Well 2 prayers have been answered in big ways since Saturday. This morning I secured an apartment! Hallelujah! The land lady hopes to have it ready for me by May 1, which is Sunday. That would be insane if it's ready. It should be ready for sure by Wednesday, one week from today. I am so elated that I've actually been dizzy for the past hour haha. I knew God would come through, but I was beginning to wonder when exactly. So this apartment is 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, living room, kitchen, and on the 2nd floor. This is so much more than I have now! I have to say, I'm probably the most excited about having an oven/stove. :) Little things make me happy. The most important thing is that it has a roof and walls and I won't be homeless! Oh, and it's in the same complex that Kevin lives in. That should be pretty fun!
Another prayer was answered on Saturday. I got word that I was accepted for a nannying job that pays very well. The catch is that it doesn't start until June 25. I'm so thankful to have this but now I'm looking for some type of nannying job that I can do until then. I've met with 2 families who both need part time help in the past 2 days so hopefully one of those will work out. If it doesn't, I know God will provide in another way.
So that can be added to the prayer list- summer job until 25th and a teaching job for the fall! Thank goodness the list is getting smaller!
Now my task is to figure out what I need for the apartment and how I can get most of the stuff from Spartanburg to here on Graduation weekend. I don't have much here so I'll be adventure living with an air mattress and no pots or pans for the first week or so :) But, when I pick my mom up at the airport Wednesday night, I'll get to bring her straight to the new apartment and not to the basement! :) On that note, does anyone have an extra air mattress I can borrow while she's here? I know Kevin has one in his apartment, but I think I'll need another one for my mom too.
Anyways, that's all for now. I'm so excited and relieved to have a place!!! Now, we just have to get me in there! I guess maybe Kevin and I will spend our 6 year anniversary packing up my stuff and getting it ready to move :)Yes, our 6 year anniversary is Saturday! :)
Oh, one last thing: I had my exit presentation last night for student teaching. When I got there, there was a class meeting in the room so we had to go to another building and find an empty room. Of course the one we went to did not have a working projector for the powerpoint. So I put it in the computer and we sat around and I gave my presentation. Very odd way to do it, but it worked. I'm done with school! :)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
What a week!
Well Student Teaching is officially over. How strange...
Here is a listing of this week's events: Pre-cursor: it's been quite a week...
1) Monday I caught a 24 bug/virus thing. I had to teach Monday because my mentor teacher was giving TCAP. I left at 1:30 because I could not physically take it anymore. I felt so awful and had since about 6:30 a.m. I got home and slept solid for 4 hours, woke up for about 2, and went right back to sleep until 6:10 the next morning. I felt much better so I concluded that it must have a been a bug or something.
2) Tuesday I had my final evaluation meeting, a meeting with the principal, and financial aid exit counseling. Considering I had been very sick the day before, this was pretty ambitious for Tuesday. The final evaluation went pretty well. I got an A for this placement :) The meeting with the principal was not so great. Well the meeting was fine; just not the information I received. I have mentioned that Metro is putting a freeze on new hires until the end of June. They are displacing over 400 current teachers. These teachers are required to be rehired within Metro before any one else can be hired. This basically means that once you're hired into the system, you can't be fired. You can be moved to another school but you have to be rehired if you're displaced. Or you have tenure and can't be touched. That's a dumb way to do things if you ask me. How on earth do you get rid of bad teachers? You can't. They just get moved to a different school if you're lucky enough to get them out of yours. Again, if you're good at your job, you have nothing to worry about. Enough of that tangent though. So after the displaced teachers are rehired, then transfers within district and Teach for America people get placed. Don't even get me started on that. Actually if you want to hear my take on that, I'll be glad to share from an enlightened and informed point of view. So that means that any open jobs go 1st to displaced teachers, 2nd to transfers and Teach for America, and finally to new hires. I would be considered a New hire. Keep in mind that there are 400+ displaced teachers. That's a pretty long list to be at the bottom of. All of this to say that the principal told me to keep my head up; having my ELL certification would help me; and be patient because something will open up- it may be August but it will open up.
3) Wednesday I surprise subbed for a 3rd grade teacher who forgot to put in for a sub. The principal found me that morning on my way to class and told me he would probably send me down there. Good thing I got my sub certification! It made for a long day though. I taught all morning in 1st grade; when they went to lunch, I went to 3rd grade and had lunch an hour later. Third grade is very different. Especially when most of the boys in the class have ADD/ADHD, behavior problems, and all other kinds of craziness. What a day! Oh and that morning I woke up late because the power was off.
