Mon. 1st--Behold the New Year's brisket. :) Since moving to Snyder, Jared decided he needs to do a brisket every new year. You don't hear us complaining.
It was delish!
*We are getting ready to study the Book of Mormon again this year. I'm excited!
*Since I was going to be teaching 4th grade science and social studies in a week, I decided I needed to get into my classroom ASAP. It was a MESS. And the subs who were in there for the last two weeks after the teacher walked (knowing she was going to be let go at semester), actually started cleaning it already. Which made my head spin. I don't even want to know what kind of chaos ensued before I got there. I'm so grateful for what the subs did to help. But the closet, the shelves, the drawers, and cabinets...they were all in complete disarray. So I just jumped right in and started to purge (with Katy's blessing) and organize. Mostly purge. I spent from 1-6:30pm (5.5 hours) just on the cabinets and drawers.
*We had just found a new dentist last year because the one in town is outrageously expensive. I've never had to pay for cleanings before. And now they're over $100 per person. That's $600 every 6 months. $1200 a year. No thank you. The cost of convenience isn't worth it to me. So we found a hole-in-the wall dentist (so small and run down) where his wife is the front office/insurance and dental assistant, with one other hygienist who does cleanings. They're in Sweetwater about 40 minutes away. We went to them a few times and this dentist repaired JJ's chipped tooth for him. But we just found out that our dental insurance is changing and they don't accept BCBS. Ugh!! So now we're on the hunt for another dentist. This isn't cool when you live in a small, underserved community.
*I went back to my classroom and worked on cleaning and organizing from 11-6:30pm (7.5 hours). The room I was in (#109) had been Kellie Pendleton's reading classroom. But she walked out and quit in March when I had joined to help with 4th grade math. That was quite the drama. She left DECADES of teaching stuff, decor, books, supplies, etc. Everything. This was the bookshelf in her closet (yay---I had a closet this time!!). I asked Hermosillo (who was on Pendleton's reading team) if she could find out if Kellie wanted any of these books. Hermosillo asked her, but Kellie wanted none of it. So I sifted through the stash, kept what I wanted, donated some to the school library, and the rest to Maren Christensen, a new reading teacher who is also in my branch.
I really needed another bookshelf. I was teaching two subjects to 3 different classes and 4th grade uses thick science books and thick social studies books. But there was no convenient place to store them. Plus journals for both subjects! Hermosillo came up to the school and helped me track down a heavy bookshelf that was in a storage room, not being used. Katy told me to help myself. So I did! I was grateful for Hermosillo's help. I could not have done that alone and wasn't really sure where to look. But that extra solid bookshelf really made the difference. I could only get two classes of science and social studies workbooks on this shelf, but I had a rolling cart that I used for the other class.
Thurs. 4th--Today my dad is 82 years old!! I can't believe it. I love that man! And hope he has an amazing day and year.
*I wanted to work in the community kitchen with Karole because I never get a chance to, but I needed to work in my own room for my own community project :). I was there from 8:00 to noon before having to go home because JJ's friend, Avrum, came over to hang out. Then I went back from 6:30 to 8:30pm after JJ and Avrum went to Tae Kwon Do. So I put in another 6.5 hours. Starting to finally make some progress.
*A picture that was taken at TKD by another parent. The kids were working with Master Greg.
Fri. 5th--I worked in my classroom from 8-1:30 (5.5 hours). Then I went home to change and get ready to go to Lubbock. Calvin had a chance to play tennis with Lauren and Joseph McCombs in Lubbock. We were going to the temple to do baptisms for the dead in Lubbock later that night anyway. Since Calvin doesn't get to do much with his friends from Lubbock, we decided that I would drive him up for his tennis time and work on my lesson/bills while I waited. Then Jared would drive Karcyn and JJ up and we would meet at the temple around 6:45.
The reason we wanted Calvin to be ordained to the office of priest earlier in the week, is so that he could be the one to do the baptizing at the temple. Which was pretty cool!!
