TP and Eggs

On September 25th my husband and I woke up to our house having been TP'ed and egged. We were unhappy because we were on our way to church when we noticed it. We had to skip church to clean up because it was about to rain. Well, during our clean up is started to rain pretty hard. We called the police so we could have it on file and because we found the receipt for the purchase of the TP and eggs. We figured that was it and we moved on with our lives.

On October 10th we were TP'ed again. This time the nose bridge on my husband's only pair of glasses broke while trying to clean the yard. Because he has prisms the new pairs didn't come in until yesterday. He went eleven days with headaches and other annoyances because he had to live with broken glasses. It especially sucked because we bought those glasses in March so insurance did not cover the new glasses. We again reported this to the police and asked for a case to be opened since his glasses were damaged and because now our trees were sick from mold. (We weren't able to get all the TP off the last time before the rain started). My husband put in two security cameras outside.

On October 20th we were TP'ed and egged again. This time my husband was awake when it happened. He went outside and caught them in the act. They were wearing black ski masks and dark clothes. They scattered and one went into our backyard. He was able to escape without our dogs mauling him (pretty damn lucky if you ask me). My husband called the police and they stayed in our neighbor's driveway (lights off and such) for a while to see if the perps would come back. They didn't. My husband was too kind to me and didn't wake me up for all of this.

Obviously I am upset by all of this. This is now a more serious case for a few reasons: they egged our cars and the paint on our house so there is now very definite damage that is directly caused by their actions. Also, they went into our backyard which is definitely trespassing whereas being in our front yard isn't a real offense. I am so tired of feeling hated and scared. Yes, I am scared at this point. Since they escalated from TP and a few eggs in the yard to purposefully egging the cars and wearing ski masks, what are they going to do next? Are they going to hurt my dogs? Are they going to break in? I'm pretty sure that I'm getting worried about nothing but that fear is still there. I heard the dogs barking this morning and my first thought was, "Oh my gosh, they are in my backyard again." I shouldn't have to think that. (The dogs were actually barking at the neighbor's dog in case you were wondering)

Honestly, I am also now afraid for the kids (I think it's teenagers) doing this. Do they not realize that we live in Texas? Freaking everybody owns guns. Going into anyone's backyard while wearing a ski mask and dark clothes is asking to be shot. I am earnestly praying that they don't come back for everyone's sake.

If you are the praying kind, please pray that these kids (or idiot adults?) have decided to stop. I can see why someone may see TP'ing as funny even though I don't but this isn't funny anymore. This is mean and hurtful.

-Clare G. S.

Terrible Blogger

Ok, so I'm a terrible blogger. I haven't written in nearly a month. Life has been crazy. These Freshmen really know how to push my buttons. The good news is that we hired a new teacher so my class sizes are now 21-25 students instead of 21-32. My students scores are near the school average so I'm pretty happy.

I really want to update on my progress toward a healthier me. Here are the numbers. Remember, they are compared to where I started on August 1st of this year.

• Weight: -16 lbs
• Bust: -1"
• Band: -2"
• Natural waist: -4"
• Hips: -2"

To be frank I'm mostly losing weight because I don't eat much during lunch. In the past I've had conference during lunch so I basically had over an hour to eat. Now I have 30 minutes to eat but once you factor in a bathroom break, running to ISS for students who were just put in there, setting up for my next class, etc it's more like 15-20 minutes. I cannot eat much in that time because it upsets my stomach so I usually just eat an apple or a pear. I'm sure it's not the healthiest thing to do but I haven't found time to eat during my conference either (it's from 11:15-noon). There's just too much to do!

Speaking of too much to do, I have to run. I have plenty to do before I can go to bed tonight. I will try my best to post on Tuesday!

-Clare G. S.

Substitute Teachers

Let me start by saying that I hate having a sub. It is much easier to go to work sick than to deal with a sub. It was especially bad when I had multiple preps (I taught Spanish 3, advanced 3, 4, AP 4, IB 4, AP 5, and IB 5) because the sub had a tendency to give the handouts to the wrong classes. When I have a sub I have to deal with a messy classroom, writing up students for their behavior, trusting the sub required the students to follow my rules (must be in their assigned seat, no electronic devices, no food/drink/perfume, etc), and having no idea until later if the sub gave the correct directions (paper A is due before class ends, paper B is due tomorrow, etc).

Today and tomorrow I have required training all day so I had no choice but to get a sub. I returned to my classroom at the end of the day and I am NOT happy. Here's what went wrong while I was out:

• The sub did not leave any notes for me so that makes me assume all of my classes were little angels. I really don't think that's true.
• No one was marked tardy. Again, I don't think that's true.
• There were food wrappers littering my floor which means students were eating in class. That's not allowed in any classroom at my school.
• There was a pencil stuck in my ceiling which means my students definitely were not angelitos but the sub didn't tell me.
• A few of the tennis balls that were on the bottom of the chairs were scattered about the room. Again, the sub did not leave a note saying students were playing with the tennis balls.
• Some papers were paper clipped and on my desk and others were in the turn-in box. My instructions said the students should turn in everything to the turn-in tray. I have no clue why the papers were separated.

