SAT, Pedis, Manis and Dog!

Ok, SAT meeting yesterday. It was the last official meeting of the year and we had 5 students to talk about. Marianna from my class was last on the list.

Marianna is one of my lowest students. I had her last year and was unsure whether to promote or retain her. Sr. Callejo and I got together and decided that because she was progressing (albeit slowly) we would retain her and monitor her progress this year. Well this year she had Teacher Rhonda for the first six months of school and she basically stopped progressing.

I had parent teacher conferences about a month or so after the switch. I explained to her mother that after working with Marianna all last year and so far this year, I felt that pushing her into seventh grade (she's about three years behind in both math and reading) would be too much of a leap and she would feel left behind and frustrated. The mother was disappointed but understood what I was saying (through a translator.) I explained to the mother that I would put Marianna through the SAT process we would see where we landed in May. She agreed.

Well, Marianna is still behind and is still progressing slowly. Going through her educational history, we learned that she had been taken out of bilingual classes and put in monolingual classes before she was fluent in either language. Because she was not able to continue learning in Spanish it became it was hard for her to continue learning English as students use their first language to help them learn the second. I've also noticed some interesting things about her reading. For example, when reading Dr. Seuss, where there are repetitive words she'll still miss the same word ten, twelve pages in. When she is reading English or Spanish she'll skip whole syllables. Both of these are red flags and when I brought them up at the meeting some of the other teachers suggested testing for Special ED.

The mother refused testing outright. Which surprised me. I had heard stories of parents refusing testing but had never seen it happen in person. Sr. Callejo explained to me (in a very patronizing way, that "that's a big deal, a big label for the Latino culture to deal with." Oh, how I hate that...he makes it sound like 1, I don't know that Special Ed is seen as a negative label by most of society, 2, that I don't know anything about the Latino culture and 3, I need things explained to me because I'm just an Anglo.) So, I said, "Well, it's a big label for everybody, which is why we explain to the parents that they can still refuse services after the testing, but that the results of the testing will help us learn how to best help the student."

Anyway, we gave the mother a few options; 1. Marianna is held back in the sixth grade, 2. Marianna is tested, 3. Marianna is held back and tested, 4. Marianna is promoted to seventh grade and tested, 5. Marianna is promoted. We back and forth over the options, assuring the parent that the first time a student is recommended for retention, the parent could override (not the second time though.) She just couldn't decide. So I suggested we give her a few days to decide. She agreed that she would let us know by Monday.

I've a bad habit of tearing at my cuticles. I've had this habit...gosh...since middle school I think. My mother could probably tell you exactly when she noticed. It's I'm stressed/I'm bored habit. My thumbs have always have always gotten the worst of it. Two years ago, I noticed that my tearing habits had moved to my toes as well. This I put a stop to. I got a pedicure every other month or so, so that they would be too pretty to tear. It worked! Here is the latest:

I made a deal with myself that if I could just let my fingers and thumbs heal and the nails grow a little, I would go and get a manicure. It took two years, but I was finally able to do it. I went for two manicures and the second time watched very closely. I will probably never be able to do a pedicure as well as the ladies at Magic Nails, but I could probably do a manicure alright and lo and behold, after two or three tries, I think I got the knack of it:

I guess it's a little fuzzy, but there are little pink ditty dots! Yay! I hope I can keep it up!

So an update on the dog. We are not getting a pitbull. (Everyone hear that?) I guess people actually read this blog because I've had a few interesting calls from family about it. My parents made it very clear that they didn't think this was a good idea for all sorts of reasons. But for me it finally came down to the idea that I don't want my parents to visit (as they will be in November and...well...the rest of my life) and be afraid of the dog. Even better, years from now when we have little ones running around I don't want my mother sitting at home thousands of miles away worrying about what the dog might do to the children. So no pitbull.

Summer Plans!

