Another year down

I have 18 1/2 years in the book, and God willing, only 6 1/2 more to go.  However, with the way the economy is and the changes that have been made in our benefits, I may have to eat those "25 years and I'm OUTTA there" words.  At least in 6 1/2 more, I won't HAVE to go back if I absolutely don't want to.  And believe me, I could find plenty to give up in order to retire.
Before my 3rd block class left on Wednesday, one of my precious angels came up to me and gave me a big hug.  Brianna is truly one of the sweetest, most sincere young ladies I have ever known.  She always has a smile on her face and a kind word on her lips.  She looked at me with her big brown eyes, and I nearly lost it.  I told her NOT to make me cry.  (Of course, as I sit here typing this, I'm getting all teary eyed.)  Not all of my students evoke such emotions.  Some of them bring tears of joy to my eyes as they walk out of the room.  I know, I know...I shouldn't feel that way, but admit it, you've felt that way too about a co-worker, a neighbor, a family member (hahahaha).

Sadly, not all of my seniors graduated.  This frustrates me because the ones who didn't should have, but it's extremely hard to have a good grade when you are absent all the time or when you never put forth any effort in class.  I have two who did not walk across the field Friday night, and it isn't just because of failing English.  They both have failed one other class.  I had about five others who were in danger until the absolute last minute, but they completed the credit recovery course for the last term, and that gave them a high enough average for the semester.

One of the ones who did not graduate was waiting outside my room Thursday with her mother.  I saw them out there before the end of the testing period, so I sent Misty a text.  She went to let an administrator know, so Coach Goggans and Mr. Haynie came and told them they had to leave.  (Even with the student, they should not have been waiting outside the room.)  Mr. Reyes, Mr. Burton, and I met with them, and Mr. Reyes point blank said there was nothing that could be done.  This student was out at least one day EVERY week, and most weeks, she was out more than that.  She would be at school for an earlier class but would leave before mine.  She rarely turned in assignments.  When she was absent, she never asked about make up work -- until this week.  And then she wanted to make up everything she'd missed, simply because she finally realized the consequences.  Last night, about 9:30, I got an email from her mother saying how she hoped I was proud of myself for not taking 5 minutes to grade her daughter's research paper so she could graduate.  Well, um. the research paper alone wouldn't have given her a passing grade.  Mom should be proud of herself for making an effort to be concerned about her daughter's grades at 10:40 AM on graduation day.  Somehow, I managed to sleep about 8 hours last night.

I'm going to enjoy my summer.  Next week is the 3rd Annual Vest Girls' Beach Trip.  This year, attendees are Connie, Linda, Amy, and me.  So far, Connie and I are the only ones who have been able to go every year.  Hopefully we'll ALL get to go in the next couple of years or so.  Part of the problem is that we have an ADULTS ONLY/FEMALE ONLY rule.  It isn't that we don't love our little ones, but this is our chance to get away and to do what we want to do without having to plan around nap times, feeding times, etc.

The next week, Mom and I are doing our girls' night at Ross Bridge.  Maybe we can make this a yearly event, too.  I still have to call and schedule our pampering!  Other than doing that, we're going to just do whatever we want.  I suggested going to the new shopping outlet in Leeds, so that will probably be on the agenda.

The only other BIG event of the summer is Layton's arrival.  Right now, it looks like that will happen July 11th unless Jessi has something medical come up (praying that doesn't happen!) or unless she goes into labor earlier (praying that does happen...as long as no problems are the cause of it!)  We're so excited about meeting our little guy and getting to know him.  And spoil him and then leave him stinkin' rotten for his mommy and daddy to handle.  LOL

The rest of the summer I hope will be spent at the lake.  So far, that's gotten off to a great start.  hahaha

Have a GREAT Memorial Day weekend, and thank a soldier.

Can I slam on my brakes?

Tomorrow will start the last week of this school year, and as much as I'm ready for summer vacation, I am so not ready for exams.  I normally give a mid-semester exam and an end-of-semester exam, but I just didn't get the mid-term exam in.  That means the exam will cover everything we've studied this semester.  Yikes!  That also means I have to write new exams for my 11th and my 12th grade classes.  Double yikes!  Oh, and I have to have them done by Wednesday.  Triple yikes!

