I turned around in class today to have my eyes greeted with a young man's boxers. About six inches below his boxers his first pair of gym shorts began. About six inches below that, his second pair of gym shirts began. When I asked what he was doing (he did not enter class dressed like that), he responded, "Ms. Hemric, I'm triple sagging!"
When talking about American Idol, one student said, "Lauren is pretty. So is JLo...but then I found out she's old enough to be my mom!"
Last week during EOGs, one of my students exclaimed, "Look, Ms. Hemric! I have arm pit hair!" When I turned around, he had his shirt pulled up and arms raised in the air proudly displaying his new arm pit hair...
...you never know what you're going to get in a seventh grade classroom.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
EOGs
Last weekend was filled with wedding shower festivities at my Grandma's. (more to come on that) This week has been filled with remediation and painting our apartment. (more to come on that as well) So, blogging has temporarily been placed on the back burner despite the fact I have several exciting posts planned. Today is Thursday and I am wiped out from frantically reviewing for the third time with my students who did not pass the EOG and from leaving school and painting for several hours every day. So, while I sit here in my planning with plenty of planning to do, I've decided to relax with some blogging.
Last week was a whirlwind of a week with EOG testing for three days. I didn't realize how exhausting it is to sit and walk and watch students test for 3 hours everyday. Tuesday, after the first test, I went home, crawled in my bed, and slept for an hour. And, still went to bed at 9. Wednesday I was in bed at 8:30. It was a long week for me, I can't imagine how my students felt...
Despite the exhaustion, they did great! Because of all the pressure put on the EOGs, it is three days that every student really puts forth his/her best effort. It amazed me to walk around and watch my class who has been so lazy the past few months spend so much time on their work. It proved to me that they are capable of working hard and of being quiet. :) I was really proud when I saw them showing their work and making themselves a cheat sheet as soon as I said, "You may begin." And, I was so happy to see that they have been listening to what I've been saying all year!
Seventh graders begin going to lunch on a normal day at 11:05. The last set of seventh graders go to lunch at 11:35. With testing starting at 8:00 and being three hours long and sixth graders getting to eat first, lunch was much later than normal. My poor students were SO hungry! The first day, instead of stopping testing, they waited until the whole school was done to allow students to move and begin getting people in the cafeteria to eat. With the testing schedule, seventh graders had the last rotation for lunch. And, I am the last teacher to go to lunch on a normal day with seventh grade. So, that meant I was the last class in the school on that Tuesday to take my students to lunch. We ate lunch at 1:40. I didn't even take my normal lunch group that day so I had students who were used to eating at 11:05. There was a lot of whining going on that day...I may have been doing some of the whining. The next two days the schedule ran much smoother and we got in earlier than 1:40.
The procedure for administering EOGs is intense. There are all kinds of things that can cause mis-administrations. If you have a mis-administration, your whole class has to re-take that EOG. Students have to be silent. The teacher can not communicate in anyway about the test with students. Cell phones must be silenced. Security of testing materials must be maintained at all times. You may not say anything other than what's written in the script. And, the list goes on and on. My biggest concern with this was talking. The one good thing that comes from putting so much pressure on these tests is that students realize the importance of being silent. My students did not utter a word for three and half hours. You know how crazy that is if you've ever been around one seventh grader. Multiply that by 20. It was great!
The last day was our calculator inactive EOG, which only had 28 questions and only took about an hour. However, eighth graders were taking their science EOG, which was still three hours. So, I had to keep my students silent for the other 2 hours after their test. I may have bribed them with candy to keep them quiet...it may have worked...
If you remember this post, you remember we were in the running to win a party hosted by Brian Dawson of K97.5. I am proud to announce that we won!! Not that I ever doubted we would. You can see some pictures of his EOG tour here. Carrington's pictures begin at picture 9. If you look closely, you may even be able to spot me.
Now, I'm getting geared up for re-tests next week. We should be done painting the apartment today and hopefully I'll get to begin moving in some this weekend. But, the pool opens this weekend and I'll be on the lake Saturday, which is definitely higher on the priority list than moving in right now. Bring on the tan!!
11 days and counting...
Last week was a whirlwind of a week with EOG testing for three days. I didn't realize how exhausting it is to sit and walk and watch students test for 3 hours everyday. Tuesday, after the first test, I went home, crawled in my bed, and slept for an hour. And, still went to bed at 9. Wednesday I was in bed at 8:30. It was a long week for me, I can't imagine how my students felt...
