miles, biked 18.7 miles, and swum 1.2 miles. I know the bike number is a little shoddy, but I've been lazy about either riding rough hills or schlepping the bike somewhere flatter. Today I schlepped the bike, and got a lovely 13 mile ride. This month, I've run 37.8 miles (I guess Saturday's run will be 2.2 miles), which is the most I've done since my poorly-planned half marathon training of a year ago. Also, in the month of June, I've trained 3 hours each week.
The weight loss has kind of plateaued, which is not the worst thing in the world. If I end up stuck at not-quite-goal-but-lighter-than-I've-been-since-2006 weight, I'll be pretty happy.
Last Friday marked the 60-day point in my 90-day challenge. I haven't quite made the weight loss goal (134 lbs instead of 133 lbs), and haven't been consistent enough training (averaging 9 miles per week run instead of 10), but I haven't had any microwaved meals in the last month!
Third 30 days
Weight goal: 131 lbs (this has been my arbitrary goal since 2009)
Running goal: average of 15 miles per week
Diet goal: this is the summer, home-cooked meal at least 3x/week
I don't think I'll make the weight goal, but I'm up for trying 15 miles per week. And I've got to get cooking.
School didn't end with a bang, it was more of a pphhhhhtt. Like, when the whoopie cushion isn't really filled enough, and you don't even get that satisfying fart noise. That was how school ended. I got many well wishes from colleagues, but no fireworks. What should I have expected?
Last week, I took a trip to Atlantic City. I had a great time doing sensible things, and we got our hotel room comped. It was a lovely trip, but we decided against staying a second night because, somehow, those comp rooms end up costing way more than you think. I spend the next day sitting by my boyfriend's family's pool, soaking up the shade (it was over 90 degrees F) and reading a book. I bought a new book, The Emperor of All Maladies, which is turning out to be pretty fantastic. It is a sort of narrative history of cancer, from the first recorded descriptions of tumor-like things. I'm already at the first developed chemotherapy, and really enjoying the read. It's a good book for anyone who enjoys science history (is that even a thing?).
I also sat down with my grandfather, after purchasing a really cool digital voice recorder, to begin my adventure of writing his Holocaust survival story. That was an awesome and humbling and overwhelming experience, and I've only just begun. I'll share more details in future posts.
The rest of my time has been split between fire department adventures and triathlon training. I've gotten to go to one more fire department parade and attended a few ambulance calls. I love EMS. I love feeling in control of EVERYTHING.
The triathlon training has been fun, but challenging. It's nice to have the time to really work hard, and I've been really exploring my parent's neighborhood. It's really a new way to look at the town, after living here for 20 years. Exploring on foot makes it a more fun place, and I'm really starting to appreciate every little hill and dip. And, believe it or not, I am enjoying all the hills. It adds an extra little challenge to every run and bike, making it a little more interesting.
In the last week, I have run 14.3 miles, biked 18.7 miles, and swum 1.2 miles. I know the bike number is a little shoddy, but I've been lazy about either riding rough hills or schlepping the bike somewhere flatter. Today I schlepped the bike, and got a lovely 13 mile ride. This month, I've run 37.8 miles (I guess Saturday's run will be 2.2 miles), which is the most I've done since my poorly-planned half marathon training of a year ago. Also, in the month of June, I've trained 3 hours each week.
The weight loss has kind of plateaued, which is not the worst thing in the world. If I end up stuck at not-quite-goal-but-lighter-than-I've-been-since-2006 weight, I'll be pretty happy.
Last Friday marked the 60-day point in my 90-day challenge. I haven't quite made the weight loss goal (134 lbs instead of 133 lbs), and haven't been consistent enough training (averaging 9 miles per week run instead of 10), but I haven't had any microwaved meals in the last month!
Third 30 days
Weight goal: 131 lbs (this has been my arbitrary goal since 2009)
Running goal: average of 15 miles per week
Diet goal: this is the summer, home-cooked meal at least 3x/week
I don't think I'll make the weight goal, but I'm up for trying 15 miles per week. And I've got to get cooking.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
The End
I can't believe it is finally June 19. I have looked at this day on the calendar a million times, and it always seemed so far away. This is it. This is the last day of school, the end of my first year of teaching. In a few short hours, I will no longer be a first year teacher, and never will again. I can sleep, relax, and...start thinking about next year.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Race Report
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Today is a modified schedule, which usually ends up screwing me over. Instead of having an easy day full of small classes spread out over the day, I have my homeroom class the whole day, except when they have specials. As I explained to one of my students, I love them and I love teaching, but I hate babysitting. I hate sitting around doing nothing.