Of my 52 seniors, two will definitely fail, and another 16 are in danger.  Of those 16, my best guess is that 3 or 4 of them won't make it.  Only 4 more grades will go in before they take their exams on Wednesday, and those grades are small...two 10-point quizzes and two 15-point quizzes.  Some of them are taking the 3rd term over in what is called Credit Recovery.  If they successfully complete that program, the 3rd term grade will be changed to a 70, so that will help most of them.  However, I don't know how many of them are actually taking CR or if they are completing the coursework successfully.  I'll send out an email to the senior counselor and Mr. Reyes tomorrow.

In other news, we went to a couples' shower for Jess and Lance last night.  Layton racked up!  Jess had a shower at work on Friday (I couldn't go...BOO!) and she said he got tons there, too.  I think there will be one more shower.  This kid is going to have so much stuff.  :) They may have to rent a PODS unit to keep all his stuff in.  hahahaha

We won't head to the lake this weekend until Saturday because of graduation Friday night.  I told John that he and the pups could go up Friday if they wanted to, but after telling him that, I realized it probably wouldn't be good for him to drive that far with the dogs and only one good arm.  He's doing super well, but he still has some difficulty with certain things.  And I could just see Ali or Bama jumping at something and causing him to move his arm in a way he doesn't need to just yet.  He will be off Monday, so we'll still have a good weekend.

Next Tuesday is our make-up professional development day, but I think I'll be taking a sick day.  I have almost twice the required number of PD hours, and I'll have all my grades in.  Next Wednesday Connie, Linda, Amy, and I will be heading to the beach for the 3rd Annual Vest Girls' Beach Trip.  I.  CANNOT.  WAIT!!!!  Then the next week, Mom and I have reservations at Ross Bridge.  We're gonna enjoy some one-on-one time and some pampering.  I.  CANNOT. WAIT!!!!!  So, the first part of June is shaping up to be quite busy, but that's okay.  I still see plenty of free days on my calendar for lake days.  :)

I guess that's about it for now.  The washer just went off, so I need to go toss that load in the dryer. 

Have a GREAT day!

Let me scream!

So students are beginning to see their research paper grades in iNow.  Some who don't have internet access (but they post on facebook almost daily???) have asked me to show them their grades, and I have.  Most of them have been satisfied with their grades, both on the paper and on their current overall grade.

But. 

Yes, a "but" is always out there.  (And I could say a "butt" is always out there.) 

I had a couple of my students ask me today to show them their grades.  One of them (I'll call him Ricky) was less than happy.  He made a 116/500, bringing his average to a 51.  He wanted to know why, so I pulled his paper and showed him. 

1.  The outline was far from correct.  This was the third one to be turned in.  For both of the other times, I told him specifically what was wrong and how he needed to fix it.  Did he?  Not at all! 

2.  Margins were 1-1/2 inches instead of 1 inch, so that made his paper too short.  That 1/2 per line adds up.  I told them from the first day that I would deduct 25 points for every page OR PORTION of a page that the paper was short.  (It is ONLY a 4-6 page, double-spaced paper as it is!)

3.  He used 4 sources.  We require a minimum of 5, and again from day one, I told them they would lose 20 points for EVERY source fewer than 5.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea.  He simply threw something together, expecting it to be acceptable, and it wasn't.  It was far from acceptable.

This is a kid who is more than capable, but he is lazy, and he finds excuses for everything.  It was the intern.  He didn't understand anything she taught so that's why his grades were so bad last term.  When I pointed out that his test on the first unit -- that I taught -- was no better than the test grades for the material she taught, he then blamed it on the fact that he didn't understand Beowulf.  Well, sure, that is difficult.  That's why I go over IN DETAIL everything about it.  With his research paper, his excuse was that he just isn't a good writer.  OK...I understand that.  Not everyone is, but how many times did he seek extra help?  Not once.  I told him today that I was MORE than willing to have helped him with his paper...before school, after school, during my planning, during my study hall period...but he never came to get help.

Not five minutes after he left my room, I had a message from the office to call his mother.  HUH????  Not once has she called me or emailed me to express concern, and now that he is supposed to graduate in just over a week, she decides to be concerned?  GAH!!!!!  Granted, I haven't yet called her since I have my study hall class right now (yes, I am blogging during the school day.)  Maybe I'll be surprised to see that she is supportive, but I doubt it.

