Well, it is the eve of Friday, what a big Friday it is, our schools have a three day weekend. We are just back tonight from the open house at the other local Catholic high school, which in Brian's eyes eclipsed the first one by a landslide. This school had a very nice feel, although at first I didn't think it would. It's as large as the public high school (about 1000 students, a bit more even), and the building is old. However, as we went through on the tour, which was pretty well run and everyone was nice and well-spoken and just, well, normal, we got more and more comfortable.
One thing that particularly appealed to us in light of Brian's chiari issues is that the entire school is on a laptop program. Every student has a laptop and the entire building is wireless. Notes can be taken on the laptop, either typed in or written as if it were a tablet; all assignments are turned in electronically. All teachers report grades via 'parent connect' which is something I have heard quite a bit, but for some reason our public schools don't do. There are no textbooks to be toted around, they stay in school and are usually available to be viewed online at home.
Of course, this comes with a price tag. Our next visit is Sunday or Monday to one more school, and then Brian will visit the public school on the 28th with his middle school. Oh, and the school we went to today is also on "block scheduling" meaning that they have four classes in the fall, and four classes in the spring semester. Classes run for 70+ minutes, and they all have an hour for lunch in the middle of the day, which is also when a lot of clubs meet.
Progress reports also finally arrived, although Megan's did not. I called her guidance counselor and he read it to me, so it was all positive, the worst being the B she is getting from the chemistry teacher who feels it is his job to break the A students in to failure (not that a B is failure, but the 65 on her last quiz practically was). She has another quiz tomorrow. I always panic when she has a quiz in there after a particularly long day of swimming, because she's tired and has less time to prepare. And she's been not feeling so great the past couple of days.
Brian's was pretty good as well, the worst on his being that he is talkative in MATH class!!! The math class is taught in a strange way, though, and may lend itself to non-attentiveness. I thought at back to school night that it didn't sound optimal. Hopefully he's learning. He also has a test tomorrow; in that class and one in science. And then today, I got a call and an email from his social studies teacher, just to let me know that he has been doing very well in that class! So that was nice.
And in other news, I am still unemployed but will not be tomorrow. I awaited a call this morning to see if I would work today or tomorrow, but it turned out to be neither. But later, I got another call and have a pretty good assignment, I daresay. It's from about 10-1, so that should be great. Kevin has just informed me that there are TWO munks on the back porch, and all this without any cats being let out at all today! I got mad because yesterday I let Wren out, and she spent hours out there, and then came in, and went straight to the litterbox and left a big dump in there, didn't even bury it! Oh, and the house is clean. Today was a cleaning day. That's always noteworthy.
Showing posts with label high school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label high school. Show all posts
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Wednesday Morning
Here it is, Hump Day, and I am not motivated. I am unemployed yet again. I checked last year's schedule and noticed that I was really quite busy, but I was also working as a substitute para, and that seemed to bring in a lot of my hours, this time last year. However, I did have a day or two of work each week as a teacher sub as well. Last night, the new caller tried to call. I had Kevin on the other line, and he wouldn't stop talking. By the time I got to her, she had hung up. I called her immediately back, first she picked up and put the phone down, and then I called again and left a message, but the call was never returned. I'll call her again today, because I can't work in the afternoon tomorrow, so I'll request a morning, and a job for Friday, and see what happens. After 7 years, I am in my 8th, I have gone to being a nobody again. By the way, that is longer than I ever stayed at any of my other jobs.
I have to finish work on the directory for the middle school anyway, but all I have to do is delete a few names and print it out for proofing, and that won't take long. Otherwise I have laundry to finish up and I have to get the house straightened for the cleaning lady, who comes tomorrow. (yay) Maybe I'll go for a bike ride or take Molly for a walk. It's supposed to reach close to 80 degrees again!
After school today, Brian has swimming followed by baseball. Megan has nothing but a swim meeting at school and a Spanish Honor Society meeting. This is good, because she isn't feeling well. I have to go and get her some drugs; it's her usual November affliction of stuffiness. She also jammed her finger on someone's finned foot at practice the other day. Swimming CAN be dangerous!
Tomorrow is the next open house at one of the Catholic high schools. There's another on Sunday, but we have to be at the Y, so I may call the school and see about going another time. They do 'open tours' and also allow the students to experience the school for a day, which is a great idea. We have a lot of days off that they don't, including this coming Monday, so that might work out. Anyway, the school is far from being a first choice.
Meanwhile, I started letting Buddy and Wren out from time to time while the weather has been nice. It cuts down on litterbox cleaning, and they don't go far. However, Wren has become quite the chipmunk hunter. But she doesn't kill them. She brings them home to keep as pets. She meows while they're still hanging, terrified, in her jaw, and she brings them to the back slider and tries to get in! Yesterday, Brian saved one by chasing Wren around the yard until she finally dropped it and it escaped. But she's out now. She busted out when I was checking on the car.
