Sweet days of summer, the jasmine's in bloom...

So right about now I should be doing one of the following things:
1. Laundry
2. Reading over the agendas for this weeks' meetings
3. Doing grad school work
4. Writing my notes for the incoming corps members

Updating my blog is not on the list, but it's still pretty important. It's been almost three weeks since I updated (which is absolutely insane since I swear I was just in St. Louis). Life is just flying by, and before I know it, it will be July.

However, flash back to the end of May/start of June, and I was preparing for the end of the school year. My kids are, well, amazing. If you want to peek at previous posts, you'll see what I mean. There is a huge part of me that really wanted to keep them in kindergarten just so they wouldn't leave me! However, from what I understand, that's not exactly how the retention process works.

On every math and English language arts standard this year, my students had at least an 80% mastery. Actually, there were only a few standards that came close to 80%, and for most we actually had an average over 90%. Overall, in math they had a 98% average, and in ELA they had 95%. Not too shabby.

School ended on June 11th, and then June 12th I had the RICA which is a test on reading instruction. I either passed or failed miserably since it took me 2 hours, and we had 4 hours for it. I guess I'll find out when my scores arrive.

Then this past week has been filled with random appointments and meetings, plus a brief stop to say bye to Kristin before she headed off to Africa. I don't actually know that I've ever mentioned Kristin by name before on here, but she is the other TFA teacher placed at my school and just an awesome person. The first time Kristin and I really bonded was when a dog appeared at our school right before Thanksgiving. Long story short, I thought about taking the dog home with me, but I knew Chloe would hate me, and as a result Kristin ended up taking him...and well, the rest is history.


However, our friendship really took off when Kristin introduced me to the best Starbucks drink ever...a grande iced white chocolate mocha with 2 pumps white mocha, one pump raspberry. It's safe to say my bank account and taste buds will never be the same. I'm slightly addicted to the drink, and the baristas at Starbucks by our school actually know the drink now and just ask: "One or two?" (As in, are you buying one for just you or two for Kristin and yourself?). If you haven't heard Taylor the Latte boy, have a listen, since it pretty much could be about Kristin. :)


Anyway, long story short, it's been a huge blessing that I ended up at school with Kristin--she's even more optimistic than I am, and she is by far the warmest, friendliest person I've ever met. She's traveling back to Africa again to work at a school and help train teachers (she's a missionary), and I'm praying and hoping for wonderful things to happen during her trip.

Now I can hear all my Induction notes calling my name...this week 200+ new Bay Area corps members arrive up here, and along with 20 other current corps members and the TFA staff, I'm welcoming them into TFA before they head down to LA for Institute. I'm excited to meet them--it's really amazing how having one year teaching down does make me feel very different about going into the classroom next year. I still have concerns and worries, but the many questions and the anxiety I felt about preparing 20 children for first grade, the weight of that, last summer have pretty much disappeared. Instead, I still feel that great responsibility, but I feel like I can do it--I can manage it, and I'm not as worried about it. I'm hoping that whatever the new corps members need, we can give it to them, so they can feel just slightly anxious instead of terribly overwhelmed.

Well, it's time for me to get to bed (after finishing all the notes for the people in my CVC group...TFA does love acronyms...CVC=core value community)...

So I clearly failed at the 30-day thing.

That said, let me quickly say this weekend was a-ma-zing. Went to go see Chris debut in St. Louis as Onegin. Awesome. Saw family and friends all weekend. Great. Saw SATC 2. Great outfits... All in all a VERY good weekend.

Check Chris out:


http://www.opera-stl.org/VIDEO/MEDIA-Oneg-Trailer.html

Day 3 - List the five songs you would have with you on a desert island and why.

Since I might very well forget tomorrow. Here are my songs. My rationale? I can listen to them all on repeat...for a very long time...

FYI, Rodrick Dixon, Gabe Dixon...same last name but not the same Dixons...yet given how amazing their voices are, they might as well be related.

1. A Song For You--Rodrick Dixon If you want to hear the most beautiful song ever, listen to this one.




2. Hakuna Matata--Timon, Pumba, and Simba
It means no worries for the rest of your days;
It's our problem-free philosophy...
Hakuna Matata!



3. Hope For Me Yet--Marc Broussard I've loved this song since high school--junior year to be exact.




4. All Will Be Well--Gabe Dixon
All will be well.
Even after all the promises you've broken to yourself,
All will be well.
You can ask me how but only time will tell.
Keep it up and don't give up
And chase your dreams and you will find
All in time.



5. A song with Chris singing. If I'm stranded alone, LOST-style with no family or friends, well this would make me feel a little better. Based on the ones on my computer I'd go with MLK.
Sleep.
Sleep tonight.
And may your dreams
be realized.
If the thundercloud
passes rain.
So let it rain.
Let it rain...
Rain on him.
Chris sings it better.


As I was searching I came across this video. You should watch it.

Day 2 - Post something that inspires you.

So technically, I lose...because it's 12:18 A.M....so I really should be writing Post #3. However, this is just proof of how forgetful I am lately as well as how busy I feel. (I don't know that I'm actually very busy but rather that I feel very busy.)

Easy and cheesy answer to this one: My students.
There are lots of people that inspire me (ahem, my family? They're pretty amazing, and that's understating their amazing-ness), but lately my students have been really inspiring.

Let me give you a couple examples of why they are oh-so-wonderful:

1. I have a student, let's call him A. He came into my class not knowing his letters, letter sounds, numbers...he could count to 4. He knew his colors...in Spanish but not in English. In October, at progress report time, he was my only student who knew ZERO letters. This was a scary moment--I had to tell his parents how concerned I was...he couldn't even recognize the letters in his name. Flash forward to today, and A is one of my best students. He knows all his letters, all his letter sounds, and he is reading at a 1st grade level.

