It's My Birthday, And I'll Blog If I Want To

Yepper. I am officially 50. And, ya know? It ain't that bad. My kids and I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning and then, I was up at and showered by 5:30. Coffee is brewing, the dog is outside, the cat's have gone out and are back sleeping on the radiators, the bird is flying around the house, and I am blogging.

I am getting my new driver's license picture, today. My old one, has the most horrendous photo of me when I weighed over 400 pounds. Yuck.

So, what's new at 50?
a.) I've dropped 150 pounds and feel great.
b.) I realize I've lost track of every childhood friend. And, am picky about whom I call friend, today.
c.) My life is centered on my children, who are both grown and about to leave - for good - to start their own lives.
d.) The dog and I have become inseparable as we spend every afternoon walking three or more miles through the Vallamont area of Williamsport. You get to ponder life during such walks.
e.) I can get away with flirting.
f.) I feel intellectually alive!
g.) Maturity still escapes me
h.) Love is underrated, overstated, and, misunderstood
h.) I understand the phrase, "Life begins at 50."

Have a great weekend, folks.

Mr. Z! Is That Your Daughter?

Yep. She's home. A race to State College, last night, because our local airport cancelled all flights from Philly. No wonder I never use this airport. Anyway. The baby is home. We called family and friends to notify of the safe arrival. Krysia came to school, with me, this morning. She already misses her boyfriend.

Pangea to Present
Most groups are working on the Pangea packet in science. It is an introduction to Plate Tectonics.

Do You Think School Will Be Cancelled?
Unfortunately, yes. Looks like about three-inches of snow for us for tomorrow.

Happy Birthday, Mrs. Antonacci!!
She still looks like a teenager. It's hard to believe my baby sister, whom we found under a cabbage leaf, has grown to be such a beautiful woman. All I can tell you is, she is over 21 - barely.

Have a great night, folks.

Bad Weather

I hate two-hour delays! Why? Because it means the weather was bad enough for my daughter's flight to be moved from 10:45 a.m. to 3:07 p.m., today. That means, she will not arrive in Philadelphia until after 7 p.m. That means, she misses her flight to Williamsport, which leaves at 6 p.m., which means, she will have to catch a puddle-jumper to State College at 9 p.m. Which means, I have to drive to PSU, in this weather, to pick her up and return home.

I hate two-hour delays.

Have a grumpy night, folks. Hhhhrrrruuuummmmpppphhhh.

Welcome To My Nightmare

Okay, imagine this. Six groups per class. Some getting ready to test on a powerpoint lesson, others testing, others finishing the packet to test, still, others finished testing and starting the next powerpoint. I am barraged with kids coming, going, flipping, tipping, fanning, banning, tearing, swearing, mixing, fixing, tickling, etc. Suddenly, half my computers go down because I overloaded the internet server with a computer switch. Aaaaarrrrrrgggghhhh! Thank God, Mr. Black happened by. He got me up and running by noon.

Looking For Parents Signatures
Are you signing your kid's science agenda? Each signature counts as 20-points on a 100-point scale. I have one kid that did not get a single signature, last week. She got a zero for that grade.

The Good News?
My baby is coming home, tomorrow. Haven't seen the youngest of my offspring since late June. I stink at this empty nest stuff.

Got An Interesting Text
It appears my daughter's boyfriend is preparing a birthday gift for me. He is sending it home with my daughter. I really like this guy. He is a good and caring man. Actually, after she leaves Houston, he is going to Colorado to ski. Hhhrrrmmmppphhh.

Have a great night, folks.

SIGN THEM AGENDAS!!!!!!!

Please parents. Sign those science agendas. But, first, check with your child as to where they are at in the current science assignment. Quiz them as to what they learned on the computer, today. They are working in groups, sharing one computer per group, trying to find the answers to nearly two dozen questions pertaining to a powerpoint lesson.

