Closing out...

Well, we're coming to the end of yet another school year; two full days and two half days to go! I may or may not have to work on Friday, but that won't be determined until next Thursday, when I'll know if I've successfully gone through our close-out procedure. I can certainly use the time off, that's for sure! It's been an interesting year. I got to teach the honors classes this year for the first time! It really was different teaching kids who, by and large, were pretty motivated and interested in learning something. The other science teacher got pretty much the same deal this year that I had last year. She got all of the regular-ed kids and had to teach a section of Speech. Last year I had the same gig except that my extra section was "Study Skills." The difference, of course, is that she still had one conference period every day while I only had one every-other day. What's really tough about the schedule is the kind of kid who gets placed in "Study Skills" or "Speech." It's the kids who don't have Band, or Art, or Athletics, or Choir, or any other worthwhile elective. They're the ones who turned in blank course requests or got turned down for their choices because they're not exactly "model citizens." Uhhhh....how do you say it nicely? It's a room full of knot-heads, and they have no more interest in being there than the man in the moon! It's a rough gig and one I wouldn't wish on anyone! Consequently, it was not only a pleasure getting the honors classes, it was a tremendous relief NOT getting all of the knot-heads at the same time! I'm supposed to get honors again next year (my across-the-hall colleague couldn't take it anymore; she's going to another school next year!), so I'm looking forward to another good year in Science!

I'm teaching two weeks of "Gear Up!" summer camp again this year. Gear Up! is a program funded by the Feds that's supposed to increase the interest of the students in advancing their education beyond high school. They started with our 7th-grade class last year and they're following this one class through high school. There's a great deal of interest among teachers in securing the Gear Up jobs because they pay well and, unlike "normal" summer school jobs, you're not dealing with a bunch of losers who could not or would not do what's necessary to pass during the regular school year; you're dealing with kids who WANT to be there and are truly motivated and excited about learning something! Thus, it's a "cherry" job that every teacher wants and there are huge numbers of us who apply, but not that many, in relative terms, who are chosen. I'm blessed indeed to have been selected again this year!

For Gear Up I have to work two planning days on the 12th and 13th and then both following weeks (excluding Fridays). A week from this Friday, MDGD is coming to spend four days with us! Woo-hoo! Of course, our anniversary is a week from Saturday; MDB has to work all day at the Houston Hurricane Conference that is put on by the NWS and sponsored by CenterPoint Energy; we're going to be busy, but it should be fun! I'm going to take MDB out for a nice dinner to celebrate! It's going to be a hoot!

Well, that's enough for now. I've got a lot of cleaning up to do to get my room ready for summer!