I haven't posted since November. Wow! And so much has happened...
We wrapped up our adoption of our children. Three teens...2 boys & a girl, I'll call R, E, & J. Two of them have had a birthday since then, and our new daughter has one coming up in June. They have done so very well in school.
R started & has maintained a gamers' club (ya know...GameCube, etc.) He's maintained all A's & B's, except one C. He turned 18 two days after the adoption & started driving. Boy! That's a story within itself. He also managed to get lost in the woods down here while out running with Dad. Another time on that one, too.
E will turn 17 next month. She has maintained high honor roll. She writes the sweetest letters to us. She doesn't want her brothers to see them, though. She thinks they'll think she's a traitor to their real mother & father. Their real father passed away from cancer, and that's when their mother couldn't hold things together, both emotionally & financially, and the children were taken from her (after trying to work her through several case plans). Frankly, I also don't think she intellectually had it together. She would leave the children alone, often over long periods of time & without food. So E feels more bonded to us. She's always wanted to be part of a family. Tonight she drew a heart on a letter she wrote to me. She colored it just a tad bit & said this was how her heart USED to be. Then she drew a second heart, colored it almost totally in & said that is how her heart is NOW. She'd had a very sassy week this week & confessed to almost kicking me. I'll allow for the fact that it wasn't the best "time of the month" for her & then you'll probably understand. I don't think there's a woman out there that hasn't felt like tearing someone's head clean off around that time at ONE time or another...or another...or another... :-) It didn't help that "Daddy" was out of town. I think that's when she likes to try & test me a bit. She wants so much to be a "momma's girl", but then also likes to pull some immature stuff to get attention. We're working through it.
J turned 15 in January. He's been our "up & down" child. One day he's doing great in class, doing his classwork & homework, and making good grades. The next day, he misses a class, doesn't do his classwork or homework, and loses or "misplaces" anything he knows he is supposed to have for class. Always a very convenient excuse! We know he's ADD, though undiagnosed. Even HE is aware of it! Just this week he had some wonderful surprises. He is mainstreamed as SLD for two classes & struggles with some things. But this week he rec'd his FCAT writing scores. He scored a 5.5 out 6 (being the highest), which means one judge gave him a 5 & one judge gave him a 6. The whole school keeps asking me about it. He was floored & just beaming! So very proud! Turns out he IS quite the writer! He's written several poems that are very impressive. We're going to help him set up a notebook to keep them in. But his teacher was so impressed that she wrote one of his poems up on the board & asked the class to discuss it...without telling them who wrote it. One girl kept saying that "she" meant this, and "she" (the writer) meant that about the writing. J spoke up & said how do you know it's a man...could be a woman. Good point! After some comments, the teacher asked them what did they think about the fact that the writer was less than 18 years old. J said they didn't seem to know WHAT to think. Then she finally told them that J was the writer. People at school have been so highly impressed that they now tell us we should have him enter some contests that are coming up. J is pleasantly surprised & not sure what to think about that. A bit bewildered, me thinks.
Also in the news...
I put in for a transfer to get into a school closer to home. At first I didn't hear back from any principals that were interviewing during our transfer period. I was getting pretty frustrated. I felt like,after all...1) I've taught since 1984 with some time off to be with my kids in their early years...2) I am an experienced team leader....3) I am certified to have interns from our area universities...4) I am trained as a PNE support person for beginning teachers...5) I have experience with all socio-economic groups....6) I have experience in writing grants...7) I'm willing & experienced in teaching & leading workshops. SOOOOoooooo...WHY IN THE HECK WASN'T I GETTING ANY PHONE CALLS??!!!! You have to understand...I have to have the security of knowing WHAT I'll be doing. That's just me. Even though transfers continue after the end of transfer period next week & through the summer, I can't stand NOT knowing what I'm going to be doing WHERE.
Thankfully, the top three schools I wanted FINALLY emailed or called me. The first one (School A) is 1.2 miles from home & is a Second grade class...this is the one I reallly wanted! School B is a situation of a brand new school that isn't even finished being built yet. Everything brand new, but further from home. About a 15 minute drive. The principal offered me a job right away. It was so tempting. We clicked immediately AND she is a friend of my current Asst Principal, who is also MY good friend. My Asst Principal doesn't want me to leave, but said she had nothing bad she could say about me to scare off the other principal. HA! School C happens to be only 1.5 miles from my home. The principal there was the first to set up an appmt with me, but was offering Kindergarten, which I did not wish to return to. I felt I owed her an interview before making a decision on the offer I was given, considering she DID contact me.
BUT...as luck/fate/etc would have it...the first principal (School A) called me back. Now understand..she was the one that left me feeling as if I was coming away with a "flat" interview. She told me several times how energetic her people had to be because they were involved in so many things. She even stated how she'd purposely hired "younger" teachers for that reason. (At that point, I thought, "What am I...leftover chopped liver, or something? Do I look THAT haggard??!!") I just smiled & said that was what I was used to already. She mentioned that she still had several more people to interview & then she'd get back with me...and if I didn't get the job, she'd keep my resume around through summer in case something else opened up.
Now---I ask you...at this point, would YOU think she was going to hire you??? Go with your gut instinct & you'll arrive at the same conclusion I did. Nopers!I figured THAT was THAT.
So the next day I was telling my current principal...yes, I'm up front & honest with my admin all the time about the fact I was interviewing...I was telling her the outcome & how I felt like the first principal gave me that "flat" feeling. She said, "Well, look at what I have in my hand." It was an email from the hiring principal asking about me. My AP friend also confirmed that Principal A had been asking the night before, too. When I told my principal that was the job I realllllly wanted to tranfer to, she said she was making a call to talk to the other principal on her request anyway & was going to talk to her. In less than an hour, I had an email offering me the job! I was so excited! Hubby had wanted me to take this school, too. Anytime I asked about what he thought about other schools, he said his heart had been set on this one school all along.
So next year I will be walking to school & my children were also given special assignment to the high school down the road from there. I had everything ideal in my current "old" school...HUGE classroom...respect from people who knew me...lots of people I know & care about & love. I've traded it for people I don't know..and admin I don't know...the possibility of losing weight walking...and a PORTABLE! Imagine that!
AND...
I'm still excited! :-)
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