I love my job, but dang it!  I get so blasted frustrated at the kids...AND PARENTS...who make excuses.  I give every student more than enough chances to earn points so that if they don't do well on tests, they should still pass the class, so crap like this really gets under my skin.  One of my study hall kids said she heard him cussing me as he went down the hall.  Yeah, it's ALL my fault.

Have a GREAT day!  I know I will.  :)

Sleeping single in a double bed

One week ago tonight was the last time John and I slept together.  I haven't actually been sleeping single...most nights, Ali and/or Bama have been sleeping with me, but that just isn't the same.  Neither of them slept with me last night.  I have no idea where they ended up, but I don't think either of them were in their beds in the bedroom.  Even though I do miss John terribly at night, it has been nice being able to sleep right in the middle of the bed and to stretch out in any direction I want.  And it has been nice not listening to him snore.  :)  I really don't even recall hearing him snore since he's been living in the recliner. 

Ali and Bama are going to be very unhappy once John does come back to the bedroom.  They aren't used to getting to sleep all night in the big bed, and even since I've been letting them, they don't always stay all night.  Ali will usually jump down and get into her bed at first, but about 11:00 or so, she'll jump back up.  Bama has had difficulty realizing that Daddy doesn't "go night night" in the bedroom for now.  He (Bama) is kind of set in his ways.  Correction...he is VERY set in his ways, and his normal routine has been messed up.  He's gotten adjusted a little better though.

Bama had a birthday yesterday!  He is 5 years old!  If he were a two-legged baby, I'd be saying that I couldn't believe my baby would be starting kindergarten in the fall.  LOL  Ali will be 4 Sunday.  It's hard to believe that on May 25th, Elvis will have been gone 5 years.  I still catch myself looking for him, and I've been known to call Bama "Elvis" more than once.  Someday I would love to have another shih tzu. 

I guess that's about it for now.  I have a few odd and ends to do, and I need to start on grading more of these research papers.  ICK!

Have a GREAT day!

Hope your Mother's Day has been wonderful!

I usually post something about my mom much earlier than 8:30 on Mother's Day, but I just never got to it before now.  The last few days here in the Vest household have been tough, and today has been especially so!  More about that in a minute.

As I've said before, I am so fortunate to have the mom I do!  She has taught me so much about compassion, forgiveness, and serving others.  I often shake my head and wonder how she finds time to do all that she does, but I've very happy that she is as active and busy as she is.  I hope, though, that she will slow down a little this summer so we can spend some good QT together!  (hint hint!!)  I feel like a really bad daughter because I haven't gotten her Mother's Day present to her yet, but I know that when I do, she will LOVE it. Or at least I hope so!

I'm also very blessed to have a wonderful mother-in-law.  I wish that we could have gone to visit with her sometime this weekend because I fear that next year, she won't know who we are.  The last time we saw her, she would say something about Johnny and Trina when she was actually talking about Tim and Tisha.  She asked us if Jessi was Tim's child.  Of course, she probably never even realized that today was Mother's Day.  And even if she did, she probably didn't remember it for long.  (I haven't said it lately, but I HATE Alzheimer's!!)

So, life at the Vest house...We are now four days post surgery, and John is miserable!  He is so tired of being "stuck" in the recliner, but he can't sit anywhere else and be comfortable.  And forget trying to lie down.  His sling irritates the back of his neck.  His medicine has made him feel icky, and he said today that the Toradol makes him have crazy dreams.  Or at least he thinks it's the Toradol.  It may be the Percoset.  Either way, he's having crazy dreams.  When he's awake, I can tell he feels horrible, and he isn't himself.  I'm not used to him not being goofy, so I'm starting to feel on edge, and that makes me feel guilty because I know he wants to feel better!  He has slept more in the last four days than he has slept since he was an infant.  hahaha  Because of the weird dreams, I don't know if that's a good thing or not.  :-/

He is planning on going to work tomorrow long enough to do payroll.  I'm not very happy about that, but he says no one else can do it.  What would they do if one of the department heads was SERIOUSLY sick on the day payroll was due?  Surely somebody else can do it! 

I guess that's about it for now.  I'm going to call it a night and head to bed.  I have AM bus duty in the morning, so I HAVE to get up early.  Oh joy...

Have a GREAT day!