4) Wednesday night my throat was still hurting and I was beginning to lose my voice. I also found out, late that night and in not so pleasant of a way, that I have to move by May 15. No longer May 31. She actually was trying to get me out by May 1. May 1 is very soon. There's no way. So I was able to negotiate a little bit. That made for a pretty stressful event.
5) Thursday I woke up and discovered that my alarm clock had re-set itself when the power came back on to be 10 minutes slow. So I was running 10 minutes late. Thankfully I get to school pretty early so it wasn't a problem but it was pretty irritating. It was my last day of student teaching- a bittersweet experience. We had a fun day, took lots of pictures, and had an Easter Egg "Hunt"/ Scramble. I'll post pictures soon!
It's hard to believe student teaching is over. Everything I've been working towards for 4 years is over. I have my exit presentation Monday, assuming my voice comes back. I've got babysitting interviews and apartment hunts to conduct and then graduation will be upon us! Counting down to May 7!! :)
What a week!
Here is a listing of this week's events: Pre-cursor: it's been quite a week...
1) Monday I caught a 24 bug/virus thing. I had to teach Monday because my mentor teacher was giving TCAP. I left at 1:30 because I could not physically take it anymore. I felt so awful and had since about 6:30 a.m. I got home and slept solid for 4 hours, woke up for about 2, and went right back to sleep until 6:10 the next morning. I felt much better so I concluded that it must have a been a bug or something.
2) Tuesday I had my final evaluation meeting, a meeting with the principal, and financial aid exit counseling. Considering I had been very sick the day before, this was pretty ambitious for Tuesday. The final evaluation went pretty well. I got an A for this placement :) The meeting with the principal was not so great. Well the meeting was fine; just not the information I received. I have mentioned that Metro is putting a freeze on new hires until the end of June. They are displacing over 400 current teachers. These teachers are required to be rehired within Metro before any one else can be hired. This basically means that once you're hired into the system, you can't be fired. You can be moved to another school but you have to be rehired if you're displaced. Or you have tenure and can't be touched. That's a dumb way to do things if you ask me. How on earth do you get rid of bad teachers? You can't. They just get moved to a different school if you're lucky enough to get them out of yours. Again, if you're good at your job, you have nothing to worry about. Enough of that tangent though. So after the displaced teachers are rehired, then transfers within district and Teach for America people get placed. Don't even get me started on that. Actually if you want to hear my take on that, I'll be glad to share from an enlightened and informed point of view. So that means that any open jobs go 1st to displaced teachers, 2nd to transfers and Teach for America, and finally to new hires. I would be considered a New hire. Keep in mind that there are 400+ displaced teachers. That's a pretty long list to be at the bottom of. All of this to say that the principal told me to keep my head up; having my ELL certification would help me; and be patient because something will open up- it may be August but it will open up.
3) Wednesday I surprise subbed for a 3rd grade teacher who forgot to put in for a sub. The principal found me that morning on my way to class and told me he would probably send me down there. Good thing I got my sub certification! It made for a long day though. I taught all morning in 1st grade; when they went to lunch, I went to 3rd grade and had lunch an hour later. Third grade is very different. Especially when most of the boys in the class have ADD/ADHD, behavior problems, and all other kinds of craziness. What a day! Oh and that morning I woke up late because the power was off.
4) Wednesday night my throat was still hurting and I was beginning to lose my voice. I also found out, late that night and in not so pleasant of a way, that I have to move by May 15. No longer May 31. She actually was trying to get me out by May 1. May 1 is very soon. There's no way. So I was able to negotiate a little bit. That made for a pretty stressful event.
5) Thursday I woke up and discovered that my alarm clock had re-set itself when the power came back on to be 10 minutes slow. So I was running 10 minutes late. Thankfully I get to school pretty early so it wasn't a problem but it was pretty irritating. It was my last day of student teaching- a bittersweet experience. We had a fun day, took lots of pictures, and had an Easter Egg "Hunt"/ Scramble. I'll post pictures soon!
