I can't tell you how glad I was for spring break to finally be here. Though I took four days off beforehand I, like many of my colleagues, was more than ready for some time away from school. Even though my own school schedule is pretty crammed throughout the break, I am looking forward to the extended days to get more done than I might normally. In addition to regular assignments and preparing projects surfacing on the horizon, I am also teaching a Latin America unit after the break to my middle school kids in practicum. Sat down with the teacher on Friday to plan everything out and now it is just a matter of finalizing the details over break. I am actually pretty excited about it. It should last three weeks, not only satisfying my practicum requirements but also the requirements of another project in the same class. Got to love "two-for-the-price-of-one" sort of deals like that.
We had a housewarming party last weekend that was a success and we could not have asked for a better turn out. Lots of guests, good food, drinks, and Wii time. Such a busy but enjoyable weekend and I am already planning my next house get together which will be a candle party at the end of this month and then Bunco in April. I am thankful for more open space and the ability to fit more people comfortably in the house. It was so difficult to do at our last place that we never did much.
Our break has started with snow again, though snow this year has been more inconsistent and the days warmer than last year. Jamie will go riding tomorrow for the first time all year since he hasn't been home a lot and the snow really hasn't been that great. We went to see Shutter Island today and if you haven't seen it yet I would recommend it. We are going to see Alice in Wonderland on Tuesday after our doctor appointment and I am really looking forward to seeing the movie, seeing how Tim Burton has put his spin on it and of course, how Johnny Depp portrays the Mad Hatter. It has been a long time since we have seen movies again that seeing two in a week will definitely be a treat. Other than that it will be appointments and homework forever. Joy. Oh well. At least I won't have to see kids for a week. I put in for two different full-time openings at school and it should be interesting to see how those turn out given the fact that I am established in practicums that make use of the time that I would otherwise be working if I took on full-time hours. We will see what happens and if I don't get the positions or choose not to accept them because of flexibility, then that's what happens. I finally completed all my paperwork for temporary certification and have sent it off to Juneau. Once it goes in the mail and is out of my hands I am not sure what to expect. Now it is just a waiting game as they do whatever it is they do to complete the process and hopefully I will be granted the certification so I can start looking for teaching positions for next year. I either need to be in my own classroom or in a different classroom. If I can't be in my own classroom and end up not getting one of the full-time positions I applied for (though I am sure as the year wraps up there will be other openings at other schools) I am going to tell the principal that I am requesting a change of scene next year as I don't feel I can continue in the classroom I am in and see what he can do if anything.
School continues to plod along. There are times where I feel that the academics are just an obstacle to my finally teaching and moving into a classroom and my attention span over the last few weeks has drastically decreased. Any distraction I can find will be found which only adds to the frustration and the desire to not do what I know I should be doing. Hopefully break will be a way to re-focus that energy
Just trying to get by one day at a time.....