Despite the exhaustion, they did great! Because of all the pressure put on the EOGs, it is three days that every student really puts forth his/her best effort. It amazed me to walk around and watch my class who has been so lazy the past few months spend so much time on their work. It proved to me that they are capable of working hard and of being quiet. :) I was really proud when I saw them showing their work and making themselves a cheat sheet as soon as I said, "You may begin." And, I was so happy to see that they have been listening to what I've been saying all year!
Seventh graders begin going to lunch on a normal day at 11:05. The last set of seventh graders go to lunch at 11:35. With testing starting at 8:00 and being three hours long and sixth graders getting to eat first, lunch was much later than normal. My poor students were SO hungry! The first day, instead of stopping testing, they waited until the whole school was done to allow students to move and begin getting people in the cafeteria to eat. With the testing schedule, seventh graders had the last rotation for lunch. And, I am the last teacher to go to lunch on a normal day with seventh grade. So, that meant I was the last class in the school on that Tuesday to take my students to lunch. We ate lunch at 1:40. I didn't even take my normal lunch group that day so I had students who were used to eating at 11:05. There was a lot of whining going on that day...I may have been doing some of the whining. The next two days the schedule ran much smoother and we got in earlier than 1:40.
The procedure for administering EOGs is intense. There are all kinds of things that can cause mis-administrations. If you have a mis-administration, your whole class has to re-take that EOG. Students have to be silent. The teacher can not communicate in anyway about the test with students. Cell phones must be silenced. Security of testing materials must be maintained at all times. You may not say anything other than what's written in the script. And, the list goes on and on. My biggest concern with this was talking. The one good thing that comes from putting so much pressure on these tests is that students realize the importance of being silent. My students did not utter a word for three and half hours. You know how crazy that is if you've ever been around one seventh grader. Multiply that by 20. It was great!
The last day was our calculator inactive EOG, which only had 28 questions and only took about an hour. However, eighth graders were taking their science EOG, which was still three hours. So, I had to keep my students silent for the other 2 hours after their test. I may have bribed them with candy to keep them quiet...it may have worked...
If you remember this post, you remember we were in the running to win a party hosted by Brian Dawson of K97.5. I am proud to announce that we won!! Not that I ever doubted we would. You can see some pictures of his EOG tour here. Carrington's pictures begin at picture 9. If you look closely, you may even be able to spot me.
Now, I'm getting geared up for re-tests next week. We should be done painting the apartment today and hopefully I'll get to begin moving in some this weekend. But, the pool opens this weekend and I'll be on the lake Saturday, which is definitely higher on the priority list than moving in right now. Bring on the tan!!
11 days and counting...
Monday, May 16, 2011
Sidewalk Chalk
Friday morning as I got ready, I heard the thunder and rain outside. I began preparing myself to be stuck inside my classroom all day adapting our awesome idea of sidewalk into something somewhat exciting for my students. When I got to school, we decided we would still try it because the three of us did not think we could stand another day inside doing review. We went outside to assess the rain damage and decided it wasn't going to work. As a last resort and last glimmer of hope, we checked to see if the media center was available for the day. We were so excited to find out it was! So, we spent the next hour planning and preparing for bringing our activity inside. We went to the workroom and tore off 80 sheets of black paper (our new sidewalk), numbered the tables in the library, drew up an example on the board, and greeted our students with a smile as the bell rang for 2nd period to start.
Chalk writes on black paper so we thought it would be no big deal. Well, they had poster size paper, which meant they had to stand up to write on the paper. Standing up makes them think they can roam about wherever they would like and talk to whomever they would like. It was hard to tell who was supposed to be where and who was working and who wasn't. By this point, it had stopped raining outside so we decided they could get over the wet ground and humidity and took the next groups outside.
Third period went to the black top where each group had a whole bus parking spot to make their study guides. It was not hot. It was humid. My co-teach said at one point, "I think I am going to melt." Surprisingly, they did not complain too much about the humidity or heat. But, black top is not the best surface to do sidewalk chalk. It was very uneven and hard to write on. It also took a lot of chalk to write a little bit. I used over half a piece just writing the numbers 13-20 when I numbered the spots.
We stuck with this plan of action for fifth period. The sun had come out by the end of the day so there was a lot of complaining about the heat, but I wanted to whine about it too so it wasn't too annoying. Next year, we'll have to add another aspect to the assignment because every class did finish earlier than we had hoped. But, overall it was very successful. Since we wrote in the area everyone has to walk through to get to the buses, we got lots of compliments from other teachers when the day was over. Too bad it has rained all weekend and it will all be washed away Monday morning...