It's definitely more of a family affair now!
Sat. 6th--We had our first day back at bowling leagues. Case Horn (coach) watches on as JJ approaches for his two-handed throw.
*An incredible picture of Edinburgh Castle and the town below in fog and lights. I miss that city so much!
*I don't know if it's true, but pretty cool anyway.
Sun. 7th--Mic drop.
*It's always up to us.
Mon. 8th--JJ went back to school in Ira, but Snyder had one more day off as it was a teacher work day. Good, now I'd actually be paid to work in my room. In fact, I spent from 6:50am to 6pm at the school. Then from 7-10pm working on more stuff for the upcoming week.
*When we got home from bowling leagues, I worked another 2 hours in my classroom from 4:00-6:00pm, taking my total hours cleaning and organizing that one room to 27!!! During my holiday break. If I decide to keep teaching, I'm not changing rooms. I invested too much time into this one!
*Rolo curled up on the pillows on our bed.
*Instead of turning to murmuring, turn to God.
*Rolo went to the vet around 8:30am to go in for a teeth cleaning (that our insurance was paying for). He was gone until about 3 or 3:30. They said he did really well.
*Jared had the day off and took Calvin up to Lubbock for his monthly dermatology appointment. He was having a really good response to the meds, so they decided to increase his dose since he can only be on these heavy duty meds about 6 months to really hit the cysts.
Tues. 9th--I was really nervous about meeting my new students, but we did do a large group introduction in December before the holidays when the pod found out Mrs. Bradshaw wasn't coming back. I was subbing at the other end of the fourth grade hall, but many of them recognized me because they wait in the auditorium in the mornings before being released to their classes and they all walk past me to get to their room.
I really do love my students though! I know it's early, but the vibe from them feels VERY different from the two classes that Hermosillo and I had last year. They seem to have a sweeter demeanor about them. Much more respectful, that's for sure. Fingers crossed!
Wed. 10th--I was up in the school's front office dropping something off, when Katy saw me. She said she was at a meeting earlier that morning at the Primary school and ran into two of my moms. They said their daughters (in Sorrells' homeroom) LOVE me and are so grateful that I took over. That made me feel good, especially coming from two teacher parents.
*The saga with Calvin's former Honor's English teacher continued. They moved Calvin out of honors at semester (we waited til then to make it a smoother transition with grades/points, etc.) However, Calvin looked at his semester grades and reported to us that he failed English. Because he failed the final. Are you kidding me?
During the English final, Calvin, who had been in the library doing the assignments all on his own, with no teacher direction, finally returned to his classroom on the day of the final. He started working on the Socratic seminar presentation that she was taking for a grade. The rest of the class was having a discussion about the seminar questions that he felt he needed to finish before joining in on the discussion. So when the teacher asked him to join the discussion, he said he wasn't quite done yet. The teacher said nothing to him in response and moved on. When I saw he failed that final, I called Ms. Juarez to find out why. Apparently, the discussion WAS the final. So because he didn't sit and join them, he failed. Even though hardly anyone said anything anyway. Our major issues with this is that Calvin had been in the library for two weeks, doing everything on his own. When he came back to class, the teacher never told him what was expected. When he said he didn't feel he could join the discussion because of the work he still needed to do, she said nothing to him. She should have said, "Calvin, this is your final...you'll be graded on whether or not you participate in the discussion. You might want to join us for this" so that he could then make an informed decision. Instead, she just moved on and let him unknowingly hurt himself. So I fought for that. I told Ms. Juarez that I was completely fatigued of this whole situation. I told her I respected her and appreciated her help, but did not appreciate how the principal or this teacher were choosing to handle this situation. She eventually got the zero on the final reversed and Calvin passed with a 75. Ironically, the zero on the paper that started all of this, was still a zero. Which was infuriating. The principal decided on that, too. But never said why. Except that legally, principals cannot force teachers to change grades in the gradebook. I thought that information was fascinating. I had no idea that as a teacher I had that much power. I also want to know about the checks and balances. So a teacher can have a total beef with a student, and grade them with prejudice and that grade stands. I don't think so. But apparently they can.
