Ronnie, Torrential Rain and Counting Crows! Crazy spring time.
What a crazy last 3 weeks. First of all, time is moving swifter than ever- even within one day, time is moving faster. I swear I blinked and it was the second week of May. Post-spring break era has been fabulous. Came back from a relaxing west coast trip and the transition was a bit rough. Mostly due to lack of planning and preparation on my part.
I somehow managed to get my kids really invested in finishing the year strong instead of fading out and ceasing work. For the kids i teach, you basically have to turn everything into a game....i.e. the "who can master the most objectives" game..if it's a competition or appears fun, they'll usually do it. So i combined both...and it's working for most. (nothing ever works for all). It's a source of pride to meet our "big goal" of 85% objective mastery and the biggest problem is kids who meet it bragging to others.
I have been thinking a lot about Ronnie, my 17 year old student, lately. He has expressed interest in entering the pre-GED program across the street from our school, which makes me very happy. However, it is difficult to get into, so i talked with him on friday about a plan b- going to a nearby louisiana boot camp for 5 months which you leave with a GED. He's totally willing to apply. I also had a lengthy discussion with Oscar the school Maintenance Man about potential options. Ronnie wants to be a construction worker, and he's honestly the kind of kid who just needs one good opportunity, one person to give him a chance, and I really believe he will be successful. I love this kid like a son (despite the fact that he is barely 6 years my junior) and I need to see him through. He has had a lot of terrible things happen to him in his life, that are completely beyond his control, and he is one of the sweetest young men I've taught. Please keep Ronnie Jones in your thoughts- god willing, he will head down the right path, and not be swayed by his dropout friends.
We have been working on a career project lately, and the kids love it. I am going to have them interview a person with their future career choice (dentist, lawyer, etc.) and they have to make a poster and a presentation. It's awesome how excited they are. The whole point is to force them to connect education/college with the job they want to have.
Friday was one of the craziest days of my life. We drove out to Reserve in rain so torrential that is almost felt like we were underwater. It was dark and scary, and I was so glad to be with my carpool buddies. After our kids took district writing exams, nicole, greta and I peaced out at the half day and ate a delicious homestyle lunch at garyville's own "Friendly Friends Cafe" a place we had always felt compelled to try, mostly because of the awesome name. The torrential rain had calmed down by the time we left. Upon arrival to New Orleans, we discovered that my car, parked at Greta's house, had flooded in the downpour, and still had about 1-2 inches of standing water. What a hassle, and we are still dealing with it. No major damage, keep your fingers crossed. We made our way out to the Fairgrounds for Jazzfest, where we saw Counting Crows, the best concert I have seen of theirs. We waded through the sloshy, disgusting mud in our crocs and flipflops and it was awesome! We felt so hardcore. After the concert, we went to the side where their trailer was and my two groupie friends blew kisses and yelled/waved at everyone passing. Finally, their efforts paid off and the CC bassist opened the trailer window and handed us a Krispy kremes donut box with 11 donuts. The lead singer was spotted moments later eating the 12th donut. We will never forget the day the Counting Crows gave us donuts. We also took a pic with the guitarist...it was sweet.
Saturday was super fun with Aden, Meredith and lots of friends. John Legend was beyond phenomenal, and Stephen (bob's son) Marley was fun. The food at J-fest is some of the best you will ever find in New Orleans. Jazzfest is probably my fav weekend of the year in NO- last weekend we saw Rebirth Brass Band, Ludacris and lots of fun local bands. I'm sad it's over, but I can already start counting down to next year!
14 days or so left of school...then summer school starts. But it's only 4 days a week, it will be sweet! Hope all is well....
Love, Sarah
I somehow managed to get my kids really invested in finishing the year strong instead of fading out and ceasing work. For the kids i teach, you basically have to turn everything into a game....i.e. the "who can master the most objectives" game..if it's a competition or appears fun, they'll usually do it. So i combined both...and it's working for most. (nothing ever works for all). It's a source of pride to meet our "big goal" of 85% objective mastery and the biggest problem is kids who meet it bragging to others.
I have been thinking a lot about Ronnie, my 17 year old student, lately. He has expressed interest in entering the pre-GED program across the street from our school, which makes me very happy. However, it is difficult to get into, so i talked with him on friday about a plan b- going to a nearby louisiana boot camp for 5 months which you leave with a GED. He's totally willing to apply. I also had a lengthy discussion with Oscar the school Maintenance Man about potential options. Ronnie wants to be a construction worker, and he's honestly the kind of kid who just needs one good opportunity, one person to give him a chance, and I really believe he will be successful. I love this kid like a son (despite the fact that he is barely 6 years my junior) and I need to see him through. He has had a lot of terrible things happen to him in his life, that are completely beyond his control, and he is one of the sweetest young men I've taught. Please keep Ronnie Jones in your thoughts- god willing, he will head down the right path, and not be swayed by his dropout friends.
We have been working on a career project lately, and the kids love it. I am going to have them interview a person with their future career choice (dentist, lawyer, etc.) and they have to make a poster and a presentation. It's awesome how excited they are. The whole point is to force them to connect education/college with the job they want to have.
Friday was one of the craziest days of my life. We drove out to Reserve in rain so torrential that is almost felt like we were underwater. It was dark and scary, and I was so glad to be with my carpool buddies. After our kids took district writing exams, nicole, greta and I peaced out at the half day and ate a delicious homestyle lunch at garyville's own "Friendly Friends Cafe" a place we had always felt compelled to try, mostly because of the awesome name. The torrential rain had calmed down by the time we left. Upon arrival to New Orleans, we discovered that my car, parked at Greta's house, had flooded in the downpour, and still had about 1-2 inches of standing water. What a hassle, and we are still dealing with it. No major damage, keep your fingers crossed. We made our way out to the Fairgrounds for Jazzfest, where we saw Counting Crows, the best concert I have seen of theirs. We waded through the sloshy, disgusting mud in our crocs and flipflops and it was awesome! We felt so hardcore. After the concert, we went to the side where their trailer was and my two groupie friends blew kisses and yelled/waved at everyone passing. Finally, their efforts paid off and the CC bassist opened the trailer window and handed us a Krispy kremes donut box with 11 donuts. The lead singer was spotted moments later eating the 12th donut. We will never forget the day the Counting Crows gave us donuts. We also took a pic with the guitarist...it was sweet.
Saturday was super fun with Aden, Meredith and lots of friends. John Legend was beyond phenomenal, and Stephen (bob's son) Marley was fun. The food at J-fest is some of the best you will ever find in New Orleans. Jazzfest is probably my fav weekend of the year in NO- last weekend we saw Rebirth Brass Band, Ludacris and lots of fun local bands. I'm sad it's over, but I can already start counting down to next year!
14 days or so left of school...then summer school starts. But it's only 4 days a week, it will be sweet! Hope all is well....
Love, Sarah
posted by MissBliss at 10:16 PM
1 Comments:
We love each experience you have !! You write with such description ---and you are doing a beyond fabulous job !! We are so proud of you !!
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