It's hard to believe student teaching is over. Everything I've been working towards for 4 years is over. I have my exit presentation Monday, assuming my voice comes back. I've got babysitting interviews and apartment hunts to conduct and then graduation will be upon us! Counting down to May 7!! :)
What a week!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
The End is Near!
The end is near! Of student teaching that is. Thursday is the last day I'll be going to first grade as a student teacher. So weird!!! I'm still full time teaching tomorrow because of TCAP testing and I'll be doing everything but math the rest of the week. We're planning to have an Easter Egg hunt on Thursday since there is no school Friday. Maybe I'll have to hide something special in some eggs for the kids. I'll definitely miss seeing them every day!
This past week did me in though. Everyday after lunch I felt horrible. I was feeling sick and had awful headaches every single afternoon. Needless to say, it made for a very long week. I was also full time teaching so that made it even harder. I think it's safe to say that this was caused by a combination of stress, new medicines, and exhaustion. Not a good combination. No matter how hard I try not to stress and just let God handle things, my body and mind don't really relax. They're constantly stressed! This manifested itself Friday. My stomach was in absolute knots for no explainable reason. Thanks stress.
So the reasons for the stress?? 1) I have to move out by May 31. I'll be in Spartanburg from 5/25-5/30 so I need to know where I'm going and have everything packed and ready to go before we fly out. Yikes! I have nothing except a desk, papasan chair (sp?), and mini-dorm fridge. My parents will probably have to drive some things up later that weekend so I'll probably be adventure living for the first few days! Why not right?
2) I have to find a summer job- this will probably be nannying. I've had a few good leads but nothing has panned out yet. I have several interviews this week, most of which are part time. Hopefully I can combine some part time things to make a full time schedule for the summer that will help pay rent!
3) I need a teaching job. This week Metro Nashville Public Schools announced that they will be displacing over 400 teachers due to changing enrollment. Now, just so you know, there are 78,000+ students in MNPS this year. They are projecting that there will be 80-82K next year. So, of course they're getting rid of over 400 teachers. (Apparently this makes sense to someone, but not to me.)They are suspending all new hires until June 25. This means that all open positions go to displaced teachers first. Then new teachers, like me, get a shot if there's anything left. The principal that I want to work for has told me that he has a meeting with Human Resources on Monday 4/25 so I am meeting with him Tuesday. Please please please pray that he will have some good news for me. Even if it just hang on until July. Something positive would be great!
I'm trying everyday to put this all in God's hands. I know He has a plan and that He knows where I'll live, work, and how I'll pay the bills. He's faithful and has a plan. I know I'm supposed to be learning patience, I'm just very bad at it. I'm trying so hard though! Please pray that I'll succeed at my lesson and learn quickly! :)
There is a lot going on this week and in the next few weeks! I'll try to get in another post tomorrow with more updates because I know this is long! Thanks for reading and for praying!!!
This past week did me in though. Everyday after lunch I felt horrible. I was feeling sick and had awful headaches every single afternoon. Needless to say, it made for a very long week. I was also full time teaching so that made it even harder. I think it's safe to say that this was caused by a combination of stress, new medicines, and exhaustion. Not a good combination. No matter how hard I try not to stress and just let God handle things, my body and mind don't really relax. They're constantly stressed! This manifested itself Friday. My stomach was in absolute knots for no explainable reason. Thanks stress.
So the reasons for the stress?? 1) I have to move out by May 31. I'll be in Spartanburg from 5/25-5/30 so I need to know where I'm going and have everything packed and ready to go before we fly out. Yikes! I have nothing except a desk, papasan chair (sp?), and mini-dorm fridge. My parents will probably have to drive some things up later that weekend so I'll probably be adventure living for the first few days! Why not right?
2) I have to find a summer job- this will probably be nannying. I've had a few good leads but nothing has panned out yet. I have several interviews this week, most of which are part time. Hopefully I can combine some part time things to make a full time schedule for the summer that will help pay rent!
3) I need a teaching job. This week Metro Nashville Public Schools announced that they will be displacing over 400 teachers due to changing enrollment. Now, just so you know, there are 78,000+ students in MNPS this year. They are projecting that there will be 80-82K next year. So, of course they're getting rid of over 400 teachers. (Apparently this makes sense to someone, but not to me.)They are suspending all new hires until June 25. This means that all open positions go to displaced teachers first. Then new teachers, like me, get a shot if there's anything left. The principal that I want to work for has told me that he has a meeting with Human Resources on Monday 4/25 so I am meeting with him Tuesday. Please please please pray that he will have some good news for me. Even if it just hang on until July. Something positive would be great!