So, instead, I'll listen to the girly chatter in the back of the room as I write a race report from yesterday's triathlon.
Pre-Race: On Friday night, I noticed a nagging pain in my lower back that was certain to turn into pulled muscle pain. And it did. There is nothing quite like a pulled lower back muscle. It is impossible to do anything without using that muscle, including sitting, standing, reaching, and lying down. I spent Friday evening furiously sitting in a recliner wrapped in a heating pad, breaking my "no alcohol within a week before a race" rule for the sake of the race. A glass of wine really helped. And with a glass of wine and a decent quantity of naproxen in my, I managed merely a mediocre night's sleep. The following day involved much more reclining heating padding, and I slowly started to feel better. I even felt well(-ish) enough to march in the Nassau County 5th Battalion (Fire Department) Parade. This year, though, I invested in some Dr. Scholl's for my flat and clunky parade dress shoes, and the parade route was only about a mile long (compared to last year's 2+ miles). With the intention of healing, I even had a beer at the parade, and some cotton candy to carbo-load. I tried to go to sleep early, but ended up staying up too late and getting about 6.5 hours of sleep. Great way to prepare for a race.
Race Morning: I had to be at the race at 6AM, because my mom was volunteering (and because of her volunteering, I got a free race entry). For the last two years, the race has been exceptionally run. Last year, they didn't let my mom park in the volunteer's parking lot because I was there too, and they didn't want to crowd the volunteer area with bicycles. This year, I should have known something was wrong, because they didn't even care. There were so few volunteers that it didn't matter. The race was also run by a different organization than the last few years.
I had eaten some bread in the car, and packed some extra TP just in case, because I had been having tummy troubles. I ended up stopping at the bathroom twice before the race, with no success. I hoped it wouldn't become a problem during the race. I unpacked in transition, which was especially chaotic. The bike racks were labelled by hundreds (as race number 1000, I was on the 1000-1099 rack), so we had to choose our own spot. It was fine at 6AM, but as more racers showed up, the rack was getting crowded. A couple of overly possessive racers were not good at sharing.
Picking up my chip was a whole ordeal. My mother was volunteering here pre-race, and I felt bad that she had to deal with this stuff. When I arrived at the timing table, I was told to look up my chip number on the list posted behind the table. The list was alphabetical, and the chip numbers did not correspond to race numbers. I was supposed to find my name, look up my chip number, and go pick up my chip. I then had pick up a neoprene band, so I could attach the chip to the band myself, before strapping it to my ankle. This wouldn't have been so bad, except my name wasn't on the list. And neither were about 20 other people's. We waited for the race director, who sent us over to the timing tent. At the timing tent, were were assigned chip numbers and told to write down our name, age, gender, and event (tri, du, or 5K). Then I could finally get my chip, attach it to the band, and Velcro it to my ankle.
It was a little chilly, so I put on my wetsuit early. I met a few lovely women in the transition area, and we had some nice chats about how a career in education is quite conducive to triathlon training. We were told to be in transition at 7:15 for announcements, but when there were no announcements by 7:25, I headed down to the water. The official start was 7:30, but I had no idea what wave I was in. I stuck with other orange-swim-capped folk.
When I arrived at the water, it was clear the race wasn't starting any time soon. They had set out the buoys, but had no means of anchoring them down, so within minutes the current had carried them back to shore. While they sorted out the mess, I jumped into the water to get acclimated. Other than the initial shock of cold water down the back of my wetsuit, it was actually pretty nice. The few weeks of unseasonably warm weather made the water warmer than usual. I dunked my head under, and swam a few strokes until I could breathe normally. Good enough, let's get ready to race.
