I survived spirit week! #hallelujah

This is my first year doing student government and it feels like being a 1st year teacher all over again. :/

The biggest week of the school year is spirit week. It involves the homecoming dance, the homecoming game, the pep rally, various activities at lunchtime, and dressing up each day according to a theme. Bottom line: it's a ton of work and planning!

The fact that I survived spirit week is a complete miracle. And overall it went pretty well. Next year I would do things differently but we can say that about almost anything that you ever plan. I am so proud of my student government kids and it such a joy to work with them!

Here's some pictures to document the experience this week:

The faculty (and a student) after playing teacher vs. student dodgeball

Wacky Tacky Day with Ms. Riesner. I loved wearing the wig!

Social Studies goes Goth. I went punk rocker.

Most of the SGA before the pep rally with our snazzy SGA t-shirts

This is my school---very picturesque!

My student and I soon after he scored a touchdown and before Homecoming Court.

Just FYI...

There are some things that get annoying after hearing them for the last 10 years.  Luckily I don't hear these too often but I'm pretty sure I've heard 75% of them,

Go to this link to get a good laugh. 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ashleyperez/24-things-single-people-are-tired-of-hearing?s=mobile

Wearing lots of hats...and trying to look good wearing them.

Teaching is a profession where you wear a lot of hats. 

One moment I'm in a meeting with my coworkers and discussing literacy strategies used in the classroom, the next moment I'm scolding a kid for being late to class, then skip to 5 minutes later where I'm hugging the girl who got dumped by her 14 year old boyfriend. I'm using therapeutic strategies to get an Autistic student to mellow, planning for a homecoming dance, organizing a leadership conference, tutoring a student on the differences between the northern and southern colonies, and mentoring my student teacher on strategies used for lesson planning. 

And that's all within a matter of a few hours, people.

I don't know how I do it all, but I wear a lot of hats! Its hard to juggle my work hats with my social hats, church hats, friend hats, and the list goes on...

How do you all wear a million hats? I'm about to throw them all way!

Happy Birthday to me--from one of my students #holler

This makes me smile. As hard as the job is, it sure brings me a lot of joy. It made the 14 hour workday a little better.

It's September...

Which means...

1. School is officially in session. Talk about busy! My first thoughts are that this school year has seemed much more doable than last school year although it's extremely busy. I'm also the adviser over student government which means there's a ton of planning going on for homecoming. It seems like summer never even happened now that we are back in full swing, but it's also nice to be back as crazy as my schedule is.

2. It's almost the fall. I've been dying to break out my sweaters and scarves but have been holding out cause its still too warm. I'm excited, however, for the change of season and the leaves turning. I'm tired of humidity and ready for some chill in the air. I feel like some good things are coming!

3. It was my birthday! I'm another year older (29) and a bit wiser. It was a pretty good day although it was back to school night and I had to work until 9pm. However my students made it worthwhile and fun as well as my colleagues and friends. Last night we celebrated by doing some Korean karaeoke. It was epic, to say the least.

4. Increased socializing. New people are moving in and people are back in the area after a busy summer. It's great to catch up with friends and meet new ones. Last weekend was our 3rd annual ward retreat up in PA. I spent 2 days camping in the woods with fellow colonialites sitting around a campfire, hiking, playing frisbee, and playing cards. Although I feel like I am growing out of a lot of these activities, I am also grateful for the many amazing people in my life. It's good to be with people and learn from them.

Life is good. It's busy, but good. And , it's September.

What a summer!

Tomorrow it's coming to a close as I go back to work but I just have this overwhelming sense of gratitude for all my many summer opportunities. Here are a few pictures of the things I've done.

Pittsburgh ain't the pits after all...

Who wants to go to Pittsburgh? Well I sure didn't...but there's something called being spontaneous...something that I'm not super good at because I  like to mentally prepare myself for trips. Any who, I called on one of my favorite pals, S-dog and we rocked a road trip pretty last minute; first to Falling water in PA, which is a fancy house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Cool house and beautiful venue, but I'm way more interested in historical homes, just my taste.

Then we decided to go to Pittsburgh. After seeing a Pirates game, we chilled at the hotel and the next morning we went on a tram up Mt. Washington, and then headed to a market where I ate some perogies. It was grand. And we were on our own schedule and felt like we could do as much or as little as we wanted. Just how I like it. So then we left...

The biggest realization? Well, Pittsburgh is super pretty. I was surprised. But hey, what other assumption do you make when it's a steel town...?

S-dog and I

Pirates stadium. Look at that view!

Another great view of the city from Mt. Washington. I'm squinting.

Perogies! Brought me back to my time in Canada!