Christmas Break

I am officially on Christmas Break. Although, I think they call if Winter Break now because Christmas Break is not politically correct. Either way, I'm off for two weeks!!! Since I've been in school for the past 18 years, Christmas Break has always been part of my year. So, it's easy to take these two weeks for granted. However, I am reminded of the awesomeness of this break when I talk to my friends who are no longer on a school schedule, friends who will be working right up to Christmas Eve and then going back to work shortly after Christmas Day. It's when I talk to those friends that I am so very grateful for my schedule. I'm sure when summer break rolls around, I'll be reminded even more how well I have it made!

We had our first snow day this past week. I know some teachers get frustrated and annoyed with snow days, but I still love them! This time I almost didn't get to enjoy the snow day because I was supposed to be down town at some professional development meeting that didn't get canceled. However, after assessing the road situation, I decided it would be too dangerous to try to leave home and so I stayed home. It was great!

I had this long post planned about how I had been on the bitter bus since Stephanie, one of my best friends and a teacher in Boone, has already had 9 snow days. Her first few snow days were last week, the week I felt like would n.e.v.e.r end. I so wanted a snow day and was so jealous when she was getting them. I thought I would stay on the bitter bus for a while, but then I got a snow day and got to see how crazy things are with her from missing 9 nine days and decided I wasn't all that jealous anymore. I wouldn't mind another snow day or two, but I don't want so many that I have to start giving up spring break and other breaks in the coming months. I know how crucial those breaks are. After the holidays, breaks become far and few between. When my kids are getting antsy and needing a break, I want to still have those days and not use them now on snow days. So, as nice as the snow is and as nice as it is to have random days off, I'd be okay with the snow holding off during the week.

Quotes and Pictures from the past week:

I think this picture speaks for itself.

I was doing morning duty last week. My morning duty spot has been re-assigned to the end of the hallway instead of the stairway. Standing at the end of the hall provides me with many opportunities to over hear conversations among seventh graders. Their conversations are random and often hilarious. My favorite from this week was on Monday morning. A seventh grade boy randomly says, "Oh man! My mom made this dessert this weekend...she's for real like Betty Crocker. She took brownies and put cookie dough in them. They were amazing! We called them...(dramatic pause)...(with his hands in the air like he was making a grand announcement, in a whispered awe)...crownies!"



One of my girls, after seeing me and Stephen at the band concert this past week said in class, "What's your fiance's name? ... [Me: Stephen] ... Oh yea, he looks like a Stephen because he looks like one of those football players I be seeing on TV and stuff." I told her Stephen would be thrilled to know she thought he looked like a football player that she would see on TV.

I couldn't make this stuff up! Here's to a relaxing, restful two weeks of no school...

Have You Ever Thought About...

Why we have toenails?

Why we put holes in our bodies and then stick metal in them for decoration?

Why we don't eat dogs, cats, or guinea pigs in the United States?

Why getting a cut when you're shaving bleeds so much?

Why exercising is so good for you and makes you feel so good yet we're often too lazy to do it?

Why more people don't become professional students? (Who doesn't miss college and the freedom that comes with it?)

Why laffy taffy jokes are so funny? (Okay, maybe they're just funny to me...)

Why we insist on doing things our way instead of listening to those who are smarter and wiser than us to begin with?

How cool an eye ball is and how it works?

How interesting people are?

Why some people ask so many questions?

Not Me Monday

I did not go to the grocery store this past weekend looking like a complete bum.

And, I did not hide from one of my students to avoid her seeing me look like such a bum.

I did not drive to school one day last week with my windows covered in frost. That isn't safe.

And, I did not drive to school that way because I was running late and didn't have time to scrape my windows. I am always a safe driver and never run late.

I was not on facebook when my students came to class last Friday.

And, I did not finish reading people's statuses before getting off facebook and allowing students in the class.
I am much more professional than that.

I did not open one of the presents I got my Mom for Christmas because I wanted to use it.

Okay, I really didn't hide from one of my students in the grocery store, but I did plan on had I seen one of them. I was looking really rough!

T Minus 10 School Days

That's right, folks...only ten school days left until Christmas break! Thanksgiving break was just a tease. It was hard enough going back after three days off. I don't want to think about how hard it will be to go back after two weeks off for Christmas. So, I'm not thinking about...I'm just looking forward to the break!

This week was fairly uneventful. I was trying to think of something interesting to write, but couldn't come up with much. I hope I'm not getting too used to seventh graders and beginning to take their quirkiness for granted.

We had our first field trip this week. At camp the past few years, I have been the one organizing everything when it comes to field trips. I knew very little about the details of this trip going into it. At first it stressed me out, then I decided to just go with the flow. It ended up being a really good trip. It amazes me how well students behave outside of school. Like I told one of the parent chaperones when she mentioned how good they had been, I would much rather them act crazy for me at school than out in public.

