How in the world are we already at the last day of school? I promise you this year just started. I think next year will be easier though. This year with a new high schooler and a new middle schooler, it was rough. But my baby is still in elementary. But nest year she'll be upstairs.
Last year at the end of school I was talking to a friend who was teary when talking about her twins moving to the second story. I of course was nice about it but was a little giggly later because it's only upstairs. You know what? As I was waiting for Reagan to come out to the car is really hit me....my baby will be upstairs next year.
And I have to say, I got a little teary.
Showing posts with label School stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label School stuff. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Gold Medal Winner
I headed to Reagan's last Round Up this morning because she was going to be getting a math award. During the school year the students are given tests called Math Tracks. After you pass the preliminary tests in your class, you get to go to the Principal's Test. If you pass that, you move up to the next harder one. At the end of the school year students get medals based on how many they've passed. Bronze, Silver, or Gold. In first grade Reagan was one of two who got a gold. A Math Whiz t-shirt was thrown in and it's still one of her favorite things. In second grade her teacher saw that she was doing so well and moved her up a level. Reagan panicked and was so worried she didn't end up passing it. She was crushed when she got a silver medal. But this year she was back on top!
I'm sure she gets her math skills from me:c)
Friday, August 27, 2010
It's A Campout!
Just walking up to this building at our church you might think people were just hanging around the building talking....until you see the tents in the background.
Also the list of considerations on the door is a bit confusing.
And then you see it. The list of hopeful parents with their children's names and grade they'll be entering next year.
Yep, it's open transfer day!! Well, actually open transfer day is Wednesday, September 1st.
Since our school district is less than a square mile we should be a small school. We were when I was a student. Now because it's 'the' school to be in, we are almost 70% transfer. We are a big school, but you still get a small town feel. Teachers don't come to start off at a small school and go bigger, they come and stay. McKinley has one that's been there 24 years. I had three that taught over 30 years there.
The only way to get in as a transfer student is to come to open transfer day, fill out the paperwork, and hope the grade your child will be in next year has an opening. So it makes sense to try and be the first person to get your name on the list for that grade. The doors open on the 1st at 7:30 a.m. About 7 years ago parents would get in line at 6 in the morning. But each year they get earlier and earlier. This year, 6 days early. The tents were new about 3 years ago. The school has no guidelines about it, and no control over what happens until they open the doors that morning, so the list of considerations, some camper wrote and posted.
The lady in this picture looked a little older to me...when someone asked her how old her children were she said her older 3 were grown and gone, but the two boys they'd just adopted from Haiti were in elementary. How precious is that?
Although the school has no guidelines, they are nice enough to provide port-a-potties. I hope this lady is on the right side of those!
I wonder if our local stores are out of tents....I do like the colors:D
I am so thankful for my address at this point! We are a few of the coveted in district owners.
Who needs a tent?? This dad just pulled out his sleeping bag at night and climbed into the back of his truck on his cot. Hope there's no rain in the forecast.
As I walked away I was so proud of our school. This is what people are doing to get in.
I'll be back every day to take more pictures. I'm loving this!
Also the list of considerations on the door is a bit confusing. And then you see it. The list of hopeful parents with their children's names and grade they'll be entering next year. Yep, it's open transfer day!! Well, actually open transfer day is Wednesday, September 1st.Since our school district is less than a square mile we should be a small school. We were when I was a student. Now because it's 'the' school to be in, we are almost 70% transfer. We are a big school, but you still get a small town feel. Teachers don't come to start off at a small school and go bigger, they come and stay. McKinley has one that's been there 24 years. I had three that taught over 30 years there.
The only way to get in as a transfer student is to come to open transfer day, fill out the paperwork, and hope the grade your child will be in next year has an opening. So it makes sense to try and be the first person to get your name on the list for that grade. The doors open on the 1st at 7:30 a.m. About 7 years ago parents would get in line at 6 in the morning. But each year they get earlier and earlier. This year, 6 days early. The tents were new about 3 years ago. The school has no guidelines about it, and no control over what happens until they open the doors that morning, so the list of considerations, some camper wrote and posted.