Chalk writes on black paper so we thought it would be no big deal. Well, they had poster size paper, which meant they had to stand up to write on the paper. Standing up makes them think they can roam about wherever they would like and talk to whomever they would like. It was hard to tell who was supposed to be where and who was working and who wasn't. By this point, it had stopped raining outside so we decided they could get over the wet ground and humidity and took the next groups outside.
Third period went to the black top where each group had a whole bus parking spot to make their study guides. It was not hot. It was humid. My co-teach said at one point, "I think I am going to melt." Surprisingly, they did not complain too much about the humidity or heat. But, black top is not the best surface to do sidewalk chalk. It was very uneven and hard to write on. It also took a lot of chalk to write a little bit. I used over half a piece just writing the numbers 13-20 when I numbered the spots.
(integer hopscotch)
So, fourth period we adapted a little more and went to the sidewalk along the side of the school. This worked much better! You could read what they wrote much better. They were in a more consolidated area so it was easy to tell who was off task and wandering around. And, the sidewalk did not eat up the chalk like the black top did.
We stuck with this plan of action for fifth period. The sun had come out by the end of the day so there was a lot of complaining about the heat, but I wanted to whine about it too so it wasn't too annoying. Next year, we'll have to add another aspect to the assignment because every class did finish earlier than we had hoped. But, overall it was very successful. Since we wrote in the area everyone has to walk through to get to the buses, we got lots of compliments from other teachers when the day was over. Too bad it has rained all weekend and it will all be washed away Monday morning...
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Get Hyped
This week Brian Dawson from K97.5 came to Carrington on his EOG Tour. He has been traveling around to local schools giving a motivational speech trying to get students hyped up about doing their best on the EOGs. A popular DJ from a station like K97.5 is just the thing to get our student population more than hyped up. Along with this tour, he is offering the school with the most school spirit a party hosted by him.
Well, you see...Carrington is used to dominating in any competition. We were undefeated in every spring sport this past season. So, we were not going to let this competition pass us by without a fight.
The pep rally was on Wednesday and it was the loudest event I have ever been a part of. I have been to Cameron Indoor Stadium for Duke basketball games. I have been to an N'SYNC concert (when they were popular). I have been to Appalachian State Football games in the student section. I have been to some loud events and none compared to the noise level inside Carrington Middle School's gym Wednesday.
We had more than just the screaming of 1200 young adolescents. Our students made banners that decorated the inside and outside of the school. We recognized our spring sports. The band played. The chorus sang. A teacher rapped. A group of teachers did the cupid shuffle. And, to top it all off, our principal did the dougie. The students went absolutely nuts when they realized what was happening. At the end of our cupid shuffle, we all huddled up like they do at dances around the one person who is doing the best dance. Our principal had snuck in wearing a coat, hat, and sunglasses to disguise herself. Once she got all of that off, we opened up the circle as she did the dougie. It was awesome!
After all of the celebration, Brian Dawson came out and spoke to the students about doing their best. He explained that without an education, they will not be able to achieve their dreams. He explained how he was predicted to fail and was an average student at best BUT he has a two year degree, a four year degree, and a master's degree. He told them that if he could do it, they could, but they had to put their minds to it. It was a simple speech with a powerful message that we try to teach our students everyday. But, it is so much more meaningful coming from someone like him, a local celebrity who is successful in a career that interests them.
It took a lot of work and calling in favors from several teachers at school, but I'm so glad it worked out. It's nice to have a time of excitement about these crazy tests to relieve some of the pressure and help students feel like they can succeed.
I'll keep you posted about our party because I'm just sure he will pick us. Clearly, there's no one better. :)
Well, you see...Carrington is used to dominating in any competition. We were undefeated in every spring sport this past season. So, we were not going to let this competition pass us by without a fight.
The pep rally was on Wednesday and it was the loudest event I have ever been a part of. I have been to Cameron Indoor Stadium for Duke basketball games. I have been to an N'SYNC concert (when they were popular). I have been to Appalachian State Football games in the student section. I have been to some loud events and none compared to the noise level inside Carrington Middle School's gym Wednesday.