Sophia asked me this morning if I thought she was crazy to try and create a small summer camp. I said, "No, I don't think that's a crazy idea at all and I'd like to help!" Cooking, knitting, making soap, wrapping soap, taking the dog for a walk (her dog), making ice cream, taking hikes are all some fun ideas we have come up with. We will also do some reading and math along the way. I hope it works out!

Eight Days Left

Eight days left. Solo ocho. I can do it!

I did finally get an update on Allen, the boy who had professed suicidal thoughts during class. He was admitted to the hospital, placed under observation, put on antidepressants and was released today. So, with any luck I should see him tomorrow. This is good because he is only person left that I need to administer my end of the year tests too.

Also, we had the last SAT (Student Assistance Team) meeting of the year. The little sister of one of the students I had last year was up for today and my former student, Azul showed up as well. Every time I see her, I just want to strangle her.

Each year, since starting at Alma De La Rosa, I've had one defining day. During my E.A. year with the kinder class it came the day I was substituting in the third grade. We were working on a math lesson, I think it was measurement conversion. Anyway, I was interrupted when I heard one boy say, "Oh my gosh, this kid just said that instead of teaching you should just take off your clothes and strip!" I think he was just so surprised by what the other boy had said he couldn't keep quiet. I didn't know what to do. I explained all this to Ms. Hernandez when she returned later that morning and the boy was told to report to the Sr. Callejo's office. The mother was called, he was suspended...it was a big day for me having never been in that position before.

The next year, Azul decided pretty early on that I was too white to be her teacher and made it clear that she didn't like me. I didn't realize until to late that she had it in for me. One day as the year was coming to an end, I think it was March. I was leading the class out to recess. I left my Nalgene water bottle and my computer (this computer acutally) on the reading table that was just inside the "door." (I use the term lightly as we didn't really have really walls.) While I was leading the class out, Azul convinced Fiona and another girl Heather to put hand sanitizer all over the outside of my computer and INTO my drinking water. Before I sat down to eat with them half an hour later I added some water to my bottle. I drank some at lunch and I thought it tasted funny but I chalked it up to the custodian just cleaning the water cooler spout. Then the third graders came over for Science class and as I began the lesson, I took a large swig of water. Three of the third grade girls shouted that I should stop drinking the water. They explained that Azul had been bragging about what she had done at recess and that they were scared I was going to die. Azul blamed it all on Heather and Fiona and neither of them had the gumption to stand up to her bulling nature.

This year was perhaps the most embarrassing. I had only been working with the sixth graders for about a week. They were in groups, working on some word problems when smoke started coming out of the heater! I got everyone out of the classroom, told one of the male teachers to pull the fire alarm and the entire school evacuated. It turns out that a CRAYON had been shoved into the heater. I couldn't believe it. It took about two hours of standard military rule teaching but I was able to get the culprit to confess. Allen.

Anyway, those are my embarrassing stories. Must get back to tying up lose ends for the end of the year...eight days left after all. More on SAT later...that's a good story too!

Almost Done!

There are only ten more days of school left! Huzzah! I say. Our last day is the 28th of May, but I have one day that I have already put in to take off to see the Indigo Girls play in May. Ten days...ten days isn't bad.

The end always comes around so fast. I have given the required reading and math tests to ten of my twelve students, two were absent on Thursday. It doesn't really feel like the end until after these are finished.

We have also heard that we will probably be moving back up to the westside of the city for next year. This is good and bad. Good because our enrollment will almost certainly go up and because we will have more space there. Bad because it means another round of packing everything up and spending two to three weeks of class time next year unpacking it all and because I'll be spending a lot more in gas next year.

Last Wednesday was interesting. One of the harder boys to deal with, Allen had a hard day. During Literacy he didn't realize I was behind him listening when he said to Cosmo, "I can't wait until I get home so that I can kill myself." I was shocked, but able to explain to him that because I'm something called a "mandated reporter" I had to report what he had said to Sr. Callejo.