The Race: The first wave began (as rumor had it, I was in the 4th or 5th wave), and the swim course was now marked off with one smallish yellow buoy being held in place by a volunteer on a surf board, a large white sign on a dock, and an orange flag at the exit. Certainly not ideal, but I'd get extra practice sighting. The first wave went around the far side of the dock, but the second wave got pulled in by the current and stayed to the inside of it. Nobody seemed to know what was going on. As I was trying to figure it out, a bunch of orange swim caps got in the water, so I went up to the starting line. In the two minutes before our wave, swimmers were slowly drifting out in a clump, basically shortening the course considerably. No race director was stopping them, or even saying anything, and by the time the wave started, some of the orange swim caps were treading water about 100m away from the swim start. I hung out in the middle of the group, not wanting to cheat, but also not wanting to get left behind.
As usual, the gun went off and I forgot to start my watch until a couple of minutes in. The swim started off remarkably smooth, and I quietly hummed a tune to myself to keep my breathing even. As we passed the first buoy, I asked the volunteer on the surf board which side of the dock we should swim on. He said that the current is pulling people inward, so I should try to stay as close to the dock as possible, but not go around it. Okayyyyyyy. The swim went well, and for the first time in my triathlon career, I got out of the water in the middle-ish of the pack. It felt good. As I treked towards T1, I looked at my watch. I know I had started the timer late, but 15 minutes for an 800 meter swim was ridiculous. The course must have been short. When all was said and done, my swim time ended up around 19:30, which was way too fast for the course to have been a full 800 meters.
T1 went well, and because my swim was strong, there were still other women in the transition area. We chatted a bit while struggling to pull off wet wetsuits. I didn't rush, but worked smoothly. I didn't forget to take my chip, and left T1 in 4:03 feeling good.
The bike felt good all around. It was a 2-loop course, with some rolling hills. I took the first loop strategically, making tight turns and really picking up speed on the downhills. I had trained at about 12 mph, so I was happy to complete the first look at 13.3 mph. On the second loop, I really cranked it up the hills, trying hard to pass a 14-year old boy on a mountain bike. I made friends with a woman who, I discovered after the race, I had already met a few times at FD-related events. I finished the bike feeling great. 50:03, average 13.8 mph.
T2 was also smooth, although I had to switch the chip to my other ankle, because it was sandy and starting to chafe. 2 minutes even.
The run started okay, but my calves started cramping up about 100 meters in. Ugh, this was gonna be tough. I fell into a good breathing pattern, but I spent the entire 3 miles thinking I could have moved faster if only my calves were at all functional. At a big ugly hill in the last mile, I kept on keeping on, but the steep incline gave my calves a good stretching, and I finished feeling good. My mom was cheering on and directing runners around the last bend, and that gave the the oomph to finish strong. I ended up doing the first mile in about 12 and the second and third at 11:00, for a total of 34:20.
As I crossed the finish line, I heard the announcer fumbling to find my name. Number 1000...is...uh...part of relay team 404...and then he announced a name that wasn't mine. Interesting. Then I forgot to stop my watch at the end, and the clock time reflected the first wave start time, so I wasn't quite sure right away whether I had achieved my goal (beating the last two years' times).
Post-Race: I handed off my chip (after separating it from the band), and looked for a finsher's medal--only to find they had run out. Awesome. I stretched out my legs, swallowed a gel, and chugged some water. I then accompanied my parents to our 3rd annual post-triathlon Father's Day binge at the diner. I enjoyed a tomato juice (mmmm, salty and satisfying), vanilla egg cream, Belgian waffle, 2 fried eggs, and French Fries. I probably consumed more calories than I burned in the race, but I was still proud.
I didn't have a good finishing time, so I kept checking the race website to see when it would be updated. By about 1PM, the race website was down, so I figured they were updating it, but when it wasn't fixed by dinner time, I went right to the timing company's website. I searched the results, and found neither my name nor my race number. Fortunately, I have a head for numbers, and I remembered my chip number. By CTRL+F-ing my chip number, I found Relay Team 404, whose numbers mostly matched mine (at least, T1 through the run). After being baffled by the hugely wrong swim time (31:30) and finishing time (over 2 hours), I realized that since they thought I was a relay team (who started in the 1st wave), my swim and final times were off by the difference between the 1st and 4th swim waves.
I tried to use the times of the people I'd seen in T1 with me, but by the evening, the race website was back up and had posted the planned wave start times (why this wasn't posted before the race baffles me, but maybe a lot of people had difficulties with timing), and I saw that my wave was 12:00 after the relay's wave. The new website also included the instruction to contact the timing company directly with any questions or concerns. After some math, I calculated my final time to be 1:49:55, which is faster than the last two years, but really unknown given the debatable distance of the swim.