We went to the Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill. An art museum has the potential for disaster with seventh graders considering there are strict rules to follow and the fact that art museums are not always the most exciting places to visit. However, the museum did a great job organizing our time there. They had something for the students to do in each exhibit. Having a task to complete occupied and entertained them. I was very impressed with how they handled 100 seventh graders at one time.

Even though they behaved well and had plenty to do, see, and learn, their favorite part was still that Mr. Ackland is buried in the museum. This intrigued some of them, shocked others, and freaked some of them out. That was the first thing they told the teachers and students who didn't go about when they got back to school. At least they took something away with them...

They were quite humorous to watch on UNC's campus. The boys were having a contest to see how many college students they could get to wave at them. The girls were on the look out for a college boy they could date. They were all intrigued to see so many students riding bikes around campus. I heard one student explain that he needed to go to a smaller college because he didn't like walking so much. And, before we left one of the Language Arts teachers explained to the students that when we were on UNC's campus, we would be seeing normal people (e.g., students, professors, university employees). As we were walking across campus, an older gentleman, in a suit, carrying a briefcase stepped out of one of the buildings and began making his way across campus. One student proceeded to point and exclaim, "Professor!" While the adults wanted to crawl behind a bush, he was very proud of himself for being able to identify a "normal" person.

As thrilling as I'm sure it is to read about a field trip, I won't bore you with any more details. Maybe next week will provide some more entertainment!

So Blessed

I am thankful for my savior...
     who loves me unconditionally and perfectly
     whose peace surpasses all understanding
     who longs to have a relationship with me
     despite my imperfection
     who forgives me over and over and over again
     who gives me strength each day
     whose will is perfect
     who has plans for my life better than any plan
     I could come up with

I am thankful for parents...
     that love the Lord
     that love each other
     that love me and my sister
     that cared for me
     that taught me good morals
     that paid attention to me
I've seen too many cases of students who don't have this to take my parents for granted.

I am thankful for co-workers...
     that love their jobs
     that encourage one another
     that care for their students
     that have positive attitudes

I am thankful for my students...
     that make me laugh everyday
     that randomly let me know they enjoy my class
     that humble me often

I am thankful for my fiance...
     who loves me
     who makes me laugh
     who loves the Lord
     who loves his momma
     who is silly
     who does things when he gets ready to
     who can be messy and unorganized
     who has some quirky tendencies

I am thankful for my sister...
     who I can laugh with
     who has the creative skills that I lack
     who is fun to hang out with
     who knows what I'm thinking with a quick
     glance across the table

I am thankful for my friends...
     who support me
     who are always there for me
     who are just a phone call away
     who I'm proud to call my friends
     who I can cry and laugh with
     whose strength is a daily encouragement to me

I am thankful for my family...
     which isn't perfect
     who have taught me how to endure through thick and thin
     who love one another
     who laugh often
     who support me and one another
     who are proud of me

I am thankful for sunlight in my classroom windows

I am thankful for sweet tea

I am thankful for good books

I am thankful for my dog

I am thankful for a reliable car

I am thankful for my job

I am thankful for comfortable sweat pants

I am thankful for a safe place to live 

I am thankful for food in the fridge 
and home cooked meals

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!" Psalm 107: 1

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

Duty Free

We had duty free lunch on Wednesday. That means the administration watched our students and we, the teachers, got to eat a home cooked meal in the quiet of the library. It was glorious and much appreciated! I may have had to be called back to my kids because I tried to extend my lunch as long as possible. Whoops!

We did a jumping jack project in class this past week. We're beginning to work on functions, function tables, and linear equations. So, we were filling in a function table for number of jumping jacks in a 90 second time period, dividing it into 10 second sections. It was quite a complicated experiment as many things were going on at one time, but the students enjoyed it. And, it was hilarious! I don't know how you make it to 7th grade without learning how to do a jumping jack, but many of my students have. And, I'm okay with that because it was so funny to watch! Their coordination, or lack thereof, could win me a million dollars on America's Funniest Home Videos; if only I'd had a video camera.

In this experiment, each group had four people. One to jump; one to count; one to record; and one to keep time. I was helping one group keep time because they couldn't figure out how to keep track of 10 seconds. So, as I'm watching the clock, this is what I hear, "...61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 40!" I looked at him confused and he goes, "...72, 73, 74..." and keeps on going. He said 40 so assertively and confidently like it has always come after 69, but wasted no time continuing with the 70s.

It's getting cold outside and the weather change this time of year makes all of our skin a little dried out and itchy feeling. My students have been all about asking for lotion this past week. In the middle of anything and everything this is what I hear, "Ms. Hemric, you got any lotion?" I don't keep lotion for students to use so I quickly answer no and move on. Well, during this jumping jack project the other day, a boy asks me for some lotion and I tell him I don't have any. A few minutes later I hear someone say, "That's NOT lotion!" I turn around and this young man is rubbing this all over his arms.