Before recess, Sr. Callejo called him into the office. Later he called me up as well. Allen's mother and step-father had come in after they have received a phone call from Sr. We had a talk with them about how seriously debilitating his attitude has become and that what he had said earlier was the kind of thing that we take very seriously. They agreed and said that he had been saying things like that at home as well. They said they were going to take him to a hospital to have him checked out. Off they went. We never heard anything. I'm looking forward to him being in school tomorrow morning.

Thursday was Fiesta Fandango, our annual party in honor of Cinco De Mayo. There were lots of great dances and some awesome circus acts. My two sixth grade girls, Fiona and Callie did a fantastic dance that they choreographed themselves. Absolutely amazing. These girls can move their bodies in ways that I could never make mine move. Takes my breath away.

Also...I'm trying really hard to keep from tearing at and picking my nails and cuticles. I've been doing well for about three weeks. Yay! My mother would be so proud!

Unpacking and Dogs

The unpacking continues. I got all my knitting supplies organized and put away yesterday. We have a loft area in the upstairs that has a little sink, refrigerator and lots of cabinet space. We have nothing to put there so I decided that's where all the yarn and other knitting supplies would go.

I have a beautiful antique looking sewing table that I got for free when I moved into my first apartment here in La Pasa. It's perfect for the vintage sewing machine that my grandparents, bought me for my Master's graduation. I think it makes the hallway look like a museum!

If someone knows how to change where the photos show up in the blog let me know. I would love for the knitting cabinet picture to show up under that paragraph and the sewing table picture to show up under that paragraph. But alas.

We have most of the books put on bookshelves and the furniture where we want it, we have an almost organized kitchen. We still have to completely organize all the clothes and put things on the wall. The washer and dryer get here sometime on Sunday morning.

I was able to get into the clases de Espanol that I wanted at the Uni! So excited about that. Ben keeps teasing me by saying that now I'm going to a real college! Ha! I can't wait to buy the books! Class will todos los dias de la verano, but that's alright because the more I hear it the quicker I'll be at picking it up. Mostly, I'm really looking forward to being on the other side of the teacher's desk.

School was tough on Thursday. Not only was it the last day for the week (we have a four day schedule) but I had six boys all day! Why? you may ask? Because two girls were absent and the rest plus Fonzo went on a dance field trip. Oh. It. Was. So. Difficult. The boys are so disrespectful and frustrating.

I have come to the conclusion though that sixth graders are a lot like first graders. They don't walk in lines very well, they aren't sure where their bodies are and they smell weird. I also think that most of the time, it's not that these kids don't want to be respectful, I think its more that no one has ever truly expected it of them. Crazy.

Yesterday, while we were shopping The Boy and I visited an adopt-a-thon for the Humane Society. It makes me cry. I want a dog so badly. We are planning on getting one this summer, but it just can't happen soon enough. It's so hard to look at them in the cages. I stopped going into those pet stores in the mall years ago because I would just come out crying. It wasn't so bad when we had Jax and Allie and Jo and Leo and then just Leo because I knew I was doing my part in giving a dog a good, safe and happy home. After Leo passed away, it was really hard on me to know he wasn't at home (makes me cry now) but I was able to make friends with the dog that lived next door at our old apartment. Maggie was so sweet. I would pet her and give her treats. When we drove away from the apartment with the last load of stuff, I just burst into tears because I knew I probably wouldn't be seeing her for awhile and I wondered if she would miss me.

I was set on getting a puppy, mostly because that would mean that The Boy and I would be in charge of all the training and wouldn't have to worry about bad habits that are already instilled. But after seeing all of the adult dogs that don't have homes it makes me not care. We aren't set on a certain breed at all but don't want a tiny dog and we don't want a huge dog. Something Leo size would be perfect. There were so many pitbull mixes there and so many in this area on the internet, that I think we will get one of those. Seriously, as I'm sitting here in tears, it can't happen soon enough.