In other news, STILL no progress reports. Maybe today. I was pretty sure they had gone out yesterday. And I definitely will get paid, thankfully, because I have no more money and there is no more food in the house. Having to budget not just money but how much food to buy is proving to be more challenging than I had expected, with another mouth to feed. And a big night tonight! First, the Phillies in a win-win situation. If they win, they go to the World Series. If they lose, they get to come home and win the pennant on their own turf (because of course, they will win). Second, the final debate, and being held at the renowned Hofstra University. How much more excitement can be packed into one night? I can hardly stand it.
I have to finish work on the directory for the middle school anyway, but all I have to do is delete a few names and print it out for proofing, and that won't take long. Otherwise I have laundry to finish up and I have to get the house straightened for the cleaning lady, who comes tomorrow. (yay) Maybe I'll go for a bike ride or take Molly for a walk. It's supposed to reach close to 80 degrees again!
After school today, Brian has swimming followed by baseball. Megan has nothing but a swim meeting at school and a Spanish Honor Society meeting. This is good, because she isn't feeling well. I have to go and get her some drugs; it's her usual November affliction of stuffiness. She also jammed her finger on someone's finned foot at practice the other day. Swimming CAN be dangerous!
Tomorrow is the next open house at one of the Catholic high schools. There's another on Sunday, but we have to be at the Y, so I may call the school and see about going another time. They do 'open tours' and also allow the students to experience the school for a day, which is a great idea. We have a lot of days off that they don't, including this coming Monday, so that might work out. Anyway, the school is far from being a first choice.
Meanwhile, I started letting Buddy and Wren out from time to time while the weather has been nice. It cuts down on litterbox cleaning, and they don't go far. However, Wren has become quite the chipmunk hunter. But she doesn't kill them. She brings them home to keep as pets. She meows while they're still hanging, terrified, in her jaw, and she brings them to the back slider and tries to get in! Yesterday, Brian saved one by chasing Wren around the yard until she finally dropped it and it escaped. But she's out now. She busted out when I was checking on the car.
In other news, STILL no progress reports. Maybe today. I was pretty sure they had gone out yesterday. And I definitely will get paid, thankfully, because I have no more money and there is no more food in the house. Having to budget not just money but how much food to buy is proving to be more challenging than I had expected, with another mouth to feed. And a big night tonight! First, the Phillies in a win-win situation. If they win, they go to the World Series. If they lose, they get to come home and win the pennant on their own turf (because of course, they will win). Second, the final debate, and being held at the renowned Hofstra University. How much more excitement can be packed into one night? I can hardly stand it.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Multiple Migraine Menace
Well, the headache was not to be defeated. It came back with a vengeance in the form of a back-to-back 'aura' yesterday afternoon. I thought I'd be OK after the first one receded, and we set off for the open house at the Catholic boys high school next to our house, but as soon as we went to go out the door, I sensed a new aura starting over. It was mildly alarming, although it's happened before, jut not too often, but it did follow its normal pattern and passed within less than an hour between the two episodes. Afterwards, though, I was left with a sickening headache.
The school tour was OK, considering my condition, I tried to get the most out of the day. I enjoyed waiting behind people who seemed unaware of the line forming behind them as they grilled the guidance counselors at their information desk, particular the woman who pronounced the name of another local high school, Mater Dei, "mayter dee". Then there was the elderly gentleman who heckled the poor boy who sat alone at the Future Business Leaders of America table about capitalism. Bad enough nobody seemed to have any interest in leading business, but the poor kid had to put up with that onslaught of misdirected patriotism. (What?! You're not a capitalist? That's what America is all about!!! to which the kid replied, "Ok. I'm a capitalist)
Anyway, I just doubt this is the school for Brian but he and Kevin were swept up in the moment and paid the $75 and registered on the spot for the entrance exam, so I guess we'll just cast that die and see what lands face up. This school wouldn't honor any of the accommodations in Brian's 504 plan, somehow they are exempted from doing so, or perhaps it's just that if they find out he has any special needs, they won't accept him. This is sort of a cookie cutter old-school type of school, and I guess it does develop a work ethic and seems to produce a lot of achievers, but again you have the differential between honors and non-honors classes, and I don't know where we're heading with that.
But there are two other Catholic schools to check out in the area, one has block scheduling, where the periods are twice as long but they only take half the classes each semester, and then the other half the next, which reduces the amount of different homework, as well as the weight of the backpack. The other school is smaller, perhaps not as academically blessed as some, including the public school, but publicly funded benefits seem only to benefit those in the honors track or the special needs groups. It is easy to get lost in the mainstream.
Both Catholic schools have laptop programs, where they require each student to purchase a laptop and use it for all of their classes. This would be a great thing for Brian. And the middle school will take him on a tour of the public high school. So by mid-January, we should be pretty sure where he will attend 9th grade. I wonder if the Catholic school might give him a smaller environment in which he won't get as 'lost' as he seems to be doing in the middle school. Just not sure how we pay for this ... but ...whatever.