And, yes, this does look like soap, but if you look closely, you will notice this is in fact soap. I considered not even telling him it was soap, but figured that would cause him to get even more itchy as the day went on. So, after fussing at him for touching my stuff (that is not allowed in my class room), I let him go wash his arms. At least he smelled good the rest of the day and killed all the germs on his arms!


I have a boy in my class who is very quiet and rarely says anything. I gradually got him to at least say, "Good" when I ask him how he is when he comes in class. Well, the other week I put students in pairs to work. All of the sudden I hear someone raising his voice. I turn around to fuss at who ever is fussing at his partner and it's this student who never says anything. He and his partner were arguing about which terms you could combine in the expression. The quiet boy is saying, "YOU HAVE TO ADD THE X's AND YOU CAN'T ADD THEM TO THE Y'!s" I was so excited that he was participating so actively. Since he was on task, I didn't have to ask him to be quiet. Well, Wednesday we had an even bigger break through. You see this boy never raises his hand in class. He's smart and usually knows the answer, but has never volunteered to answer a question. And, he never shares good things because he is that shy. But, Wednesday he did! He raised his hand and told me he was getting to go to the Carolina Hurricanes game this weekend. I, of course, acted like it was no big deal that he shared a good thing, while inside I was so excited to see this young man come out of his shell!!

Dad and I have been listening to Christmas music a lot lately! I LOVE the holiday season. I'm excited to share all of the excitement with my students this year and am excited that next year, Stephen and I will get to begin our own holiday traditions!

I know you're all wondering why mine and Stephen's face were not plastered all over the news when we got engaged like Prince Charles and Kate's have been this week. Before you go boycotting the media, you should know that Stephen and I turned down the media and interviews. They obviously couldn't get a hold of our story fast enough, but we asked them to hold off.

PS only two more days of school until Thanksgiving break! I can. not. wait! The kids AND teachers are more than ready for three days off!

Nothing in Particular

sorry it's been so long...

lists
This blog started out as a list of things for me to write about. That is how my life operates. If something doesn't get put on my list, I will forget it. I must be getting old or something. I always feel bad when I tell my students I will do something, and then don't. I've learned that I have to right it down when I say I will do it. Sometimes I will forget by the time I get to my desk to write it down. I'm trying though and I'm getting better...slowly but surely.

new car
I bought a new car last week. A 2008 Nissan Sentra. My Honda (98 with 185,000+ miles on it) lasted me four and a half years. When it began to fall apart, it did so quickly. It would go through spells of being fine and then something major would happen. This last time it began over heating and was leaking oil some where...which has been going on for a while. But, water was also beginning to get in where the oil was supposed to be. Oil and water shouldn't mix in a car. The weekend after dad "fixed" it, I was scared the whole 2 miles from home to school as I drove in the pouring rain not sure I'd make it out of the middle of Roxboro Rd. I went to the bank immediately after school on Monday and applied for a loan. I've been looking at cars off and on for several months without ever seriously going forward with the purchase because I didn't want the car payment. When your car could literally die at any moment, you get a little more serious about a new mode of transportation. Tuesday I got approved, Wednesday I went and picked out a car, and Thursday I went and finalized the sale. To top it all off, they gave me $1500 for my car!! Dad didn't think we'd get $1000 for it. It's nice to get in the car and not have to worry about any light on the dashboard coming on. I plan to drive this thing for a while!

 

how do you spell x
Last week we were learning about algebraic expressions. So, we were writing expressions from phrases and phrases from expressions. For example, 2x means two times x. Four less than y is y - 4.
On several occasions I would have students raise their hand and say, "How do you spell x?" Or, "How do you spell y?"
Oh seventh graders...


hero
I had my windows open the other day and 2 yellow jackets decided they would rather be in my classroom than outside in the nice fresh fall weather. Flying, buzzing pests have the potential to cause a lot of commotion. You have people who are scared of them, then those who get scared when the flying thing decides to randomly fly into their face; some are scared of them because they are allergic, and then there are the boys who want to follow the things around and try to kill them. Well, not only did two bees decide to enter my classroom, they chose my craziest class to come in on. Things went from crazy to crazier in that class. Three boys were up chasing the bees while the girls were screaming and running from the bees. One boy finally killed the first one with his finger...this is the same boy who decided to play with a snake at the football game earlier this year. I wasn't too worried about him killing it when he chases after snakes to play with. Then, the other bee thing decided to hang out at the top of my windows not really bothering anyone, but still provided a major distraction as everyone is trying to watch its every move. The next thing I know the snake handler, bee killing boy is on my counter trying to kill the other one. I started to just let him until the bee came toward him and naturally his reflexes made him jump back causing him to almost fall. I quickly made him get down before he got hurt and I got sued before Christmas of my first year of teaching. This little bee was still crawling around my window. So, to take the distraction away, I decided to climb on the counter and kill it with my shoe. When I did, you would have thought I had just won a good medal by the cheers from my students. It's the little things in life...