We had more than just the screaming of 1200 young adolescents. Our students made banners that decorated the inside and outside of the school. We recognized our spring sports. The band played. The chorus sang. A teacher rapped. A group of teachers did the cupid shuffle. And, to top it all off, our principal did the dougie. The students went absolutely nuts when they realized what was happening. At the end of our cupid shuffle, we all huddled up like they do at dances around the one person who is doing the best dance. Our principal had snuck in wearing a coat, hat, and sunglasses to disguise herself. Once she got all of that off, we opened up the circle as she did the dougie. It was awesome!
After all of the celebration, Brian Dawson came out and spoke to the students about doing their best. He explained that without an education, they will not be able to achieve their dreams. He explained how he was predicted to fail and was an average student at best BUT he has a two year degree, a four year degree, and a master's degree. He told them that if he could do it, they could, but they had to put their minds to it. It was a simple speech with a powerful message that we try to teach our students everyday. But, it is so much more meaningful coming from someone like him, a local celebrity who is successful in a career that interests them.
It took a lot of work and calling in favors from several teachers at school, but I'm so glad it worked out. It's nice to have a time of excitement about these crazy tests to relieve some of the pressure and help students feel like they can succeed.
I'll keep you posted about our party because I'm just sure he will pick us. Clearly, there's no one better. :)
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Funny Sayings
I can't believe I forgot to write about the quotes of the week...they are good this time!
From one of my boys in my literacy class who could probably be classified as a genius...before he asked this question...He reads computer program manuals for fun. He asked me Thursday morning how to spell register. So, I spelled it for him and then he asked, "Now, which one is the 'g' again?" Meaning how do I write a g? Oh genius 7th grade boy who doesn't know how to write letters...
From one of my African American boys: "What are those spots on your arm?"
Me: "The white ones or the brown ones?" (I have some sun spots on my arm and it looks like little white specs on my arms sometimes)
Him: "The brown ones."
Me: "Those are freckles."
Him: "Oh. I don't have those."
I had my hair pulled back one day this week, which I don't often do. So, many of my students were commenting on it. One asked if I was going to wear it like that again tomorrow. I explained probably not because I would have to take it down and wash it. We then got into a conversation about how I have to wash my hair often or it gets really oily. Then, I hear from the back of the room from one of my boys: "That's a lot of shampoo!"
I had never thought about it before, but he's got a good point!
From one of my boys in my literacy class who could probably be classified as a genius...before he asked this question...He reads computer program manuals for fun. He asked me Thursday morning how to spell register. So, I spelled it for him and then he asked, "Now, which one is the 'g' again?" Meaning how do I write a g? Oh genius 7th grade boy who doesn't know how to write letters...
From one of my African American boys: "What are those spots on your arm?"
Me: "The white ones or the brown ones?" (I have some sun spots on my arm and it looks like little white specs on my arms sometimes)
Him: "The brown ones."
Me: "Those are freckles."
Him: "Oh. I don't have those."
I had my hair pulled back one day this week, which I don't often do. So, many of my students were commenting on it. One asked if I was going to wear it like that again tomorrow. I explained probably not because I would have to take it down and wash it. We then got into a conversation about how I have to wash my hair often or it gets really oily. Then, I hear from the back of the room from one of my boys: "That's a lot of shampoo!"
I had never thought about it before, but he's got a good point!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Appreciate
This week was teacher appreciation week and it was a fun one! Monday morning these lovelies were waiting for me outside my door.
Wednesday was early release and the faculty and staff were treated to a delicious lunch by the PTO complete with goody bags for everyone! Yay for tissue and hand sanitizer! AND a Chick-Fil-A coupon! The PTO also had a drawing for door prizes everyday. Each teacher won something and I got the cutest set of notepads and pens. You can never have enough note pads as a teacher.
Then, on Thursday, the best. gift. ever. came (okay...maybe not best ever, but still a great gift). I was sitting at lunch and saw the secretaries bringing in some arrangements with these cute balloons flying over them.
I assumed it was something being brought in for all the teachers. Each day we had received some little surprise in our box. When I got back to my classroom, an edible arrangement was delivered to me with chocolate covered pineapples in it! YUM!!
I was shocked that everyone was getting one of these. They aren't cheap and we don't even have enough money to buy paper to make copies. Then, I learned that it was from one of my students. She and her mom were so sweet to think of us and get us one of these. It was delicious!
I finished out the week of appreciation receiving several other gifts from other students. It was such a nice week for teachers. At this point in the year, we're doing EOG review, which can get really boring for teachers and students. When students are bored, they get into trouble. When teachers are bored, they get frustrated really easily. So, it was nice to be reminded this week that we are appreciated and that we have awesome students!
