snow!

This is the second "real" winter I've experienced in Virginia.  This week and last have been absolutely freezing and colder than normal for VA at any point during the months of December-February.
It sort of snowed during the day on Monday, but it started after we were already in school.  It barely covered the grass and promptly melted when the sun came out around 1:30. That was nice.
Today it snowed. Not a whole lot, but the ground is covered with probably 2-3" (I haven't been outside, so I'm totally guessing). What cracked me up is that my district called a snow day before a single flake even fell. That was a first. Also: for this small amount of snow, there are grocery stores with sold-out bread aisles. I understood it a little more last winter when it was, like, two feet of snow and a for-real blizzard because that is incredibly strange for Virginia.
We still have until Tuesday before winter break starts. I'm not sure if we'll have school tomorrow. The snow stopped falling, but sleet is supposed to roll in and it's so cold outside that it might just cause another snow day or a 2 hour delay (to make sure the roads aren't too slick).
Will the freak out over snow hitting Virginia ever stop being amusing to me? I hope not.

snow days

Today is snow day number 5.

We had school yesterday, but woke up this morning with snow falling hard again. At first, 98% of the schools in the area tried to start with a 2 hour delay. About half an hour ago, they called saying it was cancelled and a majority of those 2 hour delay schools switched to cancel the day. The snow is supposed to stop, but not until after students would have to be transported to school. So far, I've had one Odd day and one Even day with my classes this semester.

Yesterday my classes surprised me by being a little more focused than I expected. We got through the intro work for both plays and actually ended up reading a good chunk of Act I of both Romeo & Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. That was a load off of my back. Plus, as I look back on last year, this is about where I was already in the second week of Midsummer because there were interruptions and I did a lot more activities with the terminology and themes before we started reading. Once I realized that, I relaxed a bit. Another positive is that my English 9 kids already have a general idea about R&J, liked discussing the true/false statements and actually seemed excited and ready to read. Also: they seemed to understand it already (more than I expected, I mean-- it is Shakespeare, always a challenge for HS kids) and a few of them even got the humor in the first scene. As for Midsummer, that play introduces so many characters to begin with that the students were at first confused. Shakespeare throws out a lot of names and conflicts at the very start, so I can understand their confusion, especially after days of not having class. 7th period was pretty chatty and hyper, but less rowdy than I expected and it seemed like a few of them were catching on. That play gets easier as it goes on, so I'm still looking forward to teaching it for a second year. My English 10 kids are awesome and I think this play is definitely their style, if the snow could stop interrupting the schedule.

This weekend and the snow day on Monday led to me finishing my part of my application to grad school. That's a great feeling. All I'm waiting on is transcripts to be sent from WMU to VCU and two references (they've been held up by the snow days, but both say they can get it to me by the end of the week). I have everything I need to work on Romeo & Juliet, lesson plans and updating my classroom site, so I'll use this day to work on anything I would've worked on during my planning period. The only thing I don't have here that I had to do today was the failure letters teachers were responsible for sending out, but that can be done tomorrow.

an early spring break?

It snowed here last weekend. It started very early Saturday and didn't end all day. We got about a foot of snow, which is a lot for this area.

We weren't in school for three days. Three. days. They had us come in yesterday for a teacher work day, so I finished quite a bit of work. This morning was a two hour delay for students, but not for us, so even more time to work. Monday was just a teacher work day, so whatev, but the other two? I had stuff to do. Lots of stuff. The start of the second semester. At least I'm not like other teachers who missed benchmark testing, but still. It was nice to have days off, but also shifts everything around.

Also: they didn't build in any snow/weather days. February 15th was supposed to be a day off, but is now scheduled to make up a day we had off in November due to a power outage. Now we have two days to make up if they count the work day Wednesday as a normal day, three days if they don't. When will we make them up? Spring break? Memorial day? The end of the year?

Oh, did I mention that we'll be getting more snow this weekend? We might get out early for that. Who knows.

I would love it if I never saw another snow flake this winter. Or next year. Or the year after. I love(d) living in a state that didn't see more than a dusting of snow.

In happier news, today was the first day for Shakespeare and it went smoothly. Second period (English 9) had a great conversation to introduce Romeo & Juliet and 5th period (English 10) got through everything we had to and seemed intrigued by A Midsummer Night's Dream. A lot of the students mentioned that they were happy to be back in school, mostly because it beat being stuck in the house for days on end or facing driving in snow in the country. At lunch, a lot of my former students were reminiscing about how much they loved Midsummer last year, especially the parts that had Pyramus & Thisbe and the Mechanicals. That's good to hear! I was expecting today to be rough, full of rowdy kids and nonsense; instead, today turned out nicely. Whew!

goodbye January! goodbye first semester!

