Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Froggie fountain, another gift from my kids
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Domain renewal = reality check
I own several domains. Some of them are for my school. I was speaking with a rep. from GoDaddy.com today who was offering discounts if I’d re-up them now at a reduced rate. We went through all that are coming up in the next few months.
I held off on the domains I own that have to do with my school, said I’d decide on those later. Worst case scenarios flashed by as we spoke… It continues to be a strange, uncertain time.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Cat not included.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Sometimes a heart breaks all at once, sometimes a few pieces at a time...
The kids' last day was yesterday, and it was incredibly intense, in the best of ways. But today we had a staff meeting, and I'm a mess, wondering what to do and where to go...
We rescheduled an all school event, impacting my classroom and my school in a couple of ways next year. I will not be publising a "Best of My Blog" book with my third graders. And I will probably not be running the Earth Day Groceries Project at my school. The rescheduling of the school event precludes both from happening. I have no idea if I can even keep running The Earth Day Groceries Project on the Internet. Timing is everything. And this is bad.
One might think I'd be excited about having less to do, but that's not the case here. My heart is heavily invested in these things. Both are central to how I build the school year for my third graders. One is a chance to grow up and mature, doing things at the edge of their reach - I love giving them that in the Earth Day activity. The other is the culmination, or focal end point, of a year long process of growing and maturing as writers – on their blogs. Do I care about blogging with my kids? Ahem. The Internet project, I don’t even know what to say.
It breaks pieces of my heart to say goodbye to these things, but there is no choice. A decision has been made. I will move on.
A couple of other decisions were announced/made today, both with program wide implications. One I can live with, the other leaves me speechless. Everybody has their important things, and priorities differ, no question. Compromise is an art. So is negotiation. But I am so tired of leaderless decisions quickly made, based on selfish thinking. That’s how I see it anyway.
This has been the most difficult year in my 29 years of teaching, without a doubt. I figured I had a 50/50 chance of actually making it through, so I’m a little proud of my resolve, and thankful to those who let me lean on them along the way.
I am, like most teachers on the last day, totally spent. I have some decisions to make this summer, to take care of myself. I’ll wait for the return of some energy, and maybe, some perspective.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Last day in my special chair

My students gave me a wonderful chair to relax in - and they signed it! I have been blessed this year
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Report cards, yard work a reward
It's the last weekend of the school year. Grading and scoring like the last three Everyday Math unit tests. Then on to the report cards. If I get enough done, my reward will be some yard work. Woohoo! If the sun shines…
Thursday, June 17, 2010
A classroom visit from Jeff Utecht, blogger, teacher, author!

And then Jeff the Author signed my copy of REACH (download #132). Frosting on the cake. Thank you Jeff!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
So if a school votes no confidence in its super...
...and news media does not report it, did it really happen?
Two more no confidence votes happened in Seattle schools on Friday. Nobody knows.
I'm discouraged that my teacher colleagues have no clue how to make their voices heard these days, but I am much more disappointed in my union for totally ignoring this.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Student Newsletter wraps up for 09-10
Last night I wrapped up the 19th year of the Jr. Seahawk Newsletter at Arbor Heights Elementary with the publication of the June edition (pdf). This was my 16th year as editor and online publisher. It has for the past several years run as: “The oldest continuously published elementary school student newspaper on the Internet!”
Monday, June 07, 2010
Seattle teachers vote no confidence in super
Covered exclusively in education blogs, Twitter and Facebook, mainstream media has not noticed, or has not cared to report. An exception, with links to the information, is here: http://westseattleblog.com/2010/06/west-seattle-schools-another-no-confidence-vote-reported
Friday, June 04, 2010
5 XO laptops hit the road
I've not been able to use them as often as I'd like in class... So I believe in my kids, and I have faith in their responsibility. Seems like everyone wants to take one home over the weekend (not surprising), so we had to have a session of "pick a number" to settle things. Luckily there are two more weekends... More later...