As we prepare for EOGs, our principal encouraged us to think outside of the box as we did some corrective instruction on concepts students didn't show an understanding of on their assessment. She mentioned switching students around or combining classes...she just wanted some extreme change in how we approached this time of corrective instruction. So, as a math team we decided we would review in our classes and then on the two Fridays before EOGs, we would all come together for a common assessment. Yesterday we did that.
I'll be honest, we were worried (real worried) about having 90+ kids in one spot (the media center), but they did awesome! We could not have asked for a better day from them. We grouped them heterogeneously based on their achievement in class. We placed 1-2 strong students in groups with 1-2 students who needed a little more help with the concepts we had reviewed. Then, they took a group quiz of EOG practice questions. They were allowed to use the people in their group, their notes, and any of the math teachers for help. It was incredible to watch. Some of the students who can be major behavior issues in the regular classroom (the ones we were real worried about) stepped up and lead their group. They were the one explaining the problems and keeping everyone on task. There were other groups with students who tend to do nothing on a regular basis who worked harder yesterday than they have on any assignment all year. We were so excited to watch them do so well. And, all of the math teachers got to hang out together all day, which was fun for us too!
Next week we're taking them all outside to do an assignment with side walk chalk...stay tuned for the details of that! Going outside adds another level of craziness so we're hoping for another amazing day from them!
Wednesday was early release and the faculty and staff were treated to a delicious lunch by the PTO complete with goody bags for everyone! Yay for tissue and hand sanitizer! AND a Chick-Fil-A coupon! The PTO also had a drawing for door prizes everyday. Each teacher won something and I got the cutest set of notepads and pens. You can never have enough note pads as a teacher.
Then, on Thursday, the best. gift. ever. came (okay...maybe not best ever, but still a great gift). I was sitting at lunch and saw the secretaries bringing in some arrangements with these cute balloons flying over them.
I was shocked that everyone was getting one of these. They aren't cheap and we don't even have enough money to buy paper to make copies. Then, I learned that it was from one of my students. She and her mom were so sweet to think of us and get us one of these. It was delicious!
I finished out the week of appreciation receiving several other gifts from other students. It was such a nice week for teachers. At this point in the year, we're doing EOG review, which can get really boring for teachers and students. When students are bored, they get into trouble. When teachers are bored, they get frustrated really easily. So, it was nice to be reminded this week that we are appreciated and that we have awesome students!
As we prepare for EOGs, our principal encouraged us to think outside of the box as we did some corrective instruction on concepts students didn't show an understanding of on their assessment. She mentioned switching students around or combining classes...she just wanted some extreme change in how we approached this time of corrective instruction. So, as a math team we decided we would review in our classes and then on the two Fridays before EOGs, we would all come together for a common assessment. Yesterday we did that.
I'll be honest, we were worried (real worried) about having 90+ kids in one spot (the media center), but they did awesome! We could not have asked for a better day from them. We grouped them heterogeneously based on their achievement in class. We placed 1-2 strong students in groups with 1-2 students who needed a little more help with the concepts we had reviewed. Then, they took a group quiz of EOG practice questions. They were allowed to use the people in their group, their notes, and any of the math teachers for help. It was incredible to watch. Some of the students who can be major behavior issues in the regular classroom (the ones we were real worried about) stepped up and lead their group. They were the one explaining the problems and keeping everyone on task. There were other groups with students who tend to do nothing on a regular basis who worked harder yesterday than they have on any assignment all year. We were so excited to watch them do so well. And, all of the math teachers got to hang out together all day, which was fun for us too!
Next week we're taking them all outside to do an assignment with side walk chalk...stay tuned for the details of that! Going outside adds another level of craziness so we're hoping for another amazing day from them!
Monday, May 2, 2011
CCF
**WARNING** Picture OvErLoAd.
This past weekend Stephen and I went to Boone for the CCF, Campus Christian Fellowship, banquet to honor Stephen and all of the other graduating seniors.
We led youth retreats together.
We went to Africa together.
We baptized one another in the river...cold or warm.
We took beach trips together.
We spent endless hours together in small groups.
We got burnt together.
We took spontaneous camping trips together...in the rain.
We encouraged one another.
We tailgated together...in rain and shine.
We made friendships that will last forever.
We loved one another...
...A LOT!
We prayed for and with one another.
We took a ridiculous amount of ridiculous pictures together. It is probably one of our favorite things to do! :)
And we worshiped together.
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