Despite the horrible organization of the race (that many said they wouldn't race again here), I raced strong and finished feeling good. I could have pushed harder, but now I feel healthy and ready to continue training tomorrow.
As for school, this is getting tedious. Only half of today and half of tomorrow left. 8 hours. 480 minutes.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Triathlon
Today's entry is dedicated to Sunday's triathlon, the Long Island Gold Coast Triathlon. It is a sprint distance, which means a 0.5 mile swim, 11.5 mile bike, and a 3 mile run. Last year I finished in 2:00:46, and the year before in 1:56:44. My goal this year is to beat both of those times, and I have a specific plan to do so.
I think I am in overall better shape this year than for the last two years, although I've only done one (!) swimming workout. I've been running a lot more this year, and while I haven't done a whole lot of biking, I've done more than last year. I think I'm all packed and ready. My packing list is as follows:
To wear:
Tri shorts
Tank top
To bring:
Wetsuit
Goggles
Swim cap
Bike number
Number belt w/ number
Bike shoes
Helmet
Bike
Sunglasses
Hat
Running shoes
Socks
Body Glide
Extra socks
Towel
Poland Spring water bottle (for washing feet after swim exit)
Regular water bottle (to put in bicycle)
Energy gel (to put on bicycle)
Bike pump
Plastic shopping bag (for wetsuit)
The swim is what worries me the most. Last year, I jumped in and just freaked out. I couldn't catch my breath and couldn't get into a rhythm. I struggled for a whole 27 minutes. It was awful, and hurt me for the entire race. I just couldn't settle down for the race. This time will be different. I'm not going to worry about time. Two years ago, I was better prepared, because I was training at Brown's year-round indoor pool, and I zoomed through in about 21 minutes. So, last year, I worried about timing. This year, I don't care how long it takes me (I actually do, but I have to lie to myself). I am going to think about three things: BREATHE, RELAX, SIGHT (sighting is periodically looking up to make sure I'm on the right path -- it's very hard to swim in a straight line when there isn't a black line drawn along the bottom of the swim route). And then, there's the lesson I learned from Finding Nemo: "Just keep swimming." I'll do that. "A" Goal - 22:00; "B" Goal - 25:00; BREATHE, RELAX, SIGHT.
For T1 (the first transition, from swim to bike), I'm focusing on not forgetting my timing chip. In order to keep track of our times throughout the race, we wear a RFID (?) tag sewn to a Neoprene band, Velcroed to one ankle. Two years ago, in an attempt to more easily remove my wetsuit in a hurry, I took off my timing chip, with the intention of putting it back on before I got on the bike. I forgot. I had to throw it on after the bike, and it screwed up all my splits, although at least the final time was recorded. I won't make that mistake again. "A" - 4:00; "B" - 4:30; CHIP CHIP CHIP.
On the bike, I've just got to keep moving. I have a habit of settling into an easy, slow pace, and just not pushing myself. The course is pretty flat, other than a couple of sharp turns followed by hills, but I should be able to maintain a pretty good pace. A - 45:00; B - 55:00; JUST KEEP SPINNING.
T2 is much easier. Take off bike shoes, put on running shoes. Take off helmet, put on hat. I don't want to forget my hat, and I don't want to fall over while putting on shoes. A - 1:00; B - 2:00; HAT, BALANCE.
The run will feel terrible. That's the way it is in triathlon. There's something about going from a bike to a run that just feels awful. The weather should be a little cooler than last year, though, so I'll feel less awful. Last year, I did a terrible run. I stopped to walk a lot, and ended up with the 3 miles in 40 minutes. This time, I have to keep moving, and not fall into my comfortably slow pace. It's a race, and if I don't feel like dying when I cross the finish line, than I didn't try hard enough. A - 30:00; B - 33:00; MOVE, BREATHE.
Final: A - 1:45:00; B - 1:55:00. I want to finish faster than the last two times. I'd like to show some improvement. And then, once I'm done, I will go to the diner with my parents and eat my favorite post-race meal: a stack of pancakes, fried eggs over french fries, and a vanilla egg cream. Then a nap. I know I can do that part, I just gotta earn it.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
EOY Reflecting
I don't know how I'm going to make it through the summer. I still have a week of school left, and I'm already bored! My room is packed, and I just found out I don't have anything else to do:
"May I invite a couple of students to help unpack after school tomorrow?"
