NYC!

Many pics from the recent trip to NYC! It really was a blast! The tour guide said that we wouldn't really appreciate the trip until we got home and rested up. She was exactly right. I just look at the pics and think, that was so cool!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Feeling Crafty!

Need to wrap some "last day of school" gifts before tomorrow (the last day of school!!). But I have no wrapping paper...crap. So I don't know if this is crafty as much as it is just resourceful I guess. But I'm pleased with how they turned out. I felt like I was channeling my co-worker Anna who is ultra-crafty, and pretty much all-knowing in my mind. Check out her blog for awesome give-aways and creative ideas! Thank you SO much Anna for helping me through this year!
P.S. This is my 100th post!

Aprons!

Remember last Mother's Day when I made aprons for all the mothers in my life? Yep. So what do you think I chose for the SHORT little sewing unit in my Fashion & Textiles class? Yep, aprons. Do high school girls like aprons? Hmm...don't really care...because that's kinda all I know how to make! It's proved to be less problematic than I expected...I was having some crazy nightmares about a class full of 24 using 9 sewing machines under my supervision. Fashion & Textiles is NOT my favorite class to teach...but it has worked out fine...and I don't have to teach it next year...that's a whole other post in itself!



We took a field trip to JoAnn's and everyone picked out their fabrics for their reversible aprons. Their personalities really shined through in their choices! Most made them to give to their mom's for Mother's Day. Glad sewing unit is nearly over!
Also, it's nearly graduation time. Seniors get done 2 weeks before the rest of the students here. That's just a little too early. I grew pretty close to my Consumer Skills classes which are juniors and seniors only. Had a couple of great groups that really participated well and learned a lot. I learned a lot too! So I wanted them to have a small momento from the class.

WRHS Prom

Matt & I "chaperoned" the "Night at the Oscars" prom a couple weeks ago. I "quote" chaperoned because I'm pretty sure a handful of the other chaperones probably thought we were attending the prom...but it was fun. It's one of those things that I'd show up to for free but since they pay you to be there it's even better! Brought my camera but it seemed weird and stalkerish to take pics of anything...except Kak and I on the red carpet!

WRHS Cheer Season Ends

We finished off the year with our cheer banquet last Tuesday. As usual, the parents went all out and it was a really nice banquet. Coaching a freshmen squad was an adjustment for me this year. But I'm really proud of all they accomplished, and I think I've successfully learned how to tone my intensity down to be 9th grade appropriate. A highlight for me was getting to know the other coaches. They are definitely a huge part of what I love about WRHS!


Amanda and I

Gifts ready for banquet

More photo books. It's become my banquet gift of choice. :)

Contain the germs!!!

It's that time of year--seems like everyone you know has recently been out sick with the latest crud going around. (Question you should reply to--is that how you spell crud?) I, myself, even had to use a sick day this week. How can we combat this? Especially if you work in a school? WASH YOUR HANDS! OFTEN! I try not to be a complete germ freak...but since the janitors don't ever touch the desks, I at least every so often wipe down the tables in my room with Clorox wipes. Yuck, try not to think about it. There's got to be more germs on the desk surfaces than on the toilet seats because at least those get cleaned daily! So take a second to go wash your hands... how bout right now?

Guest Speaker!!!

Steve Hamilton, who holds the record for "World's Fastest Flap-jack Flipper" (according to the Guinness Book of World Records), came to speak to the Meal Management classes this week. He owns his own business (Chris Cakes, ever heard of it?) and travels 60,000 miles a year flipping pancakes AT people. See the pancake flying through the air in the picture above? He's been featured on the Food Network several times and has a patent out on his griddles and equipment. A true entrepreneur in the food industry!

It was really cool to have him speak to the kids. He woke up at 3AM to load up his equipment and travel to Topeka. He spoke ALL day long and served pancakes to everyone...all for free.

It was a fun day...but I don't necessarily feel like eating (or smelling) pancakes anytime soon...

Good news & bad news...

The good news is that I made contact with a Topeka design firm and they donated SO many samples for my Housing & Interiors students to use for their final projects!!!


The bad news is that I somehow lost my cell phone while loading up my car and trunk with all these goodies. I'm fairly certain it's in the car somewhere...

Hitting My Stride?

The last 2 weeks of school have been great...which causes me to TOTALLY over-analyze the situation as to what made the week go smoothly and what was different than other weeks. I really felt like I was prepared for each day, had good lessons, and even had fun with the students. Too often I feel like I don't get to have fun or even show my personality to the students because I'm either teaching or running around to get the next thing ready while they're working on projects/assignments. But it's been different lately, and I like that. Maybe I'm hitting my stride? Learning how to live with and handle the anxiety that is 1st year teaching? I don't know...I don't want to jinx it...so I'll just say I've moved to being 90% sure I can handle this. I'd rate today as just "okay"...but it's probably because I wore uncomfortable shoes. Never wear uncomfortable shoes on a Monday!

