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The End of the School Year is Finally Here!! (A Lesson in Being Present in the Moment)

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The 2017-2018 school year has come to an end for me. This one went by REALLY fast. (In fact, each year seems to go faster than the last. I'm not sure how I feel about it.) The last month of school has been a frenzy of grading the last projects and assessments of the year, attending school events, keeping stir-crazy kids under control, and worrying about how everything is going to get done. There is a sense of urgency to the end of the year that's different from any other time of the year. So many work items come due at once. The last report card is given out on the last day of school, so all work from the quarter has to be graded and recorded by a deadline. (And in Catholic primary school, 8th graders get out three weeks earlier than everyone else so the urgency starts with them and goes on until the end of the year.) I have to complete a goal progress summary at the end of the year, which means time spent designing assessments for the students on my chosen goal, giving th
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Thoughts on the Royal Wedding...and What It Showed Me About God

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I'm a little late to the party in my analysis of the recent Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. (The end of the school year grading rush has been hitting me hard the last few weeks. I'm finally getting a lull now with only one week left of school.) But back on Saturday, May 19, I was one of those faithful royal fans who got up at 4:30am to watch coverage of the wedding on TV. Prior to Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding in 2011, I didn't really pay much attention to the British royals. I remember Princess Diana's death in 1997, but since I was only 9 years old I didn't fully appreciate the magnitude of that event. I remember my mom got up early to watch the funeral and she was very distressed about it all, but I was too young and I didn't know enough about the Royals to understand it all. Over the years I remember hearing occasional news stories about Princes William and Harry, their father Prince Charles, and the Queen of course, b
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Christmas Break Reflections - Finding Calm in the Whirlwind

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I'm nearing the end of Christmas Break and will be going back to work on Monday (January 8). I was supposed to start back at school tomorrow, but dangerous sub-zero windchills in the forecast led to school being canceled tomorrow and Friday. Now I get two extra days of break plus the weekend to enjoy before going back. Among other things on my to-do list, I get extra time to finish some grading - oops! - and take down my Christmas decorations. (Which will be on Sunday so at least some decorations stay up until Epiphany.) This post is meant to express my various rambling thoughts from Christmas Break. I hope they come together into a cohesive theme. People tend to comment that teachers "have it easy" because they get so much time off for summer, Christmas, Easter, etc. Although for me, and most teachers, I devote so much time to my work during the school year that I need all this time off to catch up on all the other areas of my life. Christmas break in particular is the
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My Best Friend's Wedding (A Lesson in Life's Twists and Turns)

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These thoughts have been swirling in my head for the last couple months and I finally have a chance to write them down. Let's hope this makes sense to readers on the outside. *Note: Name's changed for confidentiality. Earlier this fall, I was the Maid of Honor in my best friend Kristine's* wedding. Kristine and I have known each other since elementary school and we've been best friends since high school when we were both on the color guard together. We were co-captains our senior year and went on to do color guard together at Michigan State University. We were even roommates for our second two years of college. Needless to say, Kristine and I know each other very well and have been there for many important moments in each other's lives. I was actually present at the moment Kristine met her now-husband, Tim*, during our sophomore year of college. Tim played baritone and the baritone section happened to share the bus with the color guard that year. Kristine
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9/11- The World Stood Still... But Life Still Had to Go On

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When I'm asked, "Where were you on 9/11?" I find my story is very mundane and boring, at least on the surface. I was in 8th grade on September 11, 2001, going about my business like any other Tuesday that school year. Sixteen years later, as a teacher, I find myself imagining what it was like for my own teachers that day. What did it feel like to know the world as we knew it was changing and yet carry on with the business of teaching and learning as usual? What did it feel like to be the trusted adult face in front of a class of 13-year-olds, all looking to you as a source of facts, calm, comfort, and wisdom in the face of fear and confusion? The fact that my 9/11 story is boring to tell (although it was definitely not a boring day for me), means my teachers and administrators at Novi Middle School did their job well that day. And for that I'm forever grateful. So here is my "boring" story and what I learned about how to be a good teacher in the face of
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10 Steps for Getting Ready for a New School Year

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I started back to school last Monday, August 28. (And I've neglected by blog for a while since I've been caught in the whirlwind of school preparations.) After 6 years of teaching I've noticed a pattern of workflow and emotions that takes place in the month leading up to a new school year. So here's my explanation of how I get ready for the school year, with some humor. (At least I hope you think it's funny.) Step 1: Get the back-to-school reminder email from the principal and start thinking, "Oh man. Summer is winding down. The new school year is getting real again." This year that email came on July 31st, exactly 4 weeks from the start of school. It mostly contained the staff orientation schedule and info on when we were allowed back in our classrooms. Step 2: Get a slew of other emails from co-workers making plans for the start of the year, asking opinions, and giving other news. It's as if everyone was waiting for the principal to break the i
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Wedding Planning!...and Wisdom Teeth (My Life Recently, Part 2)

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Here is Part 2 of my recent life updates. The second half of my summer vacation has turned into a whirlwind of preliminary wedding plans. And on top of that I also had my wisdom teeth removed and had to take time to recover. It's been a challenge getting through it all, but by now a wedding date has been set, venues are booked, and my teeth are healing. Here's a window into what's been going on. David and I returned from our trip to New York/Niagara Falls (now newly engaged) on Sunday, July 16. It was kind of nice to get engaged while on a trip because David and I could enjoy being engaged all by ourselves for a few days without the pressure of starting to plan the wedding and answer a million questions from friends and family. We called and texted some close family and friends while on the trip but we waited until the night we came back to make it "Facebook official" and now public knowledge. (Social media has certainly transformed the process of announcing big
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