good things
Everyday at the beginning of class we share good things. Students can share any good thing about school, life, friends, etc. They love it and always have something they want to share with me. It has been a great way to build relationships with them as I get a glimpse into things about them outside of the math classroom. Well, the other day one of my boys raised his hand for good things and said, "Lil Wayne gets out of jail today!" He was so excited about that. Although it made me question his decision making in regards to who he looks up to, that was the most excited I have seen this boy all year. So, Lil Wayne, if you ever read my blog, make smart choices. You've got impressionable seventh graders watching you.


fall
This is my current view outside of my classroom window. Hello, fall!

hot chocolate
I got this cute coffee cup from our fall fundraiser. It was a total rip off. However, I have quite enjoyed my hot chocolate in the mornings out of it.

short weeks
Last week we had a teacher workday on Monday. Although I technically still had a 5-day work week, it is SO nice to have a whole day to myself with no kids at school. I didn't get as much done this teacher work day as I did on the last one, but it was still nice to have the day. Then, this week, we had Thursday off. I thought it was going to be so nice having two short weeks in a row. And, as nice as it was to have a day off, the three days leading up to that day off were so loooooong. However, that day off was so nice! Sleeping in in the middle of a week is something unheard of these days


extra hour of sleep
I had gotten used to the pitch blackness of the morning. I knew exactly how many steps to take before the steps started and exactly how many steps it is to the bottom to ensure I didn't fall in the morning as I left the house. But, turning the clocks back last week did provide a nice extra hour of sleep. During good things earlier this week, one girl said, "I love getting an extra hour of sleep every night now!" I said, "You know you only got that extra hour one night." Her response was, "You mean we don't get an extra hour every night now?!?" Me: "Nope." Her: "Ohh."


annoyed
I have to be honest. Even though I shouldn't be, I have been very annoyed lately. You see, Algebra was and still is my favorite part of math. I like it; I get it; It's fun for me. It's hard for me to understand that it is hard for some people to get. So, after explaining the same concepts what feels like hundreds of times, I have gotten very annoyed when I get called over to answer a question that I feel like I have clearly explained a million times already. Part of me just wants to scream, "HOW CAN YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THIS??" However, that is only part...and a small part...of my annoyance. The other part is: one, they don't try and just want me to tell them the answer and two, they don't listen when I do go over it and over it and over it and over it AND over it. If you truly don't get it, I will gladly explain it again. But, when you just stare at me waiting for me to give you the answer, I occasionally want to scream. I especially want to scream after I've said, "Listen to this so you know how to do it." Then. the second I say, "Okay, begin," I have at least 3 hands raised saying, "I don't get it!" "I don't know what to do." UGH! Okay, thanks for letting me vent. Sometimes its necessary. I love my students; I really do. Some days they just really annoy me.


North Carolina Middle School Journal
I have a quote in the North Carolina Middle School Journal this issue! The professor I worked for last year was a guest editor for this issue and wrote an article in honor of one of the Founding Fathers of the Middle School Movement and who I had the honor of studying under at App. Check it out:
North Carolina Middle School Association Journal
In this article (page 5, second column, about half way down):
"C. Kenneth McEwin: North Carolina Middle Grades Education Groundbreaker, Trailblazer, and Caretaker"


wedding
Things I have checked off the to-do list:
(in no particular order)
Book ceremony site
Book reception site
Book photographer
Pick out bridesmaids dresses
Make a wedding gown appointment
Book the DJ
Book the florist
Set the date
Ask attendants
Make guest list
Set the budget
Choose our cake person
Schedule engagement session
Make inspiration notebook
Began wedding website--not ready to debut quite yet


All of the credit for these things goes to Mom and Allyson! This wedding won't come together without them. Even though the attention will be on me July 30, 2011, they should be the ones getting the credit!

boone
I got to go to Boone this weekend to see Steph accept her scholar athlete ring. The weather was perfect and the company was even better. Laura went with me and we had a great time doing more shopping and hanging out than watching football. We may have only made it to the football game for halftime and then left at the end of half time. Well, we did see about three minutes of the second quarter. In that three minutes App scored twice. And, they scored another time on our way out as the third quarter began. App won, Steph got her ring, Laura and I got to shop, we didn't have to ride the bus, and we had Daniel Boone Inn for dinner. I'd say Saturday was GREAT day! :) I really miss Boone. I don't have any copies of the pics of the three of us together...check out tagged pics on facebook soon for those. But, I did get to see Stephen some, which made the weekend that much better! Please pardon the ridiculous facial hair...it's no shave November.