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New School Year - New Students - New Goals

I am excited to be starting yet another year of Globaloria - this is my third year and I am sure that it will be even better than last year!  I initially had 80 students, but since I only have 23 computers in one lab, and 22 in the other, some students had to drop.  I am now at the point where every working computer is in use and in my 8th period, I have one student working on my laptop.  Every year the classes get bigger, I hope that I can teach 4 sections next year (after all, next year is only 166 days away!)

What are my expectations for the year?  I hope that all of my students learn and are successful.  Last year I had many very immature 9th grade boys in one class and they wore on my every nerve. They thought that it was great fun to turn off the other one's computer, or mess with their keyboard or many silly things to do.  I hope that there is none of that this year. I hope that all of my students help one another and this becomes a truly collaborative class.



Where has the year gone? (I think I said this last year!)

                                                                       
Now we are down to 13 instructional days left...now that doesn't count 4 days for WesTest and another 4 days for finals, but I feel like I have so much to do and to teach and yet again, I have run out of time!  I remember how crazy the last few days of Globaloria were...I was afraid that we would not get everything done.  My Honors Geometry class will be OK, just barely....we will finish the last chapter of the book two school days before WesTest begins :)
I am so ready for school to be over, yet I don't want it to be over ~ my daughter will be a senior and I know, that before I know it, she will have graduated and be getting ready for college :(
I have a lot to do over the summer - I want to get my house straightened up and more moved into....I bought my house July 5, 2005 and lived in it for 3 months to the day.

56 days is sooner than you think

                                                                          

So we now have 56 days of school left - the kids think that it will be forever, but the end comes very fast.  We have WesTest testing that takes up a week, then we have 2 days of school, and then we have finals for a week - so even though there are 56 days, there really are only about 46 days.
This has been my best teaching year so far.  I have really enjoyed all of my classes and alll (mostly all) of my kids.  (There are a few VERY immature 9th graders that really are annoying!)

                                                              

What a past few weeks

Here I am again...not have blogged twice a week like I said that I was going to do, but the past 4 weeks have been CRAZY....I have worked every night for the past 4 weeks plus every Sat (except the one when we had mid-year training for Globaloria).  I leave school at 3:15, take my daughter home, and head out for work, trying to get there around 4ish....then I work until 11:00 or later...or much later....

I get home anywhere from 11:15 - 12:00, then it takes me a little while to "chill"  and then I get up at 3:31 to walk Princess, my Cairn-Terrior/Chahuahua mix.  Four weeks of such craziness...I spend all day Sunday getting ready to teach school the following week :(                                                                   

Important Visitors :)

I am SOoooo excited!  I received a phone call from Debbi Super on Wednesday asking what our school was doing for Digital Day.  I told her that I had spoken with a gentleman from the Charleston Gazzett and had sent letters home to the parents.  She then told me the govenor Gaston Caperton and Gayle Mansion wanted to visit a Globaloria classroom and she wondered if our school would host them!!!  I was beyond excited!!!

                

Why Links? Did you guys not listen?

                                                                        

Ok, as I was reading over my students' blogs yesterday I noticed several that said things like "We have to have 5 links - I don't know what to link to, so here are 5 random links", and I am thinking, have you not been listening.

                                                 

 So...we went over (again) what makes a rich blog and looked at rich blogs and plain blogs and how different they were. So then I assigned two more blogs, one to explain what a rich blog is (and it had to be a rich blog), and then another blog on anything they wished and they were to demonstrate to me (through their blog) that they understood what a rich blog was.  These blogs are not due until Sunday, so I am anxious to see how they did :)

Ready for Second Semester?

                                                                                                                                           

88 days left until the end of the school year!  It is hard to believe that the time has gone by so quickly.  I have 3 Globaloria classes this year and for the most part they are all really good.  I have a couple of students that refuse to work and therefore failed the class - I think that two of them dropped the class.  They had heard that it was an easy class, etc, so they thought it would be a piece of cake....

Now I am worried about next year.  When the memo from Deb Super came out telling us that we would need to pay $20,000     I knew that it was all over.  I gave copies of the memos to our principal, Mr. Aulenbacher, but he didn't say anything about it.  Then Deb sent out the other memo saying that the WorldWideWorkshop people would help us get the rest of the money if we would just commit what we could.  I went to speak with Mr. Aulenbacher about it and the only thing he said was that we couldn't afford $20,000....so I am worried about us being able to offer it next year.  That will make me really sad - and a lot of my kids who want to take it again next year.

Resolution? Really...

OK - so one of my personal resolutions was to blog twice a week. I blogged on the first and now it is the 14.....so I have already blown it....but, as we always do with the kids - I get a second chance. So, here I am again, trying to blog twice a week.

                                                
It might get a little easier - How? I am at one of my 3 part time jobs and I expected that Blogger would be blocked (Our school wiki is blocked since it is "games related"), but to my surprise, it is not. So, I have been here since 8:30 a.m. and will be here until 5:00 p.m. every Saturday (except next week, we have out training Webinar), so now I can at least blog every Saturday. And starting Monday, I will be here every night, 4:30 until 10:00, for the next 3 weeks....so hopefully there will be some good blogging hours.

                                               

Happy New Year

Happy 2012!!!!

Last year was the worst year of my life - so many terrible things going on in my personal life, which of course, impacted every aspect of my life - my work, my friendships...