One thing I've noticed...

about WRHS is that they don't have a spirit club...nope, no Pep Club. Interesting. Got me to thinking...is there really a need for a spirit club? The Student Council and the cheerleaders seem to have divided up the duties a pep club would normally have. And everything runs smoothly.
"Locker art" is a duty that the parents have picked up...and they don't hold back. This is some of the most elaborate locker art I've ever seen. I'm sure the moms who make the locker art are scrapbooking enthusiasts...and I must say, well done.





P.S.--Don't worry, I don't think anyone saw me taking pics of this stuff...then they might think I'm weird. Well, what's weirder...to take pics of the locker art...or to compose a blog entry about the locker art?

Fun Unit in Housing & Interiors

I love it when parts of my job are fun...sometimes it just seems so BUSY that I don't get to enjoy the day at all. I dreaded teaching Housing & Interiors but it's turned out to be one of my favorite classes to teach. I love seeing the students be creative!


Graham cracker and frosting color wheel. How about an edible assessment?

Conference Trip Pics

It's a little strange to sight-see on a trip with just a group of random co-workers you don't really know...but it was a fun trip. Heard the DuFour's speak about PLCs in schools and ate some great food while seeing D.C. and getting to know my co-workers. However, it's SO ANNOYING to miss school...especially for 3 days in a row! I returned to a mountain of papers to grade. Enjoy the pics! Next post = 1/2 Marathon.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Playing catch up...

Our computer is up and running again so I'm back to the blogging world! So much to catch up on...however...I have to go chronologically...so if you're waiting for that 1/2 marathon update, stay tuned!

Freshmen Football games are underway! Our first one (weeks ago) was endured in the rain...we lost 14-44. Seriously.

WRHS Cheer tradition for cheerleaders to do pushups when our team scores (luckily that's not too often). Do I think this is stupid? Yes. However, I do not get paid enough to fight them over their "traditions" so they are free to do as many push-ups as they like. Attractive, huh?

Don't Worry...

Just wanted to let you know I survived the first two weeks of school! Really, it's been a bit of a writer's block that's been keeping me from posting. Nothing to write about...except school. And, come on, I exhausted the subject of school well before it even started! I'm just going through the typical "first-year teacher" things that many of my readers have themselves experienced. They always told us in school that teaching would be harder than we thought. And I really thought they were talking to everyone but me. I'll be able to survive the long days, I'll be able to wear cute uncomfortable shoes, I'll be able to sponsor clubs & activities my first year...I'm tough, I'm organized, I want this so bad...I can do this. Okay, so I'm not as infallible as I thought. I'm tired...my feet hurt...and there are definitely times when I think I do NOT have time to go to practice or organize this meeting...I need to plan for school!!! There were a couple times this week when I felt like I was treading water...while holding a pile of bricks. But I've made it through to the weekend, and I have to keep repeating the advice my co-worker (also named Jana)says to me each day as she leaves school at 3:31 (this is her 13th year of teaching)..."you'll be fine...take it one day at a time."

School Time!

My sister, Gentry, wrote me a cute little back-to-school poem entitled "School Time!" No kidding, she really wrote me a poem. It was hilarious!! All about teacher sweaters, the other staff thinking I look young but how I need to hold my tongue, etc (I get angry when people say I look like a student!). It was great. I'm thinking of laminating it. If I typed it on here without her permission is that some sort of copyright infringement? We had an inservice on that...
As promised, the "after" pictures of my classroom. We're ready to go, good thing, since school is 4 days away!!!
I stood in the doorway and kind of pivoted around taking pics.



The cabinets in the front of the room...decided to cover them.

A shot of the front of the room. Red letters were bigger than I thought, it's kinda like I'm yelling MRS. KEELEY!!! at the class.

My little area up front.

Side wall

Back wall

Other side wall. Hard to see because of the glare. This wall is quite busy! It says Process Skills, The "how to" of everything you do!

Process skills are emphasized heavily in FACS curriculum. It's not about the final product of a cake or a purse or whatever anymore. It's about the skills used and developing the skills to make kids better wage earners, family members and citizens. :)

Process skills on the wall: Creativity, Management, Teamwork, Leadership, Critical thinking, Decision Making, Problem solving, & Goal Setting.

This is my class mascot. Isn't he welcoming? We will have a contest to name him the first week of school. (He cost $4 at Hobby Lobby).

WaRu Cheer Corner

Letters in the back of the room. They may be my favorite...

Another view of my desk area in the classroom. I also have a desk in the FACS office, but there's nothing in there now, I barely have enough stuff to fill one desk area!


I think I'm ready to roll! Getting the classroom ready was the easy part...the rest is taking some time. So many decisions to make in regards to class routines, procedures, discipline plan, LESSON PLANS, etc!!

The to-do list goes on and on! This will be an exciting journey...don't worry, I'll keep you posted. :)