The principal also lost any remaining respect we might have had for him officially when, right before Christmas, he pulled Calvin into his office and said that Calvin needed to work harder to be more on task. That he doesn't get an "extra day" (which is written as part of his 504) unless he's actually working in class. And pretty much made Calvin feel like all of this was his fault. Oh, I was LIVID. How dare he? That is NOT at all true about not getting an extra day, unless he earns it. Students process and work in different ways. Calvin thinks about a lot of things before actually putting it to paper. But even if he doesn't, he gets that extra day no matter what. There are no stipulations attached. And that principal is one lucky duck that I did not take this higher, because I could have. But Jared told me to let it go. Calvin passed. Let's move on and not let them steal any more of our joy. This was an extremely hard thing for me to let go. For many days, I vacillated between taking the higher road like the Savior and letting it go versus wanting to fight for my child and justice. Eventually, I chose the Savior. Not that he didn't fight for what was right. Just, in the grand scheme of things, in the eternal perspective, it's not going to matter for Calvin. We fought for him. He knows it. He's out of her class and he knows that what the principal said isn't true. That's what's important.
Thurs. 11th--Aniston Greene and Emily Herrera (whose moms work at the Primary school) brought in this bag of chocolate covered pretzels (yum!!) with a note telling me how excited they are for the rest of the school year. Very sweet and encouraging.
*Also truth.
*Make your choice.
Mon. 15th--No school today for SISD. But it's my built-in opportunity to get caught up, so I went to school anyway to get some planning done. Check out the temperature at 9:15am. 9 degrees!
*JJ was still sick, so he stayed home from school, but I bought him some pizza for lunch.
Tues. 16th--Yes, let's!
*Haha! I know all of my boys would attest to this!
Thurs. 18th--Imagine my surprise when my student, Makynzie, showed up at school the next morning! I gave her a big hug and told her how sorry I was and to please tell me if she needs anything. I know she's only known me for 7 school days. But I'm her homeroom teacher and I hope she feels she can trust me. So much for making that card, though.
*I had car duty at the end of the school day. I always go to the private faculty restroom (if it's available) to use the facilities before I go outside. After using the restroom and pulling my long, flowy skirt down, I washed my hands and walked through the back hall into the front office. When I got there, the secretary looked at me and exclaimed, "Ms. Hough!!" I thought she was just doing a fun, loud hello. So I replied back, loudly, "Ms. Facio!" And suddenly, I felt a draft on my backside, and realized that part of my skirt was TUCKED into my under garments. AHHH!!! I hurried and fixed it and hoped no one else saw or realized. Goodness. Fun times. At least no one was behind me in the hallway as I walked from the bathroom to the front office. Yeah, that's me. So glamorous.
*I picture of JJ at TKD. He's the second one from the left.
*Rolo home and looking snazzy (and smelling SO good) after getting groomed.
I turned the light on so he could see. Haha.
Mon. 22nd--Jared had his yearly physical today and his numbers looked awesome! Too bad he's still packing on unwanted pounds and hurts all the time. :( It really is frustrating for him and me, because I don't like to see him in pain.
Sun. 21st--Calvin sat down with the electric piano that Wes got for the kids, to work on learning some songs he knows only by ear.
*Calvin and Cooper "smashing" each other in a game of Smash Bros.
Tues. 23rd--One of Jake's tornado pictures. Isn't it beautiful?!