Today is the first day of 2012 and I begin it by blogging - I have MANY goals for this year.....not the usual kinds like losing weight or exercising every day - I have some real, attainable, NEEDED goals that I am going to meet this year. MANY are for Globaloria....blogging at least twice a week, keeping better in touch with my mentees,....so, I started to attain this goal by blogging today....

I have great hopes for this year!!!

Let the Paper Prototyping BEGIN!!!!

Yea!  My kids have FINALLY started their paper protoyping....I feel like we are so far behind.  I have had such issues in the two labs that I use this year, and unluckily, things are still not fixed.  I have no sound in one lab, so it is very hard to show the videos and tutorials.  I was able to switch labs on Monday, but today I had to talk through the paper prototyping videos.  I have talked with out tech guy many, many times and finally e-mail him Monday night and asked if I needed to ask for outside help...still no sound.

                                                                        
OK - I will try not to focus on the negative part - I will focus on the positive part - my kids have started their paper prototyping.  This is where we can really see how their games will work - or if their ideas are really valid.

                                                             

Willl I ever get caught up?

It seems that I spend my life trying to catch up.  My friends and family say that I am trying to do too much.  Maybe so.  I have not even taken any of my H&R Block classes so that I can work this coming season.  WHEN will I be able to squeeze that in?  I teach, I stay after school until 5:30 helping with Credit Recovery, I am (trying) to be a mentor and all that encompasses, I take H&R Block classes all Fall and work for them January through April 15, I walk my dogs every morning and every night, I try to go out once a week with my boyfriend....  It seems that time is running too fast

WOW!!! A new year

Here it is - October the 11th and I am just getting back into blogging....it has been the CRAZIEST beginning of the year that I have ever had  - OK....this is just my third year teaching :)  But it is just unbelievable that it is already half way through October.  As I take my "new" dog for a walk in the evening - it is dark by the time we come home....
Even though I have been very busy, school-wise, it has been a GREAT year!  It seems that every year gets better.  I have super classes this year - usually there is one or two classes that are not your favorite, but this year I really enjoy all of them.  When I have a substitute, he even comments of what great classes and kids I have this year.   FINALLY......

Hopes for the coming year....

Ahh.....

   A new start - a fresh beginning....what we all can always use.....

What are my hopes for this new year?  I have so many.... Last year was a learning experience.  There are many things that I will do differently this coming year - I am excited to implement my new plans!

When I started teaching last year, I was not sure how the year would develop.  I have programmed for 16+ years, but this was intimidating - what if I did not do something like the WorldWideWorkshop people wanted me to do?  There was SO much to remember - what if I forgot something(s)....

                                                         

Well, I did forget things and it did feel like I was winging it at times.....but it was a GREAT year!  I am totally behind this program and the way that it teaches students HOW to learn and be self directed. 

I believe that I am 200% more prepared for this coming fall....Word got around school about what a great class it was, that the enrollment went sky high!!  That is GREAT!  My students told their classmates that it was a great class, but NOT a blow off class, that you had to work every day, but if you stayed on top of things you would not have a problem.

What will I do differently personally?  I will update my Learning Log EVERY Friday!  I will Blog at least twice a week. 

I commented on the following blogs:

   Austin'shttp://karenglobaloria2010.blogspot.com/2011/07/hopes-for-coming-year.html?showComment=1314886922044#c99897810503137919

Caitlin Caitline

Gary

Last week of school.....

It is finally here - the last real week of school - next week is finals....I didn't think that it would come and then... suddenly it was here.  It is strange, the halls seem empty - I guess with 300+ seniors gone, that would make a difference.

It was kinda sad last week when I realized that my seniors were done and leaving....John and Anthony came back on Friday because they wanted to make more changes on their game.  I was so very impressed with their game....they were pretty happy with it, too, they just wished that they had more time.  They wanted to be able to record their voices saying the dialog.....

                                         

What to do without electricity

Just when you think that your plate is full, that nothing else crappy can happen to you.....just when you think that things HAVE to be looking up......does it?  Weeelllll.....NO!

                                                                         

OK - last couple of days of Spring Break - everyone is back at home and I do not have to be driving all over the state - Dennis is taking Lillianna to a scarrryy movie and I can settle down on a Saturday night and get caught up on school work and getting ready for the following week....and....

                                                                                    

the electricity goes out - ARG!

                                                               

I called the power company and they said that it would be back on by 3:30 pm the following day.....as I said before, when it rains, it pours!

                                                      

Spring Break

For once, I was not looking forward to Spring Break - my 84 year old mother was having total hip replacement on Tuesday.  I planned on staying the first night with her at the hospital in Huntington and then driving back and forth the rest of the week.  She did pretty well except that she has been sick to her stomach every day.  The Dr finally figured out that it was the pain medication that was making her sick - they tried different medicines but everything made her sick.  They finally figured out that she will just have to take Tylenol - that is a little medicine for a big operation....

It seems that it doesn't just rain, it pours....there are other things going on in my life that required that I drive back and forth to Beckley every day, too.  Sometimes there is just too much to take care of all at once :(

But, as always, I will make it through....

Nuclear fallout/disaster?

I asked my students to blog this week about the happenings in Japan.  When I asked if they were concerned about the nuclear ramifications, many said that the media was blowing it out of proportion.  When we came in today, some said that they may have changed their minds.  I told them to do some research and see what information they could come up with. 
Am I concerned?  Yes, I am.  The possible side-effects of what is happening in Japan just plain scares me.