"You don't want to unpack for another teacher, they'll do it next year."
Okay. I guess I'm done with the packing, until I move to New Jersey in July.
I've finished grading, and updating cumulative folders, and I've done everything I can so far to further my NJ certification, and I've found an apartment, and I have to stay at school for another hour and a half. I've already been surfing the web all day, and I've played all my games of Words with Friends, and I've planned the next six months of running, biking, and swimming. Everything else on my to-do list requires me to be elsewhere, such as cleaning my kitchen, cleaning my apartment, and cleaning my car.
This schedule is a little frustrating. The marking period ended Friday, so we can't give any graded work this week, and the kids know that. There are seven half days of school after grades close, and since they're half days, kids aren't going to take it seriously anyway. I've watched Finding Nemo 3 times in the last two weeks, and today we finished Rango and started Alvin and the Chipmunks: Something Something Werewolf. It's also been rainy, so I can't really take out my frustration by running. In fact, this week I'm resting for the triathlon on Sunday, so I can't really run too hard anyway.
I guess I deserve the chance to relax a bit. Judging by the end of year surveys I gave the kids, I was not as bad as I thought. Students almost universally said that I challenged them and helped them to understand. They said they learned a lot this year. Their suggestions were to incorporate more/better labs to engage them in the material, so they will put more effort into learning and less into messing around. I think I'm going to work much harder on student engagement next year.
I had to write an end of year reflection for TFA (always reflecting, always in charts on Word documents). I'll end with some highlights:
"May I invite a couple of students to help unpack after school tomorrow?"
"You don't want to unpack for another teacher, they'll do it next year."
Okay. I guess I'm done with the packing, until I move to New Jersey in July.
I've finished grading, and updating cumulative folders, and I've done everything I can so far to further my NJ certification, and I've found an apartment, and I have to stay at school for another hour and a half. I've already been surfing the web all day, and I've played all my games of Words with Friends, and I've planned the next six months of running, biking, and swimming. Everything else on my to-do list requires me to be elsewhere, such as cleaning my kitchen, cleaning my apartment, and cleaning my car.
This schedule is a little frustrating. The marking period ended Friday, so we can't give any graded work this week, and the kids know that. There are seven half days of school after grades close, and since they're half days, kids aren't going to take it seriously anyway. I've watched Finding Nemo 3 times in the last two weeks, and today we finished Rango and started Alvin and the Chipmunks: Something Something Werewolf. It's also been rainy, so I can't really take out my frustration by running. In fact, this week I'm resting for the triathlon on Sunday, so I can't really run too hard anyway.
I guess I deserve the chance to relax a bit. Judging by the end of year surveys I gave the kids, I was not as bad as I thought. Students almost universally said that I challenged them and helped them to understand. They said they learned a lot this year. Their suggestions were to incorporate more/better labs to engage them in the material, so they will put more effort into learning and less into messing around. I think I'm going to work much harder on student engagement next year.
I had to write an end of year reflection for TFA (always reflecting, always in charts on Word documents). I'll end with some highlights:
Write
a brief narrative of your most vivid classroom memory (150 words or less).
Take
no more than 10 minutes to do this.
(This
is purposefully vague. Be
creative! Write about your funniest,
most moving, most fulfilling, most disastrous, most embarrassing, most
shocking, or epiphanic moment).
|
I’ve been pretty nervous about telling my 7th
graders I won’t be teaching them next year. I didn’t know what their
responses would be. Would they be happy? Devastated? Somewhere in between? I announced
it to one class yesterday afternoon and the other class this morning. My
first class had the best response. After they got past the initial
disappointment of discovering that my “big announcement” did not include
pregnancy, they were genuinely happy for me. One student said, almost
immediately, “Can we have a group hug?” As I tightly gripped the empty
Tupperware container from the homemade Rice Krispy Treats I had used to bribe
them into forgiving me, about a dozen students ran up to the front of the
room in a heartwarming, awkward, multicolored group hug.
|
Summer
Planning:
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
If TFA-CT had a soundtrack, what song would be on
the list?
|
There’s a story behind this one. In May 2011, I
ran a half marathon. I was terribly undertrained, and a little burnt out from
the training that I did do, and the race was awful. However, I had sat the
night before and made a playlist, planning the entire 2+ hours of the race:
first, pumping up music; then, zoning out music; lastly, keep moving despite
the pain music. I had planned it so that just as I was approaching the finish
line, I would get blasted with “Eye of the Tiger” to carry me to the end.
