Today was a county-wide professional development day for my school.
I got a free breakfast & lunch.
That was just about the only positive thing of the day.
We were there to hear a speaker on Rick DuFour's "Whatever It Takes" philosophy.
Her ideas were helpful, but nothing that I haven't already read, heard, and studied.
She did give me some hand-out / form type papers that will be easy to fill in when we work on ideas at my school, so I guess that was also positive.
However, it's always so frustrating talking with people I work with about changing anything at our school. You'd think that with such a small staff (6 teachers, 2 support staff, 1 counselor, an intervention specialist, and a principal) that we'd be able to really come to an agreement on things and get stuff in motion, but that NEVER (or almost never) happens.
Some people participate and voice ideas. Some ideas other people like & we run with them. Other ideas people don't like & those ideas kind of get moved past.
Some people get super offended if their idea isn't LOVED when they first voice it. Other people, just shrug it off and listen openly to other ideas.
Some people get angry and refuse to participate any more. Other people continue to try to work through the struggles of improving a school that already has so much unfinished business.
No matter what the topic, it never seems to be re-visited or completed and it is a very frustrating process altogether.
Some people are new to the school & haven't yet seen how little follow-through actually does take place in our building.
Other people have been around for a few years & have kind of a "jaded" view of the process. It's sad to think that after only 3 years of teaching, after only 3 years of working in this building, I feel burnt out sometimes when I have to collaborate with some of the colleagues I am asked to work with.
My position on the whole process is that we're a small school and we should be able to incorporate change often & easily. If we were in a larger school, changes would NEVER be seen! Yet, when placed in this unique opportunity, no one seems to want to experiment with change. I also feel that since we are so small, we need to speak respectfully towards one another. I think you can voice an opinion without insulting someone or a group of someones. I think you should be able to feel comfortable enough with our small staff to share your true feelings, but that you should do that in a professional manner where your emotions (whether passionate, pissy, or other) are left out. No change will be accepted if you insult the people who would be implementing it.........
..............Just my soap box, I'll get off now! :)
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
New Names
1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME:(first pet, current car)
Bear Nitro (that's pretty awesome!)
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe)
Chocolate Nike
3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal):
Blue Turtle
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born in)
Lynn Port Huron
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name)
Ricje (WOAH!)
6. SUPERHERO NAME: (The 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
Red Coffee
7. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
Joseph Ralph
8. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy):
Cashmere Mist Chocolate (pretty sexy!!!)
10. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with same letter):
Crowell Chicago
11. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower):
Fall Calla
12. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now)
Strawberry Fleece
Bear Nitro (that's pretty awesome!)
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe)
Chocolate Nike
3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal):
Blue Turtle
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born in)
Lynn Port Huron
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name)
Ricje (WOAH!)
6. SUPERHERO NAME: (The 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
Red Coffee
7. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
Joseph Ralph
8. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy):
Cashmere Mist Chocolate (pretty sexy!!!)
10. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with same letter):
Crowell Chicago
11. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower):
Fall Calla
12. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now)
Strawberry Fleece
Sunday, February 10, 2008
BRRRRRRR!
It is DEFINITELY cold outside. As I sit at my computer and look out the window, I see Jack Frost's handiwork......a sure signal of two things: #1 that my windows upstairs are TERRIBLE and #2 that it's VERY cold outside! :)
A few minutes ago I read another person's blog on here. It was truly inspiring to me. If you have some time & feel like reading, click to this site & read through some of her posts. It's a very humbling blog. If you click on the link on the left hand side about how they lost their oldest daughter, you'll be hooked, too. It just really humbles me to read about the trials in someone else's life, especially after feeling as if my own life was not so wonderful. Today, after reading this woman's blog, I am brought back to the reality of how easy my life is right now.
On another note.........My brother-in-law's birthday was Wednesday! Happy Birthday Joe! We met up at the Carsonville Bar (the only bar in town!) and listened to a cd he & my other B-I-L, Ryan, put together, we ate food, and just hung out and had a nice, enjoyable, low-key evening. I really like these types of get-togethers. I'm kind of out of the loud, smoky, club phase. I really enjoy just hanging out with good food and good people in a comfy place. (Even if the C-Ville bar wasn't exactly comfy since they didn't turn on the heat until we got there, and then the waitress mistook the heat for the ac. Fun!)
