Wow...someone reads my blog...my parents! Hi Mom and Dad if you're reading this. Apparently my mom introduced my dad to my blog, so hopefully he can keep up with my crazy life now as well. Anyway, I know I haven't posted in a while, so I'll try to get you all caught up on what's been going on this summer:
Summer School: I did teach summer school again this year (hey...it doubles my salary for a month and it is SO easy)! It was a pretty decent experience. I didn't have any major issues with the kids and I got to get so much of my grad. school work done (and get paid...hehe). All in all, it was worth the extra month of work.
Graduate School: What can I say about graduate school? Well...I'm ALMOST done with my coursework (come on Dr. Slate, post that final) and all I will have left is my internship this fall and my Comprehensive Exams (as I type these words my hands begin to shake) in December, then my TEXES exam in January and I can officially become a principal in the State of Texas. Whoopee doo! Overall, grad. school this summer was okay. It has been over a year since I took classes last (we bought a house in the meantime), so it was an adjustment to get the hang of it. Fortunately, my first two classes this summer were "hybrid," meaning that we met face-to-face with the profs. twice and the rest was done online. I preferred this over my totally online experiences. There is something about being in a classroom that I just love...I love the interaction, the wealth of experience from the professors, and the great ideas you get from classmates. I was particularly lucky to be enrolled in these classes with the current Bryan/College Station cohort, so I had people who ACTUALLY live in the same area in my classes. I was also fortunate to get to know Michelle Prejean, a teacher at our school, throughout the course. She is great and now I have a new friend!
Unfortunately, my Summer II classes have not been so much fun. I am currently taking Research Methods (aka Hell 101) and School Law (aka Boring for Dummies). These are both completely online classes and I have to say, I'm not ending on a high note. Law is easy and I was disappointed to find that I don't like legal jargon nearly as much as I thought I would. Research, on the other hand, is the absolute worst class I've ever taken. I have not enjoyed one single minute of learning from that class and I have now decided if I ever do go back to get my Ed.D., I'll have to do a qualitative research study (less statistics). The professor only cut length off of the assignments, but didn't cut any of the assignments from the full semester course, so it has been a CRAZY 5 weeks. I'm ALMOST DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you sense my excitement? At this point, I don't even care if I get a B in this class, I'll just be glad to have it done!
Job Interview: I think part of the reason my summer has gone by so fast is because of the two jobs I interviewed for this summer. The first was the Registrar position at the high school...it was a new position and involved lots of planning, organization, logical thinking, scheduling, etc...read: it was the perfect job for me! I was so excited, my interview was GREAT, and then...they decided not to fill the position. Long story short, we needed a counselor more than we needed a registrar. I've heard I was in the running for it. Don't know how accurate that is, but I'm pretty proud of how I did during the interview.
The other job interview was for an assistant principal position at our school. I mainly interviewed for this one for the experience since I figure I'll probably start my administrative career at this level. Again, I felt really good about the interview (a lot easier than I thought it would be) but they went with someone with more experience (well, DUH)! Just a tiny bit of me was upset...that's a lie...a WHOLE lot of me was upset, but honestly, I don't think I ever had a chance. I'm not even certified yet!!! I don't know what I was thinking, but it was fun to go through the process.
One good outcome of all these interviews was that I got to know our new principal much better. After an interesting first meeting with him (one in which I was virtually invisible) I now have a great working relationship with him and see him as someone who can provide me with information and sort of a mentor-like relationship. He's got a wealth of knowledge and while I'm sure he's not perfect, I think he knows what he is doing and will do a great job.
Life at Home: As if all of this didn't take up enough time, Johnny has decided (note that I said Johnny, because this was ALL his idea) that we need to "finish up the inside of the house." This means new flooring in all but our bedroom, paint in the office (we're saving the other for when we have a kid...if we ever do...no, I shouldn't say that, we will one day), chair rails in the guest room and office, and painting all of the trim in the house. So far, we have pulled up the carpet in the office and painted in there. Next week I will work on painting the trim that's not already on the wall so it can go up. Just the way I wanted to spend my last two weeks of summer!
Road Trip: I have managed to squeeze in one road trip this summer with my mom and aunt. We went last weekend to Austin and San Marcos to visit my older brother and go shopping. It was a fun trip. Aside from the heat (freaking hott), my aunt's carsickness (no, she didn't puke in the car) and the scores of people at the outlet mall (oh yeah, and my lack of funds), it was a really great time. I was happy to spend time with my family (at least part of it). Maybe I'll go back to San Marcos with cash and during the week next time.
Back to School: We go back to school (we meaning teachers) on Aug. 15 (a Friday...sucks). The kids come back August 25. I can't believe it's already here. I think right now I will be teaching 3 honors classes and 2 regular classes and Stormy informed me the other day that I have about...are you sitting down?...116 kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The only time I've had this few is when I was at HJ and I had 112! I am so excited! What will I do with all that time! Michelle P. told me the other day that she thinks I only have 3 sped. kids so far. What? Just 3? Normally I have about 25! Maybe this will be a great year after all. I'm going to try to enjoy it as much as possible just in case it's my last in the classroom.
Well, as Porky says, that's all folks! Hmmm...putting it down in writing makes me feel pretty tired. I think I need a summer vacation!
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