I'm trying everyday to put this all in God's hands. I know He has a plan and that He knows where I'll live, work, and how I'll pay the bills. He's faithful and has a plan. I know I'm supposed to be learning patience, I'm just very bad at it. I'm trying so hard though! Please pray that I'll succeed at my lesson and learn quickly! :)
There is a lot going on this week and in the next few weeks! I'll try to get in another post tomorrow with more updates because I know this is long! Thanks for reading and for praying!!!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Is it only Wednesday???
I'm so tired :( This whole experience is coming to an end. In one week, I will be finished with student teaching. So weird... It's beginning to catch up with me though. It's only Wednesday and I've been hoping for Friday since yesterday! I seriously considered going to bed at 6:30 tonight. I didn't end up doing it but I wanted to. It will be an early night tonight though, I hope.
Today was the start of TCAP. For those who don't know, that means that every teacher, principal, secretary, etc... got no sleep last night. This is the state test that every 3rd-8th grader takes. High school may take it too but I think their dates are different. This also means that our building was completely silent from 8:20-11:35 this morning. The Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade walked outside in silence if we had to go somewhere. The lunchroom was quiet. Doors were closed everywhere. P.E was quiet with the doors closed. It was kind of eerie to tell you the truth. Thankfully we are on the other side of the building far away from where testing was going on, but you better believe our kiddos didn't make a peep in the hall or outside. I thought I was being harsh by threatening to move their card to yellow if they made a sound. At lunch I found out the other teachers had threatened to move cards straight to red. My kids had it easy haha. I did have to move 2 though. Guess I wasn't scary enough :) I'll try again tomorrow. This will be the way things are for several more days. On Tuesday, things will go back to normal. So if you think about, please keep the kids at my school taking the test in your prayers. This is a big deal test and their scores have a huge impact on the school as well as the students. If you're really curious and want to know more, you can check it out here: http://www.tn.gov/education/assessment/achievement.shtml
On a personal note, I'm super tired this week and everything that goes along with that. I've been getting really agitated with little things and dreading the afternoons. If I felt like this the whole placement, I would have been miserable. I'm trying to remember this is my next to last week but I'm so tired that I just want to be done... I think emotional stress is contributing to this as well. If you haven't heard, I have to move by June 1. I'll also be in Spartanburg the last week of May. So I guess I really have to move by mid-May. That's soon. I also have to find a summer nannying job that will help pay rent since teachers don't get paid until August. On that note, I also have to get a teaching job. Oh goodness, when you lay it all out there, there's a lot going on. That also means a lot will be happening this summer. I'm not the best at dealing with change. This summer will be nothing but change. Bring it on. I'm ready for it.
I'm working this week on really truly handing everything over to God and letting Him deal with it. Honestly, I don't want to deal with it so I'm glad He's there to take it. I know that He has a plan and knows where I'll live, how I'll pay for it, and where I'll teach in the fall. Hopefully I can be patient enough that He'll reveal it soon :) Prayers for all of these situations would also be greatly appreciated. Thank you for all of your prayers and support!
Today was the start of TCAP. For those who don't know, that means that every teacher, principal, secretary, etc... got no sleep last night. This is the state test that every 3rd-8th grader takes. High school may take it too but I think their dates are different. This also means that our building was completely silent from 8:20-11:35 this morning. The Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade walked outside in silence if we had to go somewhere. The lunchroom was quiet. Doors were closed everywhere. P.E was quiet with the doors closed. It was kind of eerie to tell you the truth. Thankfully we are on the other side of the building far away from where testing was going on, but you better believe our kiddos didn't make a peep in the hall or outside. I thought I was being harsh by threatening to move their card to yellow if they made a sound. At lunch I found out the other teachers had threatened to move cards straight to red. My kids had it easy haha. I did have to move 2 though. Guess I wasn't scary enough :) I'll try again tomorrow. This will be the way things are for several more days. On Tuesday, things will go back to normal. So if you think about, please keep the kids at my school taking the test in your prayers. This is a big deal test and their scores have a huge impact on the school as well as the students. If you're really curious and want to know more, you can check it out here: http://www.tn.gov/education/assessment/achievement.shtml
On a personal note, I'm super tired this week and everything that goes along with that. I've been getting really agitated with little things and dreading the afternoons. If I felt like this the whole placement, I would have been miserable. I'm trying to remember this is my next to last week but I'm so tired that I just want to be done... I think emotional stress is contributing to this as well. If you haven't heard, I have to move by June 1. I'll also be in Spartanburg the last week of May. So I guess I really have to move by mid-May. That's soon. I also have to find a summer nannying job that will help pay rent since teachers don't get paid until August. On that note, I also have to get a teaching job. Oh goodness, when you lay it all out there, there's a lot going on. That also means a lot will be happening this summer. I'm not the best at dealing with change. This summer will be nothing but change. Bring it on. I'm ready for it.
