First the good things. I finished my University of Phoenix classes – woohoo! Now, I can get certified to do what I have been doing for the past 3 years.

Chloe celebrated her first birthday. I was going to list all the items she has either eaten or destroyed in the last year, but the list was way too long. She does have a tendency for electrical cords, though.

School is going great and I have been teaching almost every day. I miss the kids so much and it’s a true treat when I can be in a teacher’s classroom interacting with the kids again.

Our ADK sorority is up and running. We had our first official meeting this afternoon. it’s going to be so much fun to interact with female teachers in a social setting. Plus, we eat well ) My friend Debra did a fabulous job for her first time in her presidents role.

The Web Wizards have been accepted to present at the South Carolina Technology conference in November. I look forward to working with Kim again. We will be presenting on Digital Photos and Web 2.0 tools. It should be a lot of fun! Kim and I work well together and tend to see things in the same way. What a joy to have a friend like that.

Okay, now the not so good. Chloe is in the hospital. We had her spayed and her stomach fixed 2 weeks ago. Great Danes have a tendency to bloat (a fatal incident where their stomachs twist) so we had both surgeries done at the same time. Jeff took her to get her 49 staples out on Monday and a few hours after he got home, she started pouring blood out of her stomach. Bad news is that her body is rejecting all the stitches. Plus, she has a staph infection, rod bacteria, a urinary tract infection, and is just plain not doing well. Bless her heart. She’s such a baby and now she has to stay at the hospital by herself. Dr. Schaller is wonderful and has been keeping us up to date several times a day. Hopefully, the doctor can clear the multiple infections and stop the bleeding and the sweetie can come home soon.

We are having terrible technical problems at the secondary schools. The poor teachers. Some days they can print and other days they can’t even see any icons on their screens. Most of them have been fabulous and VERY patient. But, I know they are getting frustrated beyond belief. I hope there is a solution soon!

We are now officially an NC Wise county. While there are many drawbacks to the program, there are some great aspects to it. It’s just not as teacher friendly as Easy Grade Pro and some folks are having problems adjusting. But, change is hard on everyone.

Since tonight is the first night in a few weeks that I have been finished with school work before 11 pm, I think I might try to get to bed early.

Hopefully, now that my classes are finished I can start blogging again.

Until next time ~ Danita

Flickr

The teachers were very understanding when the technology had hiccups.  The poor techs have been working terrible hours.  God bless ‘em.  I know they are all running near empty.  Hopefully, all the kinks will work themselves out soon.  On a good note, all the teachers are up and running with their SmartBoards, projectors, and Elmos.  It’s really exciting to walk by and see so much technology being used in the classrooms.  Even teachers who claim to be afraid of technology are beginning to test the waters and are finding it’s not as bad as they thought.  The new teachers are loving all the technology.  I’m hoping their excitement will rub off on some of the veteran teachers.  Think how exciting it would be to be  a new teacher and walk into the setting they have entered.  Boy, talk about cloud nine!

On a side note, PetSmart had free shipping for orders over $50 last week.  Chloe was in need of some new toys so she got 8 new ones tonight.  Anyone want to guess how many are still intact after 4 hours of “playing”??  Let’s just say I don’t think I got my money’s worth out of 4 of them since they are now flat (she pulled all the stuffing out) or separated (she chewed through them).  Oh well, maybe I’ll find a sturdy toy someday that is Great Dane puppy-proof.  At least maybe she’ll be tired and let me sleep more than 3 hours tonight.

Until next time ~ Danita

Dog Toy

SanLee Middle School

West Lee Middle School

Until next time ~ Danita

It will be like Christmas Eve on Sunday night – no one will be able to sleep. The kids will be wondering what their teacher will be like and the teachers will be wondering about their kids. Clothes will be laid out and checked and double checked for just the right outfit. Bookbags will be stuffed with new supplies. Lunches will be packed with extra goodies for that first day.

I miss this time of year and forming a family with my new students. I enjoy watching other teachers getting to know their students, but I am envious. I truly miss having a group of kids to call my own. For the next 180 days, a family will be formed. Friendships and bonds that may last a lifetime. Personalities will be developed. Lifelong skills and learning will be set.

The honeymoon will begin on Monday and I, for one, can’t wait!

Until next time ~ Danita

We had our final technology workshop of the summer on Thursday. Had a wonderful turnout! The teachers at SanLee learned how to use the new equipment that will be in their rooms. We even had a few teachers from other schools within the county. I know the non-educators (if any of them read this other than my mom and dad) don’t understand the big deal, but teachers need the summer to regroup and get rejuvenated. I sure miss my summers off.

I have a new room at SanLee. It’s going to be wonderful! I will have a location to do my workshops. I will have the same technology that the teachers will have so I can show them how to integrate the equipment into their lessons. I will have a SmartBoard, mounted projector, mounted speakers, and a document camera. WOW! It’s going to be great! I have seats for 15 teachers. The teachers can bring their laptops and we can interact as I do the workshops. How great is that?

Until next time ~ Danita