Unfortunately, I was about 10 minutes slower than I had anticipated, and had
to restart the song two times before I got there, but I finished with that
song playing in my ears and fists raised victoriously in the air after 2
hours, 44 minutes, and 24 seconds of running (and some walking, and one
bathroom break). This year has been a Rocky montage. There was some music,
but mostly huge amounts of improvement and learning in a short time, with
some really motivational people behind me.
|
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
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Monday, June 11, 2012
Paperwork
Now that the year is really wrapping up, there is a lot of last-minute paperwork to do. I see the value in some of it, but there is a lot of unnecessary tedium. I spent a couple of hours today updating the students' cumulative folders, their permanent records that follow them until high school graduation (hopefully). In order to do this, I had to access data stored online, and then copy it down into the folder. Twice. For each student. Isn't it easier just to save the data electronically? This seems like it is adding a ton of man hours and room for errors. Oh well, not surprising.
Three of my students are not being promoted to 8th grade, but two of them can make it up with summer school. District policy is that a student has to pass Language Arts (Reading OR Writing) and Math, and either Science or Social Studies. That seems like a lot of room for failure, but I guess we can't leave any children behind, even if they are unprepared.
Today, I told my homeroom class I was leaving. I got a few sad looks, but they're mostly excited for me. There was even a group hug there. I'll miss these kids. A lot.
The big news is that I think I've found an apartment. I'm anxious about having the application approved, because I still haven't accepted that I'm a self-sufficient grown-up, but it should be fine. It's a gorgeous 1-bedroom apartment in Piscataway, in a brand new never-lived-in building. There's a whole room for an office, an in-unit laundry room, and an extra 1/2 bathroom. The kitchen is beautiful and has stainless steel appliances (included a dishwasher and a mounted microwave). I'm so excited about it. The only downside is that they don't accept any pets. That means no puppy for at least a year (and up to four years) and I have to find a home for my gerbils, Piggles and Mudge.
This marks just under a week until my first triathlon of the season. That means no alcohol or dairy until then, and only limited workouts. I'm still a little sore after combining a long run (4.5 miles) with a long bike (12 miles) on Friday. I also completed my second consecutive 10-mile week, which is a first. Ever. Hopefully I've got a habit here (except this week, when I'm resting up for the race).
Three of my students are not being promoted to 8th grade, but two of them can make it up with summer school. District policy is that a student has to pass Language Arts (Reading OR Writing) and Math, and either Science or Social Studies. That seems like a lot of room for failure, but I guess we can't leave any children behind, even if they are unprepared.
Today, I told my homeroom class I was leaving. I got a few sad looks, but they're mostly excited for me. There was even a group hug there. I'll miss these kids. A lot.
The big news is that I think I've found an apartment. I'm anxious about having the application approved, because I still haven't accepted that I'm a self-sufficient grown-up, but it should be fine. It's a gorgeous 1-bedroom apartment in Piscataway, in a brand new never-lived-in building. There's a whole room for an office, an in-unit laundry room, and an extra 1/2 bathroom. The kitchen is beautiful and has stainless steel appliances (included a dishwasher and a mounted microwave). I'm so excited about it. The only downside is that they don't accept any pets. That means no puppy for at least a year (and up to four years) and I have to find a home for my gerbils, Piggles and Mudge.
This marks just under a week until my first triathlon of the season. That means no alcohol or dairy until then, and only limited workouts. I'm still a little sore after combining a long run (4.5 miles) with a long bike (12 miles) on Friday. I also completed my second consecutive 10-mile week, which is a first. Ever. Hopefully I've got a habit here (except this week, when I'm resting up for the race).
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Packing
The year is really wrapping up. There is no real "class" going on anymore, even though I really tried to have lessons planned. The schedule is all screwy, I don't know in advance whether I'm going to have a class, and much of the time is spent packing up the room anyway.
