The Tale of Despereaux

My favorite read-aloud is The Tale of Despereaux by Kate Di Camillo. It came recommended by a teacher from Riverhead who said her second graders applauded when it was finished. It is that good! I have had the same experiences the past three years. My students are thoroughly engaged in this book. There are many places where they have to infer what is happening in the story. They have those 'AHA!' moments when the story connects to another part of the story.

The story is told in four parts and we're introduced to three separate individuals who are integral parts of the story. Their individual stories take place at different times as well, but they all come together in the end. The first part of the book is about a mouse named Despereaux (des per oh) who is born with his eyes open and has very large ears. From day one, his family notices he doesn't seem mouse-like. He doesn't like to scurry, or eat, and even more strange--he reads! When he sits at the foot of the king, and falls in love with Princess Pea (yeah, my students laughed at the name pea (pee) but they got over it quickly) he gets sent to the mouse council to decide his fate. The reader is then introduced to a rat named Chiaroscuro (the mixture of light and dark together) and later... a farm girl turned slave named Miggory Sow. The way these three characters lives intertwine is the sheer genious workings of a talented author.

Best of all--Universal Pictures is creating the movie version due out December 19th. While showing the preview clip to my students (our school just got a laptop on a cart with a projector--yippee! our technology is catching up) they were dismayed at how many parts were put in the movie that were not in the book. I figure we should be up for a field trip--December 19th is the Friday right before we go on break for Christmas and New Years. Perfect timing. We can see the movie in the morning...they can look over their responses from the book and create a venn diagram about the similarities and differences between the book and movie.

Even better--my colleague, Jenn, put our grade level in to become Kidsday writers and asked if we could interview Kate DiCamillo and review her books and the movie. We've got our fingers and toes crossed on this one!

LCI

Over the past year, I have been part of a group of teachers who come together for this program called LCI--Learner Centered Initiatives. The basic theory is that if we can teach students authentic curriculum and assess them on many different levels, learning will become more meaningful for them and they will have more success as learners. We were challenged to take the curriculum we have to cover and find new ways to present it to students. The curriculum gets focused around a central core --which should be an open ended question that students have to answer. A bad question would be: What happened at the Boston Tea Party? A better, more open-ended question would be: How did the Patriots fight back against British imposed laws? An even better question might be: Why war? The last question can move on to many topics and students have a better range of interest. They could look for a central theme: freedom (as with the Am. Revolution), beliefs (Am. Civil War), religion, land (Fr. and Indian War), etc...

I actually tried this last year with my fifth graders: Our central question was 'Why Migrate?' Each time we examined a new era in SS, we looked back at the question--it even crossed into our science curriculum with animals. We found out that people move for all different reasons: new opportunity (Westward Expansion, Gold Rush), War (Holocaust, Civil War, WW I and II), Land (Remember the Alamo? :), Freedom (Underground RR, Holocaust), and so on.

I also examined the way in which I assess my students. I was please to see that I was right on the money that most of my assessments are informal and come from a lot of observation (use of individual dry erase boards was key) and conferring with students about reading and writing. My informal assessments were mainly in the forms of actual tests and final products--published writing and proof of reading (reader response notebooks, post-its).

This coming Thursday, I get to join this group again. We will be looking more deeply into the creation of rubrics to assess student learning. While I already create rubrics with my students, I am interested in seeing what else I could do to make them better and more useable.

While I hate (yes, I know it's a strong word--but I feel strongly about this) being out of my classroom, I feel that LCI is worth it. It has shaped me into a more thoughtful, reflective teacher and I look forward to learning more.

Physiatrist Appointment

Update to Physiatry Anyone? When I left work, I was backing out of my spot and when I turned my head something went pop and I started feeling pain and numbness traveling down my right arm--my fingers were cold on my right hand, not my left. I figured...perfect timing! After a 2 hour painful wait, I was finally called in. The physiatrist put me through some of the same moves my PT did--I told him of the weakness I was feeling in my right hand and while putting me through the tests, he noted that my right arm was weaker than my left--go figure. He sent me off with a script for a nerve pain drug (didn't fill it because I'd have to take it every day--rather take percocet as needed--if needed) as well as some information on having a cortisone injection in between my c and t areas. They do it in the ambulatory surgical center because they need the x-ray machine to help guide the needle. Once in, they shoot dye to see if they have the right place and, if so, they give the streroid a push. He said the advantage to this method is that the steroid is going right where it's needed instead of traveling thoughout the body like an oral steroid. I have a month to decide if I want to go through with this. I go back and forth--on a minimal pain day, I think NAH, I don't need it, but on a high pain day, I'm ready and willing. Guess I'll do some research over the Internet.

physiatry anyone?

This afternoon I'll be seeing a physiatrist to evaluate the course of treatment for my neck. I'm so curious as to how this is a different evaluation than those I've had with Gary PT; and if there will be any new (fun) ways to help... I've also been wondering how long the statute of limitations is on a car accident. If all of this stems from a 17-year-old car accident, should it be a no-fault case? It was treated as such all those years ago. Who does one ask about these things?