*This is one of JJ's spelling pages he had to do for the week. You can't see it unless you zoom in, but he pointed out #1 Down. The clue was: Mother's extra weight. And guess what the supposed spelling word was up in the word bank?! Last word in the 2nd column from the left. MOMFAT. Seriously? I didn't even know that was a word. Let alone one that we'd have to teach kids about. Good grief. As if we moms need to be reminded of our extra weight. *sigh*
Wed. 24th--At the end of the school day, Jared and I both received a message from Calvin's Algebra 2 teacher, Mr. Nana. He said he handed Calvin his graded assignment and Calvin tore it up in front of him and showed anger. Mr. Nana explained that he told Calvin to keep his study guide to study for the future test. He asked, "Do you understand that?" Calvin responded with, "You are not a prophet." So Mr. Nana wrote a discipline referral that sent him to administration.
Calvin wasn't very happy when I picked him up after tennis. I had him explain what happened. He wasn't very cooperative. I headed straight for the high school so he could apologize to Mr. Nana, but everyone had left by then. Calvin has actually been out of sorts for the past week or so. I noticed he's been "down" or "upset" but when I asked him about it, he hasn't been able to articulate why and it's weighed on him. This belligerent and extremely disrespectful behavior at school is not like him either. Where did it come from?
Calvin had already explained to us in the past that Mr. Nana has written a novel and in it claims he is the only prophet on the earth. I suppose that should bother us. However, what Mr. Nana's claims about being a prophet was so dumbfoundingly absurd that we just rolled our eyes at it. What we didn't know was how much it bothered Calvin.
This unprovoked reaction was very troubling. This isn't Calvin. And that's when it dawned on me. His meds. They just increased his dose less than 2 weeks ago. I quickly researched possible side effects and aggressive behavior was a side effect at the very top of the list. I told Jared and we tried tracking down a nurse at the clinic, but they had already left for the day.
The next call was to Ms. Juarez, assistant principal at the high school. I left a message for her to please call me back. She did. And at that moment, I was very grateful that I had told her earlier in the month that I respected her and appreciated her help with the other issue regarding Calvin's English teacher. Otherwise, I'm not sure this conversation would have had the same outcome. I told her that I was not excusing Calvin's behavior at all and that we fully supported whatever consequences were in store for how he treated his teacher. But I did want her to know that this was 95% likely due to a side effect of the highly controlled meds he's on because of the increased dosage. I told her he had been out of sorts the past several days and we didn't know what was going on. But today's incident made it very clear. I told her we were taking Calvin off of that dosage of meds immediately. We were also going to ensure that Calvin apologized to Mr. Nana, explaining that I tried already after school. She appreciated the information and recognized that this was Calvin's first disciplinary referral ever. She said that she would speak to him and let it go without any further action. However, if it happened again and a pattern started to emerge, then there would have to be consequences. I told her I completely understood and was again, grateful for her help.
Thurs. 25th--I had my annual mammogram done. Fortunately, I was able to schedule it over my conference period so I didn't have to take school off to do it.
*The time had come for Elder Solesbee to be transferred. That's the worst part of getting to know the missionaries. They always have to leave. This would especially be hard on JJ. He and Elder Solesbee have become great buds. Especially with Magic the Gathering. He really took JJ under his wing and guided him along.
We pulled JJ out of TKD early so that we could take him with us to get ice cream with the Elders as a parting treat.
Fri. 26th--Sweet Thomas learning to eat baby food. :)
*Free recess time for students in our pod who had no missing work!
*Rolo and Jared bonding.
*Calvin got an Excellent Rating at Solo and Ensemble and is kicking himself that he didn't practice as much as he could have. Nor did he have the music memorized. We're happy that he could take responsibility and admit that he put off learning the music and was only upset with himself. Maybe he'll get a Superior rating next year.
Sun. 28th--The youth had their Theme Night, "I am a disciple of Christ" that night at church. The young women presidency was in charge and they did a great job. The youth came in their jammies as if they were camping out in front of a fire.
Everyone wrote down what they can do to be a disciple of Christ on a paper flame of fire.
Wed. 31st--I had to have a repeat mammogram done. This has happened several times over the last 6 years. I have thick tissue in my left breast. But that "call back" appointment isn't laden any less with anxiety when I have to go in for a more thorough scan. Fortunately, I was cleared as normal.
No comments:
Post a Comment