Hope Mrs. Pulizzi
feels better, tomorrow. She was flushed, today, and complained of being cold and "headachy." More importantly, I hope she stays clear of me, Mr. "I get sick just by looking at'ya."

Have a great night, folks.

OMG!!! I WAS WRONG!!!!

I thought for certain there would have been enough ice to prompt a tw0-hour delay, today. Nope. It never got to freezing. Actually, I'm glad. A Friday and a two-hour delay would have made today nearly impossible to survive.

Have a great weekend, folks. In particular, best wishes go out to our resident "grandma-to-be." December 18 is getting awfully close.

It Done Snowed In Houston, As Rare As Mr. Z Smiling

The daughter sent this photo from the University of Houston. She is visiting with her friends and boyfriend before heading home, next week. The boyfriend, Eric, told me it is very rare to see snow, much less, enough to make this snowman.

This is the storm heading our way.

Can you say two-hour delay tomorrow?

Have a great and safe night, folks.

Is It Time To Go Home, Yet?

Such a long day. Whew. I've got a weather headache and my cherubs are nervous about a simple six-question multple-choice quiz, tomorrow. Hey, guys! I quizzed you during the movie. You know the answers. Unlax. It will be fine.

Have a great night, folks.

Trying Desperately To Save Time

All the timelines fell off the hallway walls, overnight. Oh well. Fear not. I gathered them "up" and placed them on a desk outside of my classroom. Mrs. Pulizzi suggested using them to decorate a Christmas tree. Hmmm. Methinks, I have an old 7-footer at home. Whaddya' think?

Have a great night, folks.

Blame Mr. Fausnaught

The boss kept us after school for a faculty meeting. I did not get home in time to go for my daily walk with the dog. So, here I am, sitting at the 'puter, blogging, instead of walking. Do I feel guilty. Arrrrgghhh!! Well, better make some coffee to comfort, myself.

Timelines Are UP
I got nasty looks from our maintenance guys. We're not supposed to hang anything from the walls in the hallways. I have about 11o, 15-foot long geologic timelines hanging in the sixth and seventh grade hallways. The epoxy paint they used on the walls does little good in permitting masking tape to hold. By the time I left the building, half the timelines were on the floor. But, ya know, they look good.

Oh, here is where I wanna thank Section 62, my first period class. They not only got their timelines up, but, all the students in that class did a timeline. Also, we got a chance to review the timeline packet. Mrs. Dincher suggested a candy reward, tomorrow. To be fair, Section 64, my second period class, also did a nice job in completing the assignment, getting timelines up, and reviewing the material. Okay, I'll give them candy, as well.

Timeline Quiz
on Thursday. Six questions. Multiple-choice. Hopefully, easy.

Funny Day, Today
Two members of my harem were a bit out of sorts, today. Something that never happens, with them, they were relatively quiet. I am concerned. The only good part of that is my ears got a well-deserved respite. I know, that comment will earn me some time in the boo-boo box.

Another one of my girls said she is feeling the impending weather, and, although she was not "bummed-out," she was on the reserved side. Still another of my girls, who is normally bouncy, bubbling and excitable, actually kept both feet on the ground. In fact, she was serious in several of our conversations. Thank goodness the last member of my gorgeous harem was back to normal, today. The last two weeks she was kinda stand-offish with me. Today, we joked and I even smiled. Shhhh, don't tell anyone. If the media were to find out I smiled . . .

I'm Not Ready For A Two-hour Delay
I hope the storm passes without affecting the school day, tomorrow.

Jealous Of My Boss
Not only did he infuriate me, today, by reminding me he is about a dozen years younger, but, Mr. Fausnaught tells me his blog has had over 1,500 hits since the third week of October. Is anybody reading my blog? Hello, lo, lo, lo, lo.

Have a great night, folks.

Pages 4,5, and 6

Ho, ho, ho. Only 21 more days until Christmas is over.

Okay, so you've pasted the time labels on your timeline. Now, you need to answer the questions on page 4. Which eon are you discussing on page 4? What's an "eon?" A definition is on the first page.