I kept meaning to get around to updating this, but it never happened. I've debated just giving up, but a lot of this is to remind me of the good times I have being a teacher, so I don't think that'll happen.

Highlights of the last week or so:

• While students were working on their exam review, someone asked me if I read Watership Down. This led to a conversation where we bonded over the book about bunnies and how sad and boring it was. We all didn't like it for various reasons. I was surprised that they still had kids in 6th grade read it. It's funny that most of the kids didn't really remember the title of it, but once you mentioned it was the book with the bunnies, they knew exactly which one it was and all had the same basic reaction: "Ohh, the book with the bunnies--I hated that book!"
• My grandma on my mom's side passed away--the same day we got the car fixed, of course--and a few students found out when they noticed I wasn't my normal self. A few stopped by the classroom to give me hugs and tried to cheer me up.
• We got a new car and have a possible buyer for the Jetta. Nice.
• I'm getting ready to teach A Midsummer Night's Dream again and Romeo & Juliet for the first time. I'm looking forward to both, but I am a little nervous. Anyone that's ever taught Shakespeare and had to deal with the difficulty of students who just don't get it would understand. I'm hoping that everyone comes through in one piece and actually understands the play in the end. Oh, and it would be great if the amount of whining about how Shakespeare writes was at a minimum, but that never happens.
• I've been carpooling with another teacher and it's been awesome!
• Last Monday, we had an event for freshmen that helped them study for their exams. They had snacks, lemonade, and hot chocolate as well as teachers wandering around to help them out if they were stuck. I didn't go to last year's, but I went this year. It was great seeing all those kids hanging out and studying. It's a good habit to introduce them to and I hope it sticks.
• It snowed again this weekend. I was supposed to be in school today for a teacher work day since the first semester ended on Friday, but that didn't happen. I'm not even sure if we'll have school tomorrow since the snow is sticking around and there's another storm possibly coming in tomorrow with more snow. What state do I live in again??

this room is hainted

The A/C at school still isn't working (they promise that it'll work by the time spring break ends), and it's been warm. Today was incredibly warm. I about passed out in the cafeteria during parent/teacher conferences it was so stuffy!
Anyway, this isn't a sad story about the lack of A/C, it's a story about what happened during my 5th bell.
We're reading Their Eyes Were Watching God (which, by the way, the kids are actually LIKING! How? What? Why?) and the kids are into it. A storm has been blowing in all day and the wind really picked up around 5th bell. Then, all of sudden, the drop ceiling tiles rattle. They rattled. It was strange, but we shrugged it off. After lunch, they do it again. I look up and see that all of the tiles lifted up and then came back down. It was a little disturbing and distracting. I jumped a few times (so did a few students). The pressure in the room was making the tiles go up and down when the wind blew. Thankfully, one of the students opened the door, relieving the pressure, while another one fixed a few tiles that got stuck.
Amy had the same problem in her room, but no one else had. We've concluded that our rooms have ghosts, spirits and haints, which led us to find out that we both thought hainted rooms were probably the coolest rooms.
The administration is always worried about using your time wisely to cram as much into their little brains as possible. They want more instructional time? If the A/C was working, we wouldn't have to worry about keeping our windows open and having to stop to pick up papers and other items that blow over or fixing ceiling tiles, or having our doors open and having children yell into the room or start conversations with students in your class, or not being able to keep them awake or engaged because the heat makes them even more lazy and tired and sluggish (not to mention crabby by the end of the day).

happy valentine's day to you, too!

To add to the chaos already started by wonky bells and intercoms, no a/c or heat, early dismissal due to gas leak and Valentine's day, this morning we had a 2 hour delay.
Yesterday it rained. A lot. They were saying that it would get so cold overnight that it could turn to snow... or it could not. I woke up and noticed there was a good chunk of snow (and ice below it from frozen rain water) on the ground and cars. I turned on the news and sure enough--there we were.
An extra hour of sleep and driving to school when the sun's up? Definitely better than starting my day off with a plan period (especially since our workroom copier still does not have any toner!).