What tops this all off is that I have the same sub tomorrow. We are short subs so there is nothing I can do about it. That means that tomorrow I will once again find myself on my hands and knees cleaning the broken pencils, food wrappers, crumpled papers, etc from my floor. Also, the students have a quiz tomorrow. The good news is that they can use notes so I don't have to worry about the sub watching for much cheating. However, I have a strict no talking/whispering and no electronic device while any quizzes are out. I have the distinct feeling that the sub won't write down the names of those who talk or use electronic devices.

Well, as you might have noticed, I like to end on a happy note. I won $100 in school supplies from GoGuardian! They are a company that makes software that allows me to monitor my students' computer use while they are in my class. I entered a drawing about a month or two ago and I got the news today that I won! They will buy me $100 worth of school supplies from my Amazon wish list. I filled it with pencils and lines paper. Specifically I will receive 3 grosses of quality pencils and 150 sheets of paper. I ration my pencils; I add two pencils to my "borrow box" everyday and almost everyday by 4pm that box is empty. I'll still have that problem but at least it won't cost me anything. :)

Yay!

-Clare G. S.

Kermit Flail

How I feel on most days. :/

Life has been hectic. I am almost well again. I still have a cough and my sinuses are still bothering me a bit. I'm kind of sad because I can't sing in my normal range. I'm basically stuck as a tenor right now so that means no singing in the choir until my vocal chords heal.

I guess the biggest news I have is that my students took their first unit test . . . and it was awful. My overall average was 58%. That includes the student who made a 0 (yes, he filled in the entire multiple choice test and made a 0), the student who answered only one question out of 15, and the students who obviously filled in random bubbles or all C. On the bright side, the school-wide average when you take out my students was about 68% so my guys are not terribly far behind. What really bothers me is that we offer test corrections. The students had about 25 minutes on Wednesday to work on corrections and otherwise they had to come in after school. I made it very clear that Friday was the absolute last day for corrections (except those who have been absent). I had just over 1/3 of my students do the corrections. The test corrections walk you through what to do! They can use notes, calculators, and ask me questions while they work on it! There was no reason anyone should 1. pass up this opportunity to raise their grade and 2. get below a 50 on the test after corrections.

I am up-to-date on all of my grading so tomorrow I'm going to make calls home to all of my students who have below a 60 in my class. If I have time, I will also call those that have a 60-75 since that is failing (but close to passing) or borderline. I'm too ashamed to tell you how many phone calls I will need to make.

I need to update y'all on the retaining wall but it's a mess as well. The short story is that it looks like we will be taking our contractor to court for theft. We paid him for some jobs that he never did and now he refuses to do. The good news is that we are very good about keeping a "nest egg" so if we lose that money it will hurt but we will be able to make it.

Let's end on a positive note: I started to flip my classroom on Friday. Most of my students said that they liked video notes better than me lecturing because they can go at their own pace. I had one student complain that I talk too much in the videos. I pointed out that the videos are less than 15 minutes long. When I lecture, it's 20-25 minutes so I'm actually talking less in the videos. Another student said he didn't like the videos because then he couldn't ask questions. I pointed out that it's easier to ask questions because now he doesn't have to feel like he is stopping the whole class. Plus, I now have more class time to answer those questions in detail. Basically, for every "hater" I was able to explain why flipped learning was better. Here's hoping it's a success! :D

-Clare G. S.

I'm not quite dead yet

I feel a bit like the guy on the shoulders

I apologize for the hiatus. Life last week was crazy and then I caught a cold. I've decided that I need to change the days I post. Wednesday is too crazy; I have choir rehearsal and sometimes I have all-staff meeting which leaves very little time for writing. I'm going to try writing Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday since I don't have any regular commitments on those days.

The reason why last week was so nuts was partially because I had hall duty. That means that for 20 minutes before classes begin each morning I had to stand in the cafeteria and make sure none of the students acted like fools. It's boring but I understand the need for it. We have a rotating schedule so last week was it until the next grading period. Unfortunately, that took away 20 vital minutes in my day. That's when I make copies, take work to ISS, and answer e-mails.

Well, it wouldn't have been so bad if things didn't seem to pop up during my conference each day. Someone from Texas Instruments (they make the calculator we use) came by to talk and see if I needed help. She's a wonderful person but I just didn't have time that day for an in-person talk. However, that was the only day she was on our campus. Another day I walked work to ISS, came back to my room and found out that another student had just been sent to ISS and needed her work. I took her work over and then I had to go to a secretary to drop off work for a student who was out sick for the week. I got my exercise that day!

It all really came to a grinding halt on Friday when I woke up with a bit of a sore throat. By Saturday morning I was miserable. I definitely had caught a cold. Sunday was pretty bad but I decided to go to work today anyway. Looking back, it probably would have been wiser to stay home. I really hate having a sub because it usually means more work when I get back.

The good news is that tomorrow my students have a test so that means I can rest my voice a bit. Here's hoping they do well!

-Clare G. S.

P.S. - No walking recently because I wasn't feeling well. :(