Of course, the students are always good for reminding me why I do this. On Monday, I was doing a lesson on ecology and food chains for my 7th graders. The Do Now was: What did you have for lunch yesterday? Where did the food come from? Several students commented that they weren't in school yesterday (Sunday). I said, "What, you don't eat lunch on weekends?" A few of them said, "Nope."
It's not all bad, though. Yesterday, a student of mine, who can never keep her nose out of a book, asked me for a book recommendation. I recommended Ender's Game. I then hung my hat on the wall, put my feet up, and felt pretty satisfied with my first year teaching.
There are 8 days of school left, although I am taking tomorrow off to spend with my family, and 6 of the rest are half days. According to my calculations, if there are no additional obstacles to class like graduation rehearsal (which there will be), I have only 23 classes to teach and 40 working periods (class, lunch duty, homerooms, etc). That's 1600 minutes or less. This is crazy.
I also realized I no longer have Sunday anxiety. It took me 9 months, but I don't spend Sunday worrying about my week. I'm cool.
At least, with the ease of teaching these days, I have been getting my training in. Last night, I was feeling antsy, so I ran 1.5 miles just because. I've been pretty consistently running 10 miles per week and throwing in some biking and swimming too. I don't know if I'll win any awards in the triathlon on the 17th, but I have a good chance of beating my best time.
During testing, and other times when I don't have a lot to do, I've been working on my training plan. I pretty much have a running plan mapped out (theoretically - this never actually works out) until February. I would like to do an Olympic Triathlon in August, a half marathon in October, and possibly a full marathon (26.2 miles) on the day I turn 26 - June 29, 2013. By February, I could have my running base up to 25 miles per week, which is sufficient to start training for a marathon. I might even consider a half Ironman in 2013 or 2014. It sounds crazy, and really intimidating, but I've noticed that the more I squeeze running into my schedule, the more it happens to find time on its own. I'm really making a habit of it.
Now I only have to decide if I want to do the North Jersey Half Marathon or the Hershey Half Marathon in October. Hershey is 2.5 hours away from where I'm living, but it's Hershey. Chocolate everywhere.
Of course, the students are always good for reminding me why I do this. On Monday, I was doing a lesson on ecology and food chains for my 7th graders. The Do Now was: What did you have for lunch yesterday? Where did the food come from? Several students commented that they weren't in school yesterday (Sunday). I said, "What, you don't eat lunch on weekends?" A few of them said, "Nope."
It's not all bad, though. Yesterday, a student of mine, who can never keep her nose out of a book, asked me for a book recommendation. I recommended Ender's Game. I then hung my hat on the wall, put my feet up, and felt pretty satisfied with my first year teaching.
There are 8 days of school left, although I am taking tomorrow off to spend with my family, and 6 of the rest are half days. According to my calculations, if there are no additional obstacles to class like graduation rehearsal (which there will be), I have only 23 classes to teach and 40 working periods (class, lunch duty, homerooms, etc). That's 1600 minutes or less. This is crazy.
I also realized I no longer have Sunday anxiety. It took me 9 months, but I don't spend Sunday worrying about my week. I'm cool.
At least, with the ease of teaching these days, I have been getting my training in. Last night, I was feeling antsy, so I ran 1.5 miles just because. I've been pretty consistently running 10 miles per week and throwing in some biking and swimming too. I don't know if I'll win any awards in the triathlon on the 17th, but I have a good chance of beating my best time.
During testing, and other times when I don't have a lot to do, I've been working on my training plan. I pretty much have a running plan mapped out (theoretically - this never actually works out) until February. I would like to do an Olympic Triathlon in August, a half marathon in October, and possibly a full marathon (26.2 miles) on the day I turn 26 - June 29, 2013. By February, I could have my running base up to 25 miles per week, which is sufficient to start training for a marathon. I might even consider a half Ironman in 2013 or 2014. It sounds crazy, and really intimidating, but I've noticed that the more I squeeze running into my schedule, the more it happens to find time on its own. I'm really making a habit of it.