And even better? Amanda sent me a letter with a good time to visit her during spring break, so plans are going forward to head up to Philly! I'm sooo excited!

snow shows its face in colonialtown

It's snowed a few times this week, but today it's actually snowed for longer than a few minutes and it's stuck to the ground. Last year, I didn't get to see what Virginian students do when they see snow for the first time, this year, I did. It snowed in Norfolk on Tuesday and my kids went berserk. It was pretty funny, except that we then had trouble getting them focused on their mid-term essay again and it made my drive through the bridge-tunnel and slow-going adventure.
Today my sinuses have started draining, so my throat feels nice and scratchy. Thanks, mom, for the Airborne/Walborne lozenges because they are perfect for today. I also woke up feeling kinda bummed. I really have no reason to wake up that way, either. It's a three day weekend before exam week, which means I don't have a lot to prep for. Plus, it's snowing and I don't have any obligation that would force me to do anything but stare at it from my sliding glass door while laying on my couch with our new, Megan-made quilt. Thanks, Megan, for making an amazing quilt that keeps me warm on these days.
And the mood might have to do with the fact we decided to get another cat, found two adorable kittens to choose from, decided on one after waiting a day to make sure we weren't make a rash decision, only to find out that both of the were adopted/in the process of being adopted. Dang, that was quick. Sorry, David.

Let's just blame the bad mood on me reading Jane Eyre. It'll probably pass by tomorrow, just like the snow.

he's that... thing.

A: "He's not the smartest crayon in the box."
D: "Don't you mean... sharpest crayon?"
A: "No, it's supposed to be brightest."

Drrrrr. Yes, this actually happened. We laughed like mad after we realized how incredibly silly it all was. With David's brain fried from school and mine fried from the A day (the day where I get 4 classes!), not only was it a ridiculous exchange, but also made it even more funny than normal.


BTW, it's cold. It was in the 30s this morning when I went to school. I know that near the end of summer I really wanted to be able to wear long sleeves and fall clothes. Now, I've been so used to being comfortable without having to put on a scarf and a jacket. I don't mind the cold too much, but I really hate the same thing I've always hated about winter: getting up in the morning (I don't want to leave the warm bed!), having to change clothes (but it's cold and these clothes are already warm!), and having to get out of the shower (it's freezing! and my wet hair will make me even colder!!).


Today, my 11th graders picked their independent novel. A lot of them jumped at the chance to read 1984 after I described the storyline, called it one of the few books I really enjoyed reading in high school, and one of the kids that's well respected in the class said "I'm reading it right now and it's AWESOME". Hopefully they enjoy it as much as I did.

was that thunder?

We found a wonderful, less crowded, less boardwalk-y/flashy/downtown beach with more families and beautiful beach homes lining the beach today. Oh, and parking was only $4 ($5 on the weekends), rather than $10+. The ocean wasn't as wavy, the wind was calmer, and the sun took breaks behind small clouds. I'm now almost done with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, since I got a lot of reading done. I used this mat I bought from H&M and our new beach chairs--both are perfect for the beach. Next we need an umbrella or something to create shade.
Unfortunately, during our second swim into some crazy huge waves, we decided two things: first, that we should bring some floatation stuff next time cause it looks so fun to go over those huge waves on one, and, second, to get the hell out of the water cause there were some huge, dark clouds that sounded like they were producing thunder. The ocean pretty much vacated once the third roll of thunder was heard, many people having already left the beach. Most people were packing up when we were heading to the car. It rained through most of Va Beach and Norfolk, making finding our way back totally exciting since my wipers need to be replaced. It looked incredibly dry once we got to the HRBT and Hampton. Either it didn't storm like crazy there, or it had already dried (which was possible, it was incredibly hot and humid today, thus the trip to the beach).
The best part? The chance of thunderstorms today was 20% for the southside. 20%!! We heard it on NPR on the way down! Ah well. I do love random summer storms and we really needed it.

Later on today or tomorrow I'll post about my parents and cousin's visit. I've got a lot of updating to do, but I've been busy enjoying my slow days and avoiding the stuffiness of the computer room. It's much better now that we turned the A/C on low, today and yesterday were way too humid to let it stay off.

what?!

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were in the mid-80s, upper 70s. The past two days have been chilly, in the 50s and 40s. David and I laughed about how the forecast says there's a chance for snow. Ha! Silly weatherperson! Every time you called for snow, there was maybe 10 minutes of a flurry. Snow! Psh!
So I wake up this morning, sit around, make some coffee and finally decide to open the sliding door curtain.
To see this:

WHOA! We got almost an inch. It's 10:30 and it's still here. It's snowing in Norfolk now, apparently, too. The sun is quickly melting the snow, most of it is off the trees and making huge puddles in the parking lot. I hope it doesn't ruin all the nice blooming trees and flowers! (It probably won't: it's supposed to be in the 50s again tomorrow, and then the 60s and 70s for the rest of the week)

whoa!