Today Nick & I hung around the house with Jake until noon or so. We filled out his Valentines (Cars, of course!), brushed our dogs, did some laundry, played video games, and then we took him back to his mom's. Then Nick & I got some groceries and some taco bell for lunch. Right now, I'm supposed to be getting my stuff ready for school tomorrow, but I'm unmotivated. Just don't feel like doing it! This week will be a short week since we have Friday off for Mid-Winter break. We also have next Monday off & Tuesday is a Prof. Development day, so we won't have students, which is always nice. This is terrible, but I"m really looking forward to this school year being over. I have a long ways to go!
This week I get to hang out with my friend, Lisa, whom I haven't seen since before Christmas! She recently got a new job, which I'm very excited for her about. She's been submitting applications EVERYWHERE imaginable for the past 2.5 years and she's FINALLY gotten a job that she deserves. Someone is finally lucky enough to be able to use her exceptional talents. I'm so happy for her! :)
Well, it's now almost 6:00 and I still haven't done my school work. I should really go be a good girl now. Bah! Maybe we'll have a "Cold" day tomorrow like we had last school year when the wind-chill was so cold! :) That would be lovely! :)
A few minutes ago I read another person's blog on here. It was truly inspiring to me. If you have some time & feel like reading, click to this site & read through some of her posts. It's a very humbling blog. If you click on the link on the left hand side about how they lost their oldest daughter, you'll be hooked, too. It just really humbles me to read about the trials in someone else's life, especially after feeling as if my own life was not so wonderful. Today, after reading this woman's blog, I am brought back to the reality of how easy my life is right now.
On another note.........My brother-in-law's birthday was Wednesday! Happy Birthday Joe! We met up at the Carsonville Bar (the only bar in town!) and listened to a cd he & my other B-I-L, Ryan, put together, we ate food, and just hung out and had a nice, enjoyable, low-key evening. I really like these types of get-togethers. I'm kind of out of the loud, smoky, club phase. I really enjoy just hanging out with good food and good people in a comfy place. (Even if the C-Ville bar wasn't exactly comfy since they didn't turn on the heat until we got there, and then the waitress mistook the heat for the ac. Fun!)
Today Nick & I hung around the house with Jake until noon or so. We filled out his Valentines (Cars, of course!), brushed our dogs, did some laundry, played video games, and then we took him back to his mom's. Then Nick & I got some groceries and some taco bell for lunch. Right now, I'm supposed to be getting my stuff ready for school tomorrow, but I'm unmotivated. Just don't feel like doing it! This week will be a short week since we have Friday off for Mid-Winter break. We also have next Monday off & Tuesday is a Prof. Development day, so we won't have students, which is always nice. This is terrible, but I"m really looking forward to this school year being over. I have a long ways to go!
This week I get to hang out with my friend, Lisa, whom I haven't seen since before Christmas! She recently got a new job, which I'm very excited for her about. She's been submitting applications EVERYWHERE imaginable for the past 2.5 years and she's FINALLY gotten a job that she deserves. Someone is finally lucky enough to be able to use her exceptional talents. I'm so happy for her! :)
Well, it's now almost 6:00 and I still haven't done my school work. I should really go be a good girl now. Bah! Maybe we'll have a "Cold" day tomorrow like we had last school year when the wind-chill was so cold! :) That would be lovely! :)
Thursday, February 7, 2008
No Snow Day for Me! =(
There are only a few things I really dislike about the school I work for and today is a PRIME example of one of those things.......
The only way I ever get a snow day is if all of the school districts in my county cancel school for the day. If even ONE district is open, we have to report to my school. Even if that one district only sends my school 2 students for the ENTIRE day. EVEN THEN!
This is exactly what happened today. Please, Algonac, disregard the 10 inches of snow you see on the ground. Look the other way as you see multiple cars, buses, trucks, etc. slide into the ditch. Ignore the fact that almost 1/2 of your students didn't show up to your school today because their parents thought it was RIDICULOUS that you did not cancel school. And PLEASE, send my school 2 of your students so that I can provide them with some "quality" education on this snowy day. The quality education that I provided to these two students was to hang black paper from my windows to block out the incredibly bright light from the MOUNTAINS of snow outside. How very wonderful. I'm sure the lesson they learned today with me will forever remain engrained on their brains..................DO NOT COME TO THE ATA WHEN ALL OTHER DISTRICTS ARE CANCELLLED. MRS. RICHMOND MAKES YOU DO CRUMMY CHORES THAT NO ONE ELSE WILL DO FOR HER! :)
Ah, the "teachable moments" of life!