Speaking of honors, Megan has an impossibly difficult chemistry teacher this year. E is also in the class, she has him at a different time. Megan got a 65 on the last quiz, E got a 71. However, the fire alarm sounded while E's class was taking the test, and they were not able to complete the end, which included a few open ended questions, which is where Megan says she lost most of her points.
The scores were calculated as a percentage of total responses, but since the test given to the earlier class was lacking the more challenging questions, Megan maintains that this was unfair. I think probably the teacher is trying to shake the kids up early on so that they will see that they need to study more than they have ever studied before. It is only one quiz of three, and quizzes only count as 30% of the total grade. But my jury is out on this teacher; they all say he is a very good teacher, and that his students will learn more from him than anyone else. But I don't understand why he has to be impossibly hard. I have particular interest in this issue, in light of my chemistry debacle in 10th grade, which was sort of the catalyst that led me to drop out of Girls High School and pursue alternative education.
And so today I am just hanging around. I did some work on the middle school directory last night, but I have more to do. My neck is still stiff from the migraine, so I'm not going to attempt to work out today. In other news, Wren got out last night and tried to come in with a chipmunk! Molly seems to have stopped licking her paw again, at least for now, and Kevin is back to work but is about to embark on several trips in the upcoming weeks. Also coming up are many days off from school, and the start of the swim season. Otherwise, all is pretty quiet at the moment. Nothing of interest to report.
The school tour was OK, considering my condition, I tried to get the most out of the day. I enjoyed waiting behind people who seemed unaware of the line forming behind them as they grilled the guidance counselors at their information desk, particular the woman who pronounced the name of another local high school, Mater Dei, "mayter dee". Then there was the elderly gentleman who heckled the poor boy who sat alone at the Future Business Leaders of America table about capitalism. Bad enough nobody seemed to have any interest in leading business, but the poor kid had to put up with that onslaught of misdirected patriotism. (What?! You're not a capitalist? That's what America is all about!!! to which the kid replied, "Ok. I'm a capitalist)
Anyway, I just doubt this is the school for Brian but he and Kevin were swept up in the moment and paid the $75 and registered on the spot for the entrance exam, so I guess we'll just cast that die and see what lands face up. This school wouldn't honor any of the accommodations in Brian's 504 plan, somehow they are exempted from doing so, or perhaps it's just that if they find out he has any special needs, they won't accept him. This is sort of a cookie cutter old-school type of school, and I guess it does develop a work ethic and seems to produce a lot of achievers, but again you have the differential between honors and non-honors classes, and I don't know where we're heading with that.
But there are two other Catholic schools to check out in the area, one has block scheduling, where the periods are twice as long but they only take half the classes each semester, and then the other half the next, which reduces the amount of different homework, as well as the weight of the backpack. The other school is smaller, perhaps not as academically blessed as some, including the public school, but publicly funded benefits seem only to benefit those in the honors track or the special needs groups. It is easy to get lost in the mainstream.
Both Catholic schools have laptop programs, where they require each student to purchase a laptop and use it for all of their classes. This would be a great thing for Brian. And the middle school will take him on a tour of the public high school. So by mid-January, we should be pretty sure where he will attend 9th grade. I wonder if the Catholic school might give him a smaller environment in which he won't get as 'lost' as he seems to be doing in the middle school. Just not sure how we pay for this ... but ...whatever.
Speaking of honors, Megan has an impossibly difficult chemistry teacher this year. E is also in the class, she has him at a different time. Megan got a 65 on the last quiz, E got a 71. However, the fire alarm sounded while E's class was taking the test, and they were not able to complete the end, which included a few open ended questions, which is where Megan says she lost most of her points.
The scores were calculated as a percentage of total responses, but since the test given to the earlier class was lacking the more challenging questions, Megan maintains that this was unfair. I think probably the teacher is trying to shake the kids up early on so that they will see that they need to study more than they have ever studied before. It is only one quiz of three, and quizzes only count as 30% of the total grade. But my jury is out on this teacher; they all say he is a very good teacher, and that his students will learn more from him than anyone else. But I don't understand why he has to be impossibly hard. I have particular interest in this issue, in light of my chemistry debacle in 10th grade, which was sort of the catalyst that led me to drop out of Girls High School and pursue alternative education.
And so today I am just hanging around. I did some work on the middle school directory last night, but I have more to do. My neck is still stiff from the migraine, so I'm not going to attempt to work out today. In other news, Wren got out last night and tried to come in with a chipmunk! Molly seems to have stopped licking her paw again, at least for now, and Kevin is back to work but is about to embark on several trips in the upcoming weeks. Also coming up are many days off from school, and the start of the swim season. Otherwise, all is pretty quiet at the moment. Nothing of interest to report.
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