This whole week, we finally got to experience Williamsburg's "winter". Last Sunday, we went to see Pan's Labrynth. We wanted to see it Friday or Saturday, but I was sick. Usually, we would walk over to the theater, I was finally feeling healthy and strong enough to go, but didn't feel like pushing it. Plus, by the time we got out of the theater, it was going to be dark and colder (in the 30s). They kept saying we were going to see a "wintery mix". It was sort of raining when we went in, when we got out we saw:

It was kind of sleet, heavy rain, but didn't freeze or anything. I didn't get some major frost on my car until Thursday morning (or maybe it was Wednesday? I can't remember). Anyway, it was in the 30s most days and it was all leading up to Friday--the ultimate cold day. The high was only 30 and it was supposed to be in the teens (!!! ohno!) in the morning with a chance of wind! (noo!) The meterologist dude on WAVY 10 news Thursday morning said we might get snow overnight Thursday or on Sunday night. He said the "Snow Hope Meter" (or whatever rediculous name he gave it) was at a 1 and on Sunday, it maybe a 2 (whoaaa!!). As I was leaving school Thursday afternoon around 3, I was at one of the stoplights before my on-ramp to the highway and I saw a few drops of rain that were almost passing as snow. I was shocked! I saw them only there, then they disappeared. I figured there was some semi going on the overpass of 564 above me that was carrying fake snow or something, haha. But, the closer I got to WBG, the closer I got to some really dark, scary looking clouds. Then, at the perfect point in time during the first song off of Sufjan Stevens' The Avalanche (seriously! it starts off mellow, then the song changes and it was crazy how nicely it went along with the timing of the snow!), SNOW CAME! Or, rather, I hit the snow.

None of it was sticking on the pavement, but it was a real, fat flakes of snow. It was beautiful! I actually squealed because I was so excited to see real snow, since we had seen none in Michigan over Christmas. People slowed down to about 45 (from around 70-75!) MPH at the sight of the snow. It wasn't that heavy, which was nice. It wasn't until I hit 199 into town that I hit a few spots where the snow was falling really heavy and it was a little hard to see. It was absolutely beautiful, though. It stuck on the ground and trees, but not on the pavement.

It melted about a half hour after it stopped snowing! That's the kind of snow I can deal with: looks nice, melts quick and doesn't freeze on the roads. Friday was really cold, but nothing really happened besides that. It's strange because today is pretty warm and in the 60s again, it feels like spring. It's supposed to change again and be in the 20s Sunday night and stay in the 30s-50s the rest of the week. This winter can't figure out what it wants to do.

list it out

What have I done recently?
-Decorated a Christmas tree that is very tiny.
-Remembered how chilly 20 degrees could be.
-Remembered how much I liked 50-60 degrees.
-Laughed at people from the South who complained about 35 degree mornings. It's not that cold. C'mon!
-Started to get my zine together.
-Got excited about giving two people the perfect things. Oh yes.
-Got excited about going back to Michigan in a little while.
-Put on my Canada Olympic team vest. Missed grandpa.
-Found myself hating Virginia a slight bit, but only because I'm frustrated by other things.
-Sang and danced and looked forward to being able to listen to something other than the radio in my car soon.
-Stressed about money. Bah humbug.
-Looked into programs for my master's. Got excited about what I found. I think I found exactly what I'm looking for.
-Wondered if teaching was really what I should be doing. I suck, man.
-Felt frustrated with teaching, the "system", "The Man", students, etc.
-Was disappointed by students being one day behind where they were supposed to be. The whole students not taking responsibility for what they were supposed to do and, instead, deciding to whine has really gotten old. (Then I remember that there are "adults" who do the same thing in college and beyond. Is that more or less depressing? I can't figure it out.)
-Decided to take a day off to avoid mental breakdown and maybe even choking a child or two. I am looking forward to tomorrow. Mental health days, man. That's where it's at.

whoa there, weather

This whole past week I've forgotten it was the end of November and first of December. It was upper 60s to low 70s all week, with a few rain showers and some crazy heavy fog in the mornings. Yesterday was so beautiful, we were missing a good chunk of students--haha.

After much complaining about how Williamsburg never has shows (and the closest ones are a good chunk of time away), and that no one ever comes to Virginia, anyway (unless you count D.C.)... Ted Leo is playing a FREE SHOW TONIGHT. So, we go. Yesssssss!