I'm working this week on really truly handing everything over to God and letting Him deal with it. Honestly, I don't want to deal with it so I'm glad He's there to take it. I know that He has a plan and knows where I'll live, how I'll pay for it, and where I'll teach in the fall. Hopefully I can be patient enough that He'll reveal it soon :) Prayers for all of these situations would also be greatly appreciated. Thank you for all of your prayers and support!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Quick Catch Up
Well I finally found a minute! I usually try to do a new one at some point during the weekend, but last week was just so crazy that I couldn't. This past weekend was beautiful! Kevin and I were able to go to the park on Saturday and walk around for a while. Story about the park- every, and I mean EVERY time we go, we see either someone getting married, getting engaged, or taking engagement pictures. This past Saturday was no different. We saw the happy couple- tux, white dress, and all. On Sunday we were able to go ride bikes through some very hilly neighborhoods. I guess it's called Green Hills for a reason.
It was nice to get some time together though because we didn't see each other at all last week. I saw him Sunday night and not again til the next Saturday. Between shows he was going to and my exhaustion from school and babysitting, our schedules just didn't mesh very well. Guess it doesn't matter if you live 5 minutes away, when schedules are opposite, there's nothing you can do.
Anyways, school has been going well. I pretty much started full time teaching last week and will continue until the 19th or so. It's fine with me! I love it! My mentor teacher is also getting a lot of stuff done in her room that she's wanted to do for a while but hasn't had the time to do. Next week, she gets to go administer TCAP though so she better enjoy this week! The more time I spend teaching, the more I love it. The kids crack me up, every day is different, you never know what to expect, and there is never a dull moment. I can't imagine spending my day doing anything else. I'm going to be really bummed when this placement is over. I already have quite a few days lined up to go back and sub so hopefully I won't have too much time to be bummed!
I have 2 more observations, one of which is tomorrow and the other is next week, and that's it! So weird to think that this is wrapping up so quickly. It's definitely creating a lot of mixed emotions for me. I'm excited to be finishing school, but sad that I'm going to be leaving the wonderful people I'm with everyday.
Hopefully more good things are close behind though. I have finished and turned in my portfolio. My exit presentation is on the 25th, and graduation is 30 days or 4 weeks or 1 month away!! :) CRAZY!!!
It was nice to get some time together though because we didn't see each other at all last week. I saw him Sunday night and not again til the next Saturday. Between shows he was going to and my exhaustion from school and babysitting, our schedules just didn't mesh very well. Guess it doesn't matter if you live 5 minutes away, when schedules are opposite, there's nothing you can do.
Anyways, school has been going well. I pretty much started full time teaching last week and will continue until the 19th or so. It's fine with me! I love it! My mentor teacher is also getting a lot of stuff done in her room that she's wanted to do for a while but hasn't had the time to do. Next week, she gets to go administer TCAP though so she better enjoy this week! The more time I spend teaching, the more I love it. The kids crack me up, every day is different, you never know what to expect, and there is never a dull moment. I can't imagine spending my day doing anything else. I'm going to be really bummed when this placement is over. I already have quite a few days lined up to go back and sub so hopefully I won't have too much time to be bummed!
I have 2 more observations, one of which is tomorrow and the other is next week, and that's it! So weird to think that this is wrapping up so quickly. It's definitely creating a lot of mixed emotions for me. I'm excited to be finishing school, but sad that I'm going to be leaving the wonderful people I'm with everyday.
Hopefully more good things are close behind though. I have finished and turned in my portfolio. My exit presentation is on the 25th, and graduation is 30 days or 4 weeks or 1 month away!! :) CRAZY!!!
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