Mount Vernon

I went yesterday to Mount Vernon, residence of George Washington. I will post more pictures, but these will have to do for now.








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Copper Mine

On our way home from G-ville we stopped by the copper mine. My nephew was pretty excited. I didn't have the $5.00 entrance fee and the individual at the gates let me in, which I thought was nice. It was raining so we made it quick.








We mad sure to pay a visit to the small gift shop. It was the least I could do after the kind treatment I received at the gate.

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Fun with Cousins

Today me and the kids (my nephew and niece) went to my sister's house in G-ville. We had a great time!











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Lagoon

Thursday before the 4th of June I went to Lagoon with a few coworkers as part of a supervisory group over 9th graders. It was fun. We are a serious bunch as the following two pictures will prove.





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Day: The Last

The last day of school is bittersweet. Investments have been made in young lives and as a teacher of 9th graders, I have put in blood, sweat, and tears. Literally. I want them to do well as they depart their middle school existence for the greener pastures of high school. I hope they remember what I tried to teach them (and the content is not limited to reading, writing, and arithmetic).

My room is now a shell harboring the tools of my trade. Desks are shoved over and will await the fall with chairs, computers, etc. before feeling used again.

That is the bitter.

Teaching takes a lot of energy and there are some students I am glad to see moving on. I get time to sleep in (if my body permits), time to travel, time with friends an family.
I get a paycheck and it does seem like getting paid for doing nothing (though it's not).

That's the sweet.

Those of my students who came to school today helped me take everything down. They were a big help and I thank them most sincerely.

That's the end. Have a great summer!








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Cloud formations

...are cool. Especially this one. I saw it on the way to work this morning and it was like the heavens were smiling down on earth.



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Final Four

The title refers to the final four days of the 2008-2009 school year. It's an exciting time. It's a challenging time, too, filled with trying to keep minds employed and busy when these young people would rather check out. It's the last week of school so why would one want to bring back packs, paper, pencils, etc.?

In order to add to the feeling that learning is still required, I never take down my room until the last day. Here are some pictures of what it currently looks like and I will post some later, post take down.









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