The only way I ever get a snow day is if all of the school districts in my county cancel school for the day. If even ONE district is open, we have to report to my school. Even if that one district only sends my school 2 students for the ENTIRE day. EVEN THEN!
This is exactly what happened today. Please, Algonac, disregard the 10 inches of snow you see on the ground. Look the other way as you see multiple cars, buses, trucks, etc. slide into the ditch. Ignore the fact that almost 1/2 of your students didn't show up to your school today because their parents thought it was RIDICULOUS that you did not cancel school. And PLEASE, send my school 2 of your students so that I can provide them with some "quality" education on this snowy day. The quality education that I provided to these two students was to hang black paper from my windows to block out the incredibly bright light from the MOUNTAINS of snow outside. How very wonderful. I'm sure the lesson they learned today with me will forever remain engrained on their brains..................DO NOT COME TO THE ATA WHEN ALL OTHER DISTRICTS ARE CANCELLLED. MRS. RICHMOND MAKES YOU DO CRUMMY CHORES THAT NO ONE ELSE WILL DO FOR HER! :)
Ah, the "teachable moments" of life!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
SuperBowl!
So some of you might hate me for this, but I'm actually happy that the Patriots didn't win the SuperBowl. I was kind of secretly rooting for the Giants just because they hadn't won since like 2000 & the Patriots had won more recently. Other than that reasoning in itself, I had no passion, one way or another, for who won the game. I hadn't been following any of the teams, so it wasn't a big deal to me. However, I did enjoy watching the game.
Nick & I went over to our friends' house: Steve & Melissa. They have a little boy, Carsyn, who was just the most adorable thing EVER when we were over there. He's a very cute little guy! My favorite part of the night was when I went out to the kitchen to get some chili & Carsyn followed me. I heard the cat, Zoe, make this weird sound and when I looked down, Carsyn had lifted the cat by its tail. It was insanse, funny, poor cat, silly boy, ouch!, and many more running through my head at the same time, but all I could do was laugh to myself & tell him he should put her down. Poor cat!
I didn't plan to stay for the entire game........I like to get my sleep!, but the food was yummy and I was having a lot of fun just hanging out with my hubby & our 2 friends, so we ended up staying through the end. We left right away afterwards, though, because I do need a DECENT amount of sleep before work!
One final thing before I close this post..........I have to say that the commercials were not as hilarious as in previous years and that the halftime show was rather disappointing. No wardrobe malfunctions or anything..........not that I want to see anything like that on Tom Petty, but you know, at least it's some drama! :) In fact, the halftime show was so disappointing, that we actually flipped to the "PUPPY BOWL" on Animal Planet and were more entertained by little dogs running around humping & fighting each other. (Now that should be an indication of how bad the 1/2-time show was!!!) My students are all geeked up about the SuperBowl today in school. They can't stop talking about it and a lot of them are agreeing that the commercials were mediocre, at best.
Well, I'm off for now. Gotta go teach those young minds! :) (But first, LUNCH!)
Nick & I went over to our friends' house: Steve & Melissa. They have a little boy, Carsyn, who was just the most adorable thing EVER when we were over there. He's a very cute little guy! My favorite part of the night was when I went out to the kitchen to get some chili & Carsyn followed me. I heard the cat, Zoe, make this weird sound and when I looked down, Carsyn had lifted the cat by its tail. It was insanse, funny, poor cat, silly boy, ouch!, and many more running through my head at the same time, but all I could do was laugh to myself & tell him he should put her down. Poor cat!
I didn't plan to stay for the entire game........I like to get my sleep!, but the food was yummy and I was having a lot of fun just hanging out with my hubby & our 2 friends, so we ended up staying through the end. We left right away afterwards, though, because I do need a DECENT amount of sleep before work!
One final thing before I close this post..........I have to say that the commercials were not as hilarious as in previous years and that the halftime show was rather disappointing. No wardrobe malfunctions or anything..........not that I want to see anything like that on Tom Petty, but you know, at least it's some drama! :) In fact, the halftime show was so disappointing, that we actually flipped to the "PUPPY BOWL" on Animal Planet and were more entertained by little dogs running around humping & fighting each other. (Now that should be an indication of how bad the 1/2-time show was!!!) My students are all geeked up about the SuperBowl today in school. They can't stop talking about it and a lot of them are agreeing that the commercials were mediocre, at best.
Well, I'm off for now. Gotta go teach those young minds! :) (But first, LUNCH!)
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