The lady in this picture looked a little older to me...when someone asked her how old her children were she said her older 3 were grown and gone, but the two boys they'd just adopted from Haiti were in elementary. How precious is that?
Although the school has no guidelines, they are nice enough to provide port-a-potties. I hope this lady is on the right side of those! I wonder if our local stores are out of tents....I do like the colors:DI am so thankful for my address at this point! We are a few of the coveted in district owners. Who needs a tent?? This dad just pulled out his sleeping bag at night and climbed into the back of his truck on his cot. Hope there's no rain in the forecast.As I walked away I was so proud of our school. This is what people are doing to get in. I'll be back every day to take more pictures. I'm loving this!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Why I Haven't Been Posting
Since Monday at 4:00 I have spent 34 1/2 hours at the school. That's because of three dress rehearsals, three performances, and 8 hours of ticket sales.
But it was all worth it. The musical was wonderful. Memories were made. New friends were made. And a pretty nice photo cd available for only $10 was made.
4,000 pictures later here are some of my favorites.
The Von Trapp children with Maria. Kennedy is third from the left on the front row. She was Marta.
I learned a lot about my camera during the week of 4,000 pictures. I shot almost all of them in TV mode while adjusting my shutter speed. Of course, until last night when Shawn told me it was my shutter speed, I just called it the fraction number thingie.
My friend Christie is an amazing seamstress and spend many more hours than me working on costumes. The costumes in the first picture were my favorite. They were made out of the curtains Maria finds in her room. Of course, that meant Christie had to make curtains and costumes. And the children only wore them in one scene for about 2 1/2 minutes! Their uniforms were worn the most. They were so cute!
The nuns though wore their choir dresses with a long sleeve button up shirt. The first night I helped McKinley (second from the right) tie on her wimple. It was a bittersweet and funny moment. When I put this picture on Facebook several people commented about them all having braces. My friend Keron said they must have a good dental plan to the convent!
What I love most about the musicals is that each year our principals and superintendent are in it. Our school system is so small that Pre-K through seniors are all in three buildings in a 4 block area that are all connected. That means it really is like a big family. Our superintendent is very involved. He fills in for crossing guard duty when needed and I've even seen him mowing the grass during the summer. The three principals are great guys, too.
This is our elementary principal. He was the Nazi official that came to Captain Von Trapp to give him his commission papers. He had quite a few lines and did a great job!
This is our high school principal and his wife who works in the elementary library. He was my Algebra 1 & 2 teacher and although I don't remember much, he was a great teacher. He did lie though when he said I'd use it every day. He and his wife were a couple that visited the party the Captain threw for Baroness Shrader. His wife had a little flirtatious moment with the Captain that had the audience cheering.
Our middle school principal was the hardest to photograph. He was the Nazi official that ran in to report that the Von Trapp family had left the concert and were gone. He ran in, said a quick line, and ran off. It took me four nights to get this picture.
But here's my favorite, our superintendent. He was the priest that performed the wedding ceremony. He didn't have any lines but was the most memorable person. This was the first dress rehearsal he came to so he's not in costume yet. But the cast was still excited to see him. Look at the smile on Kennedy's face!
At the cast party last night a group of moms were standing around and one asked if we'd seen her son in the nun chorus. He'd been begging the choir teacher to let him be one. She finally caved after making him sing the song to make sure he could do it. So Franz the butler became a nun. Luckily I'd decided to take a few more nun pictures last night and had one of him!
Since I had been taking pictures the superintendent asked if I'd take a group picture on the stage with the amazing set that had been purchased. And while I was at it, why not add the entire cast also. No pressure there. So after the last show I stood in the second to back row, on the chair arms rests, and snapped about 20 pictures. I was terrified that I wouldn't get a good one. But I did! 
And if you look at the last person on the right, you'll see Franz the butler wearing his wimple!
So another year of the musical is over. It's such an amazing thing to be a part of. But now it's time to move on to another of the projects I listed a few days ago.