Anyway, you have answered all on page 4 and now move to page 5 and the first thing you are asked is to color in that eon. You know, the one you answered questions about on page 4. The eon that lasted 700 million years. That's right. The first one. Color it in on the timeline. I asked you use blue, but, if you prefer another color, go ahead. Just tell me what color you chose on your agenda sheet.

Look at that, you have a time line with the first 700 million years of Earth's existence, colored-in. Easy to see and recognize this first stage of Earth's development.

So, you have two other eons to color-in. Get it? The questions deal with those eons. Gee, that was easy.

Pages 4,5, and 6 are due on Friday. For Mrs. Phillips' crew, that went on the field trip, today, you will be working on your pages in class, tomorrow. They went, today, to see the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble.

Click here to see another kind of geologic timeline. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/glossary/TimeScaleShort.html
https://mail.ltsd.k12.pa.us/owa/attachment.ashx?attach=1&id=RgAAAACl9G32MkHjSJKlqgm5pnhaBwA3NGFcNmF%2bT4O7ZSPJVtLpAAAAASi0AADggd0dkjceTqLu%2f8NPv%2fwxADp8wm%2fiAAAJ&attid0=EAC%2fXIRv7rvuQp3vP%2fuxTOnj&attcnt=1

Have a great night, folks.

Getting Closer To Earth

The cherubs are putting labels on their geologic timelines, spaced every 100 million years apart. Then, they will highlight each of Earth's four eons by coloring each eon a different color. When you're dealing with a 15-foot length of paper, well, sometimes you have to spread out on the hallway floor.

Last Day For Nice Weather
I hope you enjoyed today's weather. It's the last you will see for a while. I am looking forward to getting out for my nightly walk with the dog. The crisp air has made for some terrific three-mile excursions. Feelin' good, folks.

My Baby Is Taking Her Finals
The countdown is on as my daughter finishes her semester in College Station, Texas. She has been housed in an old hotel since Hurricane Ike damaged her Galveston campus and displaced her. The kid is so anxious to get outta there. She had a wonderful turkey day vacation in Houston. Although she stayed with a friend, she managed to spend a lot of time with her boyfriend. Both Shirin and Eric are terrific kids. I'm glad she met such wonderful people. She is finished at College Station on December 9, but, will spend a week in Houston before coming home on December 17. She already has decided to come to school with me on December 18 -- oh, oh, watch out sixth graders - she's a taskmaster. Makes me look almost housebroken.

Have a great night, folks

Whatsa Constant?

Yepper, the cherubs learned the meaning of a constant in mathematics. They applied that knowledge in learning how to determine the number of centimeter marks required on their geologic timelines. I mean, they knew they needed 450 marks, they just did not know, why. Well, now they know.

Reading from the geologic timeline packet
Homework, tonight, is reading the articles about the first three eons of Earth. The students are to underline three unique items from each of the articles. Nice introduction for tomorrow's class.

Was it tough coming back?
I think only the teachers were dragging, today. The kids looked full of life and energy and ready to learn, today. Well, they were here. I did miss a number of kids, who apparently went hunting.

Have a great night, folks

To Post Or Watch Boring Commentators?

I will post a blog as I await the Bears/Vikings game at 8:15.

So, how was Turkey Day? It was a nice get-together at my sister's house. Her husband passed away in September, so this was the first family holiday without Kurt. My sister's girls came in, my family, and my dad. Although I can no longer eat turkey, I did sample a little of everything else.

When they were in Poland several years ago, my son, sister, her family, and my dad, were served a soup - zurec - prior to each meal. So, my sister got the soup fixins' from a Polish deli and made the soup for Thanksgiving. Man, was that good. We all filled-up on soup prior to the turkey. Heh, heh.