Now I only have to decide if I want to do the North Jersey Half Marathon or the Hershey Half Marathon in October. Hershey is 2.5 hours away from where I'm living, but it's Hershey. Chocolate everywhere.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Tests and More Tests
This week is Bridgeport's end-of-year testing. The district decided that since teachers tend to slack off towards the end of the year, they would introduce a new round of testing when everyone's already got one food out the door. I understand needing to hold teachers accountable, but this is a little ridiculous. Not only are we losing 90+ minutes of teaching for four days this week, we are also only testing in math and language arts. Anyone care about science? No? Beuller?
Testing was scheduled for Tuesday through Friday, but since Friday is field day, they decided to announce this morning that our testing would start THIS morning. Surprise! This time around, my class would not be split (~22 kids) and I wouldn't have help--but they were awesome anyway. I was proud of them and of me. I told them that if they're good this week, I'll make them Rice Krispy Treats, since I'll have a ton of bridge marshmallows left. I rediscovered these lovely treats this weekend at my attempt to ameliorate a very stressful situation, and they worked pretty well, with only about 10 minutes of preparation. The only hard part is clean up, but I dumped that on my mom (Sorry, Mom!).
The rest of the day had a lot of unmotivation from all sides. I heard a ton of rumors and discussion about changes in the school for next year, which had all of the teachers buzzing. They would be cutting down the middle school to only 2 seventh and 2 eighth grade classes (instead of 2 and 3), but they would all be maxed out at 29. Some of the other grades will also be shrunk, and some teachers are shifting around. A few of the newer lower elementary teachers were dumped. It sounds like it'll get a little messy, and the teachers were tense about it. I stood and smiled politely.
I spoke to my new principal today. She is a TFA 2002 CM in Newark and sounds awesome. North Star Academy is in a huge growth spurt, planning to double in size in the next several years. I'll be working at Vailsburg Middle School, which is adding in a 7th grade next year (previously only 5th and 6th grade). Two of the 6th grade science teachers will be moving up to 7th, to keep some continuity, and I'll be joining them. 7th grade science will consist of some Earth Science, some biology, and some chemistry.
I CAN'T WAIT. I was sent this year's quarterly assessments, to give me an idea of the curriculum (the best planning is backwards planning - use the assessments to drive objective-based lessons). I read through the first quarter exam, which included some weathering and erosion, and conservation, and then I got so excited I had to stop reading. I am so excited. I am going to do so much better at creating some sort of continuity in my class, so it tells a cohesive story. No more random units that students don't know why we're learning. Next year will be awesome.
Testing was scheduled for Tuesday through Friday, but since Friday is field day, they decided to announce this morning that our testing would start THIS morning. Surprise! This time around, my class would not be split (~22 kids) and I wouldn't have help--but they were awesome anyway. I was proud of them and of me. I told them that if they're good this week, I'll make them Rice Krispy Treats, since I'll have a ton of bridge marshmallows left. I rediscovered these lovely treats this weekend at my attempt to ameliorate a very stressful situation, and they worked pretty well, with only about 10 minutes of preparation. The only hard part is clean up, but I dumped that on my mom (Sorry, Mom!).
The rest of the day had a lot of unmotivation from all sides. I heard a ton of rumors and discussion about changes in the school for next year, which had all of the teachers buzzing. They would be cutting down the middle school to only 2 seventh and 2 eighth grade classes (instead of 2 and 3), but they would all be maxed out at 29. Some of the other grades will also be shrunk, and some teachers are shifting around. A few of the newer lower elementary teachers were dumped. It sounds like it'll get a little messy, and the teachers were tense about it. I stood and smiled politely.
I spoke to my new principal today. She is a TFA 2002 CM in Newark and sounds awesome. North Star Academy is in a huge growth spurt, planning to double in size in the next several years. I'll be working at Vailsburg Middle School, which is adding in a 7th grade next year (previously only 5th and 6th grade). Two of the 6th grade science teachers will be moving up to 7th, to keep some continuity, and I'll be joining them. 7th grade science will consist of some Earth Science, some biology, and some chemistry.
I CAN'T WAIT. I was sent this year's quarterly assessments, to give me an idea of the curriculum (the best planning is backwards planning - use the assessments to drive objective-based lessons). I read through the first quarter exam, which included some weathering and erosion, and conservation, and then I got so excited I had to stop reading. I am so excited. I am going to do so much better at creating some sort of continuity in my class, so it tells a cohesive story. No more random units that students don't know why we're learning. Next year will be awesome.
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