Know what I penciled on my calendar for May 26th?
Collapse.
I can't wait.
But it was all worth it. The musical was wonderful. Memories were made. New friends were made. And a pretty nice photo cd available for only $10 was made.
4,000 pictures later here are some of my favorites.
The Von Trapp children with Maria. Kennedy is third from the left on the front row. She was Marta.
I learned a lot about my camera during the week of 4,000 pictures. I shot almost all of them in TV mode while adjusting my shutter speed. Of course, until last night when Shawn told me it was my shutter speed, I just called it the fraction number thingie.My friend Christie is an amazing seamstress and spend many more hours than me working on costumes. The costumes in the first picture were my favorite. They were made out of the curtains Maria finds in her room. Of course, that meant Christie had to make curtains and costumes. And the children only wore them in one scene for about 2 1/2 minutes! Their uniforms were worn the most. They were so cute!The nuns though wore their choir dresses with a long sleeve button up shirt. The first night I helped McKinley (second from the right) tie on her wimple. It was a bittersweet and funny moment. When I put this picture on Facebook several people commented about them all having braces. My friend Keron said they must have a good dental plan to the convent!What I love most about the musicals is that each year our principals and superintendent are in it. Our school system is so small that Pre-K through seniors are all in three buildings in a 4 block area that are all connected. That means it really is like a big family. Our superintendent is very involved. He fills in for crossing guard duty when needed and I've even seen him mowing the grass during the summer. The three principals are great guys, too.This is our elementary principal. He was the Nazi official that came to Captain Von Trapp to give him his commission papers. He had quite a few lines and did a great job!
This is our high school principal and his wife who works in the elementary library. He was my Algebra 1 & 2 teacher and although I don't remember much, he was a great teacher. He did lie though when he said I'd use it every day. He and his wife were a couple that visited the party the Captain threw for Baroness Shrader. His wife had a little flirtatious moment with the Captain that had the audience cheering.Our middle school principal was the hardest to photograph. He was the Nazi official that ran in to report that the Von Trapp family had left the concert and were gone. He ran in, said a quick line, and ran off. It took me four nights to get this picture.But here's my favorite, our superintendent. He was the priest that performed the wedding ceremony. He didn't have any lines but was the most memorable person. This was the first dress rehearsal he came to so he's not in costume yet. But the cast was still excited to see him. Look at the smile on Kennedy's face!At the cast party last night a group of moms were standing around and one asked if we'd seen her son in the nun chorus. He'd been begging the choir teacher to let him be one. She finally caved after making him sing the song to make sure he could do it. So Franz the butler became a nun. Luckily I'd decided to take a few more nun pictures last night and had one of him!Since I had been taking pictures the superintendent asked if I'd take a group picture on the stage with the amazing set that had been purchased. And while I was at it, why not add the entire cast also. No pressure there. So after the last show I stood in the second to back row, on the chair arms rests, and snapped about 20 pictures. I was terrified that I wouldn't get a good one. But I did! And if you look at the last person on the right, you'll see Franz the butler wearing his wimple!So another year of the musical is over. It's such an amazing thing to be a part of. But now it's time to move on to another of the projects I listed a few days ago.
Know what I penciled on my calendar for May 26th?
Collapse.
I can't wait.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Why I Am Stressed
What I'm currently working on:
*Tickets sales for the All School Musical which starts Thursday
*Fielding up to 20 calls a day from people who don't want to go buy tickets on the days they are being sold
*Having two children in the musical
*Doing hair and makeup for both girls Tuesday through Saturday because the makeup person is scary and mean and consistently late
*Taking pictures at all the dress rehearsals to sell on show nights
*Editing the 3000 pictures I've already taken to choose 100 to have printed and put on cds
*Heading up the 5th grade promotion for 107 students. I send out e-mails, notes, hold meetings, handle all the money, and coordinate all the days events and the parent volunteers
*Working on a fundraising auction. I have to describe each of 100+ items to create a program from.