My dad and sister live in Middleburg, along the ridge of a hill that overlooks the valley. A most tranquil setting. My dog, Missy, and my sister's dog, Molly, and I, took a long walk along the ridge. The dogs ran, played, kept vying for my attention by frequently stopping me for a pat or petting. After all that fresh air, I nodded off a couple of times in my sister's Florida room as the women folk prepared the meal. My son and niece's boyfriend played video games.

Well, the game is about to start. See y'all on Tuesday!

I Am Thankful For. . .

. . . a loving family
. . . my daughter found a terrific boyfriend
. . . my son has found his niche in life
. . . my son got over a very difficult relationship and is dating again
. . . wonderful friends
. . . a loving school family
. . . Mrs. Antonacci, Mrs. Dincher, Mrs. Phillips, Miss Porter, and Mrs. Pulizzi
. . . a job I love
. . . consistently great groups of sixth graders over the last 15 years
. . . my new lease on life -- I feel great
. . . the drive to prove to Mrs. Antonacci, I can dance - just gotta train my crippled leg

Happy Thanksgiving, be careful if you are travelling, good luck if you shop on Black Friday, good luck if you are hunting, enjoy life. Have a great vacation, folks.

Time For Conferences

I'm here 'til 9. Hope my coffee holds out. Actually, I did flee for an hour. Had to get puppy out for a walk - quick quarter-mile. Boy, did she give me a nasty look. I told the pup to blame the parents.

Tomorrow
can't come soon enough. These holiday weeks are getting tougher the older I get. Hey, you try keeping up with a hundred something 12-year-olds.

Have a good night, folks

I Love, My Girls

Whew! That wind and snow is fierce. Dog and I cut the walk down to one-mile. I got the coffee pot a'brewin'.

Today, my classes started building a geological timeline. First, we need to make a 15-foot long timeline and mark-it-off in centimeters. One centimeter equals 10 million years. The Earth is 4.5 billion years old. Quick, how many centimeter marks will we need? Hope you said 450. If not, check your math work.

Anyway, Mrs. Dincher, always the mommy, spent the first class period fussing over the cherubs - rolling-up their timelines to keep them tangle-free, and cleaning-up after the kids. She just kept showing the munchkins what to do and I had to keep yelling at her that this is inquiry-based learning and directions are written-out. That means they learn through self-discovery. I came short of wrapping my arms around her to keep her from doing the work for the students. Yes, I love this woman and she does very well for herself, thank you, ordering me around. She is almost as good as Mrs. Antonacci. In the end, my students in that class completed the timeline format. I will not see them again, until Wednesday and next week, we begin assembling.

My other love is Mrs. Phillips. Her second period class is doing the same project. She, however, took students to the floor to lay-out their timelines and mark the centimeter points. There she was, crawling around on the floor with the kids - guiding, facilitating, advising; not doing the work for them. I did get a picture of her on the floor, but, did not download it yet, for this blog. Mrs. Phillips is well-aware of my teaching style and she does a wonderful job offering support when and where needed. Yes, they completed the assignment in preparation for assembling the timeline. I will not see them again until Wednesday.

In the end, I had a blast, today. My students are terrific and my two girls - Mrs. Dincher and Mrs. Phillips - are a godsend. Even Mr. Fausnaught stopped in to see us having -- dare I say it? FUN!!!!

Student-led Conferences
began today. The afternoon was spent meeting parents as wonderful as their children. Several conferences were enjoyable, others informative, all were interesting. You should have seen my kiddoes take charge of their conferences and lead me and their parents through the conference. I chuckle thinking of the several very nervous children anticipating the meeting of parent and teacher. Hey! sixth graders! Y'all done good. Thanks for your hard work.

PappaZ says this snowy weather will end by midnight. No need to fear a two-hour delay, tomorrow. You know I won't live this down, if I am wrong. Have a great night, folks.

Today's Topic? -- FOOD!!!!!

