It's Summa Time

I should hopefully be posting more frequently now that my days at Fredonia High School are offically finished. The last day of school was less than exciting, so much so that I didn't have one little tingle of the last day of school feeling. I'm not sure if the kids weren't happy about what their summers held, or if there was so much apathy towards school that the break summer provides is not much different than the break they've been all year. Either way, I'm pumped about summer and think it's fitting to start the break off on the right foot by sharing my list of the top things I want to get done. I am now held accountable by all my followers.

1. Create our wedding scrapbook.

I'll be honest I did not have the artsy photographer who can snap photos from creative viewpoints and more importantly artistically edit them later. If I had to do it all over I would probably choose a photographer whose focus is catching the littlest of details and making the normal seem like a piece of artwork. Still, I have quality pictures from our wedding and plan to add my own creativity by making a scrapbook. I'm hoping and guessing that my final product will prove to be more special to me than what any expensive photographer could have done.

Here's an example of what I mean by "artsy" photography.

2. Outline school year.

I hold no ideal notion that I can write lessons for a year and have the school year follow my exact plan. However, I know all too well that half the time it takes to create lessons comes down to making handouts, presentations, etc. and doing the research. I know the basic things we'll cover next year in Spanish, so having a general idea of how the year will progress, making a few standard handouts, and really hashing out what my expectations are for the class will be a big step towards having a survivable first year of teaching. I'll have a better idea what exactly I want to get done before school starts once I have a textbook chosen.

3. Yard work/House work
These are pretty self explanatory. I am struggling with my green thumb. Things I've planted are living, but there are a few things that look a little worse for wear. I've come to the conclusion that flowers are like babies, things happen to them that make them unhappy, but they are unable to tell me what's wrong. We'll see how well my plants are doing come August. I hope to be quite the nurturer in the end.

4. Read...A LOT!

Getting a library card was the highlight of my day, which is anything but lame in my mind. With it I checked out three books, all of them historical fictions. I feel motivated by my to do list, but reading could be the one thing that takes my focus off what I should get done. Not the worse thing to happen, but I'm sure Daniel would not appreciate the excuse that I could not make supper or mow the yard for days at a time because I was reading a good book. I'll keep you updated on the pages read to other tasks worked on ratio throughout the summer.

The big J-O-B

I had could never have guessed how this semester was going turn out. After graduation I was waiting eagerly to begin substituting only to wake up whenever I wanted rather than by calls from schools...okay so getting up whenever was nice, but not subbing was a bummer. Then after a quick visit to Parsons' district office I found myself subbing regularly. Next, Cherryvale got hold of my name and I became one heck of a P.E. sub. Finally, came the break of the semester. Unfortunately it came as a result of a teacher's encounter with death, BUT this teacher is at home and doing well. She will be back at school shaping minds in August. After working with a few of her students I'm not so sure their "energy" didn't play a role in her medical breakdown (they would tell you the same thing). Still there was some pondering on my part as to what next year would hold. As much as subbing has been fun it doesn't quite do justice to the college degree I earned. Oddly enough I found myself this weekend with two job offers, one English and one Spanish. The following segment is an insight to how intricate I am and how interesting/stressful/fun a job hunt can be.

Okay here we go...I reluctantly (because of the less than ideal drive the job would involve) put in an application to teach Spanish at Sedan H.S. However, the cost in gas was insignificant compared to the fact that I would not being paying back a scholarship I took in college that was contingent on me teaching Spanish for two years. So I found myself with an offer to interview with Sedan. I have to share that initially the interview was slated to take place at Braums because the principal was headed my direction and that was a middle ground. I ended up meeting him at a Fredonia track me. Long story short I was offered a job pending board approval. After visiting the high school I drove home feeling someone trapped in a corner because I was looking at working at job because it was the only option rather than because I had chose it. Little did I know what choices would do to me....

While waiting for official approval I got a call from Coffeyville about a possible English position. I took an interview just to cover my bases. I was offered a job on the spot and all the sudden felt the extreme weight of making the "right" decision (remember the trapped feeling of not having choices...I'm a piece of work). After comparing what seem like apples to oranges I felt like I was at an impasse. Luckily I am married to one amazing man and have some incredible family support. With the help of what I like to call the "miracle decision making chart" I was able to prioritize what I was wanting in a job and how each school stacked up. I tend to over analyze (shocking) so I was struggling to stay objective and keep my ideal job rather than the two schools in mind. Once again, I am married to an amazing man who made sure the prioritizing and assigning of points was beyond the reach of my over analytical tentacles. Alas after really considering what mattered most to me I chose Sedan. Slowly but surely the weight came off my shoulders and I am pumped about next year. I know no job is perfect and you can fully anticipate venting posts in the future. Still, I have been further affirmed in my ability as a teacher and feel a little awed by how perfectly things have fallen into place for something that means so much to me and I've worked hard to achieve.

Adios de su maestra de español!

Waiting game

Well I thought I would hear from Sedan about being their Spanish teacher for next year after their board met last night. Thanks to the weather however, the board meeting was cancelled. They haven't decided when it will be rescheduled, so I wait. I visited the school last week and was impressed with the relationships between staff and students. It will take a while to feel comfortable in a new system where everyone knows me, but I couldn't be much more clueless. Another thing I noticed when I was at Sedan was the various depictions of their mascot the blue devil. I've been a wildcat since high school so the switch to something else, especially something like a devil, seems almost dark. Luckily after a little research on the famous Duke Blue Devils I learned the mascot is more patriotic than religious, whew ;) Below is a little history I took from www.duke.edu (wouldn't want to forget to cite my source).

uring World War I the Chasseurs Alpins, "les Diables Bleus," were well known French soldiers. They first gained attention when their unique training and alpine knowledge was counted upon to break the stalemate of trench warfare in their native region of the French Alps...When the United States entered the war, units of the French Blue Devils toured the country helping raise money in the war effort. Irving Berlin captured their spirit in song describing them as "strong and active, most attractive . . . those Devils, the Blue Devils of France."

And for your viewing pleasure...

The French Blue Devil

The Sedan Blue Devil

That's all for now. Hopefully no more tornados and severe weather keep me from getting a job.