*Running a 5k this Sunday
*Fundraising $3500 for a half marathon in October
*Having a garage sale Thursday-Saturday. I'm selling our things to raise the $1000 needed to buy pool paint and selling donated items to go toward my fundraising.
*Pricing all the stuff that wonderful friends and family have given me to sell. I haven't seen my 200 square foot patio in three weeks because of all the stuff.
*Healing! I am still having a lot of foot pain but only because I can't take any time off to heal!
*Getting costumes together for Book Character Day this Friday. Why oh why would they have this the week of the musical and the week before state testing?
*Staying calm and organized. I'm really trying.
Things I'm not currently working on:
*Working out. I ran Monday and rode the bike yesterday but can't fit it in again until the 5k Sunday.
*Cooking. After making 9 dozen cookies (for a dress rehearsal) and 3 loaves of bread Monday I haven't been home a night all week to make dinner.
*Cleaning. I am working on laundry because apparently the people I live with need clean undies. But the rest of the house is in shambles.
*Calorie counting. I have given up hope on that until Monday. My birthday is Friday so I have just decided to celebrate my birthday all week. I've been good, but I haven't counted.
*Staying calm and organized. I don't think I'm doing a good enough job.
Wow. Seeing it all there typed out makes it
*Tickets sales for the All School Musical which starts Thursday
*Fielding up to 20 calls a day from people who don't want to go buy tickets on the days they are being sold
*Having two children in the musical
*Doing hair and makeup for both girls Tuesday through Saturday because the makeup person is scary and mean and consistently late
*Taking pictures at all the dress rehearsals to sell on show nights
*Editing the 3000 pictures I've already taken to choose 100 to have printed and put on cds
*Heading up the 5th grade promotion for 107 students. I send out e-mails, notes, hold meetings, handle all the money, and coordinate all the days events and the parent volunteers
*Working on a fundraising auction. I have to describe each of 100+ items to create a program from.
*Running a 5k this Sunday
*Fundraising $3500 for a half marathon in October
*Having a garage sale Thursday-Saturday. I'm selling our things to raise the $1000 needed to buy pool paint and selling donated items to go toward my fundraising.
*Pricing all the stuff that wonderful friends and family have given me to sell. I haven't seen my 200 square foot patio in three weeks because of all the stuff.
*Healing! I am still having a lot of foot pain but only because I can't take any time off to heal!
*Getting costumes together for Book Character Day this Friday. Why oh why would they have this the week of the musical and the week before state testing?
*Staying calm and organized. I'm really trying.
Things I'm not currently working on:
*Working out. I ran Monday and rode the bike yesterday but can't fit it in again until the 5k Sunday.
*Cooking. After making 9 dozen cookies (for a dress rehearsal) and 3 loaves of bread Monday I haven't been home a night all week to make dinner.
*Cleaning. I am working on laundry because apparently the people I live with need clean undies. But the rest of the house is in shambles.
*Calorie counting. I have given up hope on that until Monday. My birthday is Friday so I have just decided to celebrate my birthday all week. I've been good, but I haven't counted.
*Staying calm and organized. I don't think I'm doing a good enough job.
Wow. Seeing it all there typed out makes it
Monday, March 8, 2010
Can You Hear The Angels Singing??
I submitted the yearbook today!!
I have my life back.
56 full color pages.
350 books for sale.
700 students.
28 teachers.
25 support staff.
2 tired but very happy editors.
I have my life back.
56 full color pages.
350 books for sale.
700 students.
28 teachers.
25 support staff.
2 tired but very happy editors.
I am in love with black circles.
Cue the angels.
And good night.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Camp Day 3
The end was near.
We went to bed later and had to get up earlier on the final day. Why is that?? I'll have to have that question answered before I go back with Reagan in three years.
Of the three hikes we had the hardest one on the last day. It's not necessarily a hard hike based on length and intensity...it's the cliff we have to go up on all fours that makes it the hardest.
Before we moved out of our cabin we had to take a few pictures.
You can tell from my sweet cousin Ethan, all this fun can wear you out.