I know, I should be writing about science, but, you shoulda' seen the food, today. First, I got the left-over turkey, gravy, stuffing lunch from the cafeteria. Yum, but bread expands too quickly and I ended-up tossing more than half the plate of food, away. Then, the Cultures of the World club - our English as a second language kids, cooked up a mess o' vittles fundraiser that made me cry because I can no longer eat foods like corned beef and cabbage, etc. -- Aaarrgghh! Boo-hoo. I did see Mr. Fausnaught smiling as he walked with a bowl of corned beef and cabbage. However, today was club day and the club "There's a Chef in my Soup" featured local chef Paul Mach. What can I say, I sampled the escargot (snail) -- to die for. I never had escargot so perfectly seasoned and so tender. I also got to sample the “Quick Meat and Bread with Vegetables.” Totally, awesome. Chef is a really nice guy. He not only knew some of the Polish dishes I shouted out, but, he knew them by their Polish name.

Back to Business
Miss Riggs, a third-year education major at Clarion University, and daughter of our own ESL teacher, played the part of teacher in my classroom, today. She is focused on English and Library Science, but, taught a lesson on the rock cycle. She did very well. Nasty me, I gave her this large lesson plan and we ended-up teaching just a portion of it. You see, I already taught most of that lesson, earlier.
My students were so well behaved for Miss Riggs. I am so proud of them. I hope Miss Riggs asks to come back and teach, again. Getting your feet wet and doing a cannonball into cold water are two different things. The more she gets wet, the more acclimated she will be to getting into the water.

The Malady that ate the Sixth Grade
struck. yesterday, Mrs. Antonacci, Mrs. Pulizzi and Miss Porter were sick -- they were really uncomfortable. Today, I learned that Mrs. Dincher, our aide, became very ill after leaving here for the day. She said she spent Thursday night in a near comatose condition -- not really, but, she did say it sent her to bed. Not sure how Mrs. Phillips, did. She went to a conference, today. Me? Well, I got nailed last weekend after being bitten by some type of creature in Mr. Conoway's room. I spent last weekend with a very uncomfortable rash on my jaw and neck. Similar to the rashes Miss Porter and Mrs. Antonacci suffered. My week has been a gnawing headache just above my eyebrows.

Ready for Conferences
The cherubs should have given you the student-led conference time slip. If you did not get one, better call Mrs. Antonacci on Monday morning.

Well, have a great weekend, folks.

Holy Cabolees!

1. Mrs. Antonacci became ill and left.
2. Miss Porter and Mrs. Pulizzi were ill, but, stayed.
3. We gave 4-sight tests
4. Kids were spread out throughout the building
5. We prepared for student-led conferences.
6. A kid kept a milk bottle in his locker and it soured and popped sending the most obnoxious odor throughout our hallway.
7. Progress reports were printed for the office
8. They served turkey, gravy and stuffing in the cafeteria and I could not tear away for lunch.
Why? Because we had cherubs with no place to go after their lunch, so I opened my room to them during my lunch. That has been my favorite lunch since I was a kid, here - and that was before turkeys were even invented. I missed out on turkey, stuffing and gravy --MAJOR BOO-HOO.
9. Skipped breakfast.
10. Mr. Fausnaught advised us not to eat yellow snow.

I left pooped, yesterday -- came in pooped, today. Am super-pooped, right now. Supper is on my mind, but the dog probably wants her walk. My remaining kid and wife, both, work second shift, today. After walking the dog would I really want to go out to buy supper? Should I make something? Naw, last night, I opened a can of corned beef and sat in front of the tube eating it right out of the can. I hate eating out alone and do not feel like bringing something home.

The day has been one dilemma after another. Worse, yet, the holidays are coming.

Have a safe night, folks. Here's to all the special people in my life -- my family, my school family, and my friends. I proclaim this, the summer of George.

Summation of My Day?

Ugh!
I am pooped!!!
4-sight testing today and tomorrow
progress reports are due
getting ready for student-led parent conferences
assembling lesson plans.

Have a great night, folks. Give your cherubs a bear-hug, tonight.