2. Now there's M. The first day of school M put a glue stick in her mouth. She wore these Ugg-like boots that were way too warm for the 90+ degree weather in San Jose. She threw temper tantrums in my classroom. I cried a couple times when trying to figure out what to do with M. I couldn't get in touch with M's parents until January despite calling her dad nearly everyday for the first 2 months of school. M's grandmother threw her homework out. M was chronically late first semester--and still tends to show up late. M has had lice twice this year, and the first time, her mom's solution was to cut her hair. M has come to school in pajamas, because there were no other clean clothes at home. When it was 35 degrees one day, M wore a skirt and a short-sleeve polo. This was not one of the days she had boots on...no, she wore normal shoes. M's journal came back to me after spring break with the words "gay fuck" written in big black letters on the first page. When I showed her dad, he smirked and found it amusing.

It's unfortunately safe to say that M has about as little support as possible at home. M also is kicking butt on my end-of-year assessments. She eagerly brings me her homework to show me her writing, and she is writing excellent stories. M rarely moves her clip down on my behavior chart. Instead, M's clip moves up nearly every day. M doesn't throw temper tantrums anymore or stick glue sticks in her mouth or make me want to cry. Instead, M makes me want every person to meet her--to see what can happen with a 6-year old, yes she's only six despite all that I said above, decides she is going to do GREAT things with her life. M wants to be a teacher when she grows up. I really hope she becomes one.

3. Of course my student stories would not be complete without mentioning E and I. E is a student who ran around my classroom the first month of school stomping his feet, swearing in Spanish, and basically making me wonder if I could survive the year. E's parents do not speak English, nor do they read or write in any language. E, however, does all his homework to perfection and is one of my highest students. How is this possible you ask? E wants to do well--he has made up his mind that he needs to do well in school, and he does. E no longer runs around my classroom; instead, he raises his hand to remind everyone to listen so the entire class can go to 1st grade. E can read and write...E works so hard every day to listen and to be a student. E has come so far.

I is my student born on the cut-off date for kindergarten. Yes, I is as young as a student can possibly be to enter kindergarten. On December 2nd, I turned 5. On December 5, another student of mine turned 6. To say that I is young is an understatement. He is about as tiny as can be, and he is adorable. Sometimes, I forget how cute he is since he is so little and easily distractible. Like E, I came into kindergarten not ready for the behavior expectations and demands. (Note: E's birthday is December 22...so he is nearly a year older than I.) I is now one of my hardest workers in class. He still struggles to pay attention since he still is crazy young, but he is doing so well. On Friday, I had my students write their numbers from 1-100. The kindergarten standard is to write from 1-30 correctly, no reversals. Every single student of mine except the student who started a month ago wrote from 1 to 100 perfectly, I included. I also added a box before 1 for 0. I inspires me, because he works SO hard, and I cannot wait for the day that everything academic clicks for him, because he is brilliant.

4. My students are breezing through the end-of-year assessments. Apparently, kindergarten is too easy for them. As I said, my students inspire me. They have worked their tiny little kindergarten butts of this year, and they are going to do PHENOMENAL things next year...and the years to follow. Did I mention they're the college class of 2026? Watch out!

30 days...

In an attempt to be a better blogger, I'm going with the 30-day challenge...you may have seen this on other friends' blogs...so here's my attempt at a new and different post each day.

Day 1 - Describe your guilty pleasure.

Being utterly lazy...sleeping in, watching TV, lying in bed, reading magazines, drinking Starbucks. Usually I let myself do this on the weekends, but it only lasts for the morning. Before I know it I'm writing emails, working on school stuff...

Okay, I realized...the guilty pleasure is not doing those things but rather being completely isolated from everyone else! There's something oddly nice about not talking/emailing/iming/texting anyone for several hours and truly relaxing. It's hard for me not to check my email or look at my phone, and so when I do, it's unbelievably nice.

Read on for the next 29 days...and consider joining me in this challenge...

Day 2 - Post something that inspires you.

Day 3 - List the five songs you would have with you on a desert island and why.

Day 4 - Write about what you imagine paradise to be like.

Day 5 - Compose a thank you letter to someone who has changed your life.

Day 6 - Describe the earliest thing you can remember.

Day 7 - Post the favorite cover of your favorite song.

Day 8 - Write about someone you think would make a good president.

Day 9 - Discuss five things you want to see change.

Day 10 - Elaborate on a dream you had this past week, described in detail.

Day 11 - Post your favorite picture ever taken of yourself.

Day 12 - Write about your favorite musical artist’s life story.

Day 13 - Describe the memory that never fails to make you life.

Day 14 - Post a video or link to the best mash-up you’ve ever heard.

Day 15 - Share a moment, phrase, or song that has changed your life the most.

Day 16 - Write about something that you want to do within the next five years.

Day 17 - Construct a post about what you would like to be remembered for.

Day 18 - Post a picture that evokes emotion.

Day 19 - Transcribe a passage from a book that has touched you.

Day 20 - Write about a band that you immediately liked and the song that made you like them.

Day 21 - Discuss your favorite medium of art.

Day 22 - Write about someone you would give your life up for without question.

Day 23 - Share the most awkward first impression you feel you’ve ever given.

Day 24 - Describe something you did as a child that other people remember you for.

Day 25 - Elaborate on the following: Something you would do if no one stopped you or if you knew you wouldn’t fail.

Day 26 - Define love, in your own words.

Day 27 - Define the meaning of life, in your own words.

Day 28 - Describe a moment you remember being completely happy and a description of why you believe you were feeling that way.

Day 29 - Write about what it is that you live for.

Day 30 - Close out this project by listing the ways you believe you have grown over the last thirty days.