After a bus ride we were on our way.
I found so many things along the way I had to take pictures of.
Before long we were at the waterfall. Since I'd been cheated out of a waterfall the day before, I was glad to see this. When I'd gone three years ago with McKinley this area had been completely dry. The kids played on the rocks instead of playing in the water.
The water is the most interesting color. It's because of the limestone rock that the water flows over. The leaves turn gray after falling in. It's a little eerie actually. Very Halloweeny.
We took a cute picture while we were there.
But on the other side of the waterfall was this.
Warren Mountain.
We had about 40 people to get up it. Don't they look excited?
Because of the danger there had to be parents every few feet to reach out a hand if needed. After the adults were all in place the kids got started. One of the things I love about being the yearbook editor and photographer is that I don't have to actually have a duty. I can say, "Oh, I have to take pictures," and go just about anywhere. I had no responsibility to save a life!
One by one the kids walked across the creek,
climbed over a rock, and followed along the water line until it was time to go up.
From here most got on all fours to finish the climb. Dad to dad they slowly made their way up.
The P.E. coach shouted encouragement from his perch at the top. He's been taking kids up this mountain for 13 years and in his words, "Hasn't lost one yet." So reassuring.
Look at the view from the top!
And there are those cute girls again:c)
I don't think I've ever been in so many pictures!....looking so sweaty and sharing my bad hair day with the whole blogging world.
The rest of the hike was up and down but not as up as the sheer cliff thing!
After a picnic lunch we started loading the buses to head home. I almost fell over when I saw my friend Susan walking toward me. Ha!! Tinkle.
Anyway...
We went to bed later and had to get up earlier on the final day. Why is that?? I'll have to have that question answered before I go back with Reagan in three years.
Of the three hikes we had the hardest one on the last day. It's not necessarily a hard hike based on length and intensity...it's the cliff we have to go up on all fours that makes it the hardest.
Before we moved out of our cabin we had to take a few pictures.
You can tell from my sweet cousin Ethan, all this fun can wear you out.
After a bus ride we were on our way.I found so many things along the way I had to take pictures of.
Before long we were at the waterfall. Since I'd been cheated out of a waterfall the day before, I was glad to see this. When I'd gone three years ago with McKinley this area had been completely dry. The kids played on the rocks instead of playing in the water.
The water is the most interesting color. It's because of the limestone rock that the water flows over. The leaves turn gray after falling in. It's a little eerie actually. Very Halloweeny.
We took a cute picture while we were there.
But on the other side of the waterfall was this.Warren Mountain.
We had about 40 people to get up it. Don't they look excited?Because of the danger there had to be parents every few feet to reach out a hand if needed. After the adults were all in place the kids got started. One of the things I love about being the yearbook editor and photographer is that I don't have to actually have a duty. I can say, "Oh, I have to take pictures," and go just about anywhere. I had no responsibility to save a life!One by one the kids walked across the creek, climbed over a rock, and followed along the water line until it was time to go up.From here most got on all fours to finish the climb. Dad to dad they slowly made their way up.
The P.E. coach shouted encouragement from his perch at the top. He's been taking kids up this mountain for 13 years and in his words, "Hasn't lost one yet." So reassuring.
Look at the view from the top!And there are those cute girls again:c)
I don't think I've ever been in so many pictures!....looking so sweaty and sharing my bad hair day with the whole blogging world.
The rest of the hike was up and down but not as up as the sheer cliff thing!After a picnic lunch we started loading the buses to head home. I almost fell over when I saw my friend Susan walking toward me. Ha!! Tinkle.
Anyway...I was sleep deprived and sore in places I didn't know I had. I needed humor at that point in my life.
Everyone was still all smiles as the buses started rolling down the hills.
But soon enough most of the girls on our bus looked like this.
Isn't she cute? She's a worn out little camper.
So we made it home. The thing that Kennedy had looked forward to for a whole year had lived up to her every expectation. I asked her today what she had to look forward to in 5th grade now.
Her reply?
"Nothing."
It's going to be a long year.
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