S-s-science Fair?

I made it 100% last week. 7 workouts in 7 days. (I had made a mistake when I said 8.) .9 miles swum, 60 min. biked, and 14.1 miles run. That's almost an Olympic Triathlon. I'm tired, but proud. Now to do it again this week (I'm 100% so far - 35 min biked yesterday!).


1 day until the NSA--but based on today's review game, I'm pretty hopeful. I worked privately with every single (non-special ed) kid who failed the diagnostic. I don't think that was enough to boost a 65 to a 75, but maybe it'll get a few 68's up to the magic 70. Although, my stated goal this time around is 80% of students scoring above 75%. I'm excited to see the numbers, but know that there's a lot of grading between now and then. Oy. No teaching tomorrow, but lots of grading.

Well, having three classes in a row this afternoon pretty much killed any chance for productivity this afternoon, so I'm glad I'm up to date on planning.

Oh yeah, there was a blizzard. We got about 6 inches of snow. All it took was a couple of minutes of (watching my boyfriend) clean off my car, and a horrible 6 miles on the treadmill (with 1.5 episodes of Law and Order: SVU).

I also had a date with my daddy this weekend. I got to spend a whole day in the city. First, I met my college roommate for lunch. I adore her and I'm always happy to see her. She's the kind of person that I expect to be at my wedding, my kid's bar mitzvah, and planning my 50th birthday party. Then I met my dad for some theater (The Mystery of Edwin Drood - phenomenal cast, some great humor, but dragged in the end) and a wonderful Italian dinner at my grandmother's favorite restaurant.


Over the course of the school year, several students have asked me whether there will be a science fair. I don't have to tell you how I feel about science fair. So, I dismissed their questions, and hoped the answer would be no. I found out this week that there wouldn't be a science fair until 8th grade (whew!), but I found a way that everyone could win--an opt-in Science Fair Club! Google is advertising their Google Science Fair, which I thought would be a perfect opportunity. The kids have the chance to win some really awesome prizes (10 day trip to the Galapagos, $50,000 scholarship, engineering lesson at CERN or LEGO, etc.), although I don't know if I have the mentoring ability to get them there on my first try. I will make it clear that this is a self-directed project. I will meet with students (and I only expect about half a dozen who are interested) on non-half-day Fridays after school until the April 30 deadline (there are 5). It's self limiting in several ways, and I have a whole year's experience in what NOT to do about a science fair. Let the games begin!