Not great news...1 miracle needed

They sent my brother-in-law Gary home from the hospital yesterday. He has non small cell sarcoma--stage 4 lung cancer. It's said to be one of the agressive forms of cancer. From what I've been told, he has an appointment with an oncologist tomorrow to talk about starting chemo and radiation simultaneously. We're trying to pray for a miracle...please join us!

After some wicked pain in my neck and right shoulder yesterday I got treated by Gary PT this morning. While my pain hasn't disappeared it is markedly better than yesterday. Gary PT was nominated by 8 of his patients for a 'physical therapist of the year award'. Last week, he found out he was one of the finalists and just yesterday found that he won the award. He said that the magazine sent a photographer to check out the facility and decide how to do the photo shoot.

I told my friend and colleague, Kim (all these Kim's and Gary's are driving me crazy--I'm actually listening to Gary Carter commentate for the Mets as I write this!), about his award--she was his patient as well. We agreed that he is a dynamic physical therapist and most deserving of this award. I think what I respect most about him is that he doesn't give up--when conventional treatment doesn't help, he finds alternate ways that work--and if that doesn't work, he'll keep searching for the right method. He also listens carefully to what is going on with your specific pain--mine was very erratic and hard to understand for a while. In addition, Gary also has that drive to become more knowledgeable about his craft (educational term--not sure if it applies).

My only fear is that he has been talking about an offer he had with a very large 'corporation (for lack of a better word)' to be their full time PT man. Not sure what my neck will do without him...I hear his wife has great thumbs...it's tough to start over with someone new.

Monday, I will be seeing a physiatrist (physical medicine and rehab specialist) who will put me through some tests to determine a course of treatment. Dr. Raanan will then complete a report for me to bring to Gary (PT). I'm curious to see if this will be a worthwhile appointment. I don't know if there is anything new that Gary hasn't tried. Hey...ya never know?

Back to Gary (brother-in-law)...Please Pray.

Gary update

Well, the latest is they think...emphasis on the word think...that Gary's bleeding has stopped. The doctors are worried about blood clots so he's being sent for a CT scan. Last night he had run out of the painkillers that the nurses would bring him. When Kim went to tell the nurses he needed more pain pills, they said he'd have to wait because they were changing shifts. Gary was in so much pain, he took his own pills that he had brought from home. It probably saved his insurance a couple of hundred dollars! Hopefully his doctors will find out what they can do for him soon...and figure out once and for all where the cancer is and how far it has spread.

School is going well. My students are very nice, but chatty. I must get better at sticking to the rules that they created. I use a whole banking system and they get 'fined' for disobeying a rule. They have to have a certain amount of money by the end of the week to participate in Fun Friday (a 15 minute session at the end of each week where the kids can play games, use math manipulatives, etc.). Each time one of them interrupts without raising their hand, they lose money--this is the one I'm really bad at catching! I don't know why, but I feel bad taking money away--it's not even real money...the amounts are written on colored popsicle sticks!

Pain has subsided for the most part. I've been diligent in keeping up my exercises at home with these stretchy bands that I got from the physical therapist Gary (so many Gary's lately), along with leg lifts to keep the knees going away from replacements! I do have to say my worst days are Sundays and Wednesdays; Sunday worse than Weds. By those days, I have been without treatment for 2-3 days and I can soooo feel it. I still have many Percocet pills left over just in case of a really bad night--like the night of the last Mets game to which we went (really proper English, thanks to Ali).

The board of education was granted money by one of the local congressmen, Caesar Trunzo, to keep arts and club activities funded for this year. The danger in doing so is that next year, that money will have to be appropriated for in the budget...making the budget go up by that much more. One of the board members said that to get a tax cap of 4 1/2% would cut our current budget by about $5,000,000! This is what happened to California schools and now they have no art, gym, or physical education. The general ed teacher has to incorporate it into the school day! This is NOT what NY should follow--it's disasterous--Imagine ME teaching phys. ed???? Art and music I could do just fine though. The danger is that those extra subjects probably get pushed by the wayside because of lack of time, or lack of the educational wherewithall to teach it. Something's gotta give!

Cancer

I write this as my husband is heading out to visit my sister-in-law and her husband, Gary. He was diagnosed two weeks ago with cancer. He had been having pain in his lower back...figured it was sciatic (sp) problems and went on his merry, but painful, way. When the pain got unbearable, he headed to the hospital where they told him he had cancer in his bones, and lungs, and elsewhere. Today, he went for a needle biopsy, and they wouldn't do it because they were worried they'd puncture his lung. So they tried his adrenal gland (cancer there too?) I believe and he's bleeding a lot, so they're keeping him there.

Gary is a retired NYC police officer and a stand-up cook. He makes the best grilled onions for burgers and hot dogs, a mean pasta sauce, and the best hamburgers in the world. When the girls went to the choral festival, we stayed at their house for about 5 days. For two people with no children, they survived the three of us for a week. I'm sure they breathed a sigh of relief when we left, but we did manage some fun while we were there.

If you happen to be reading this, please say a prayer for Gary and Kim.

Mets and Sunsets

We went to, what will probably be, our last Mets game at Shea Stadium. On the way, the sky was so cool looking. It was split in half down the L.I.E.--half darkness; half blinding light.

At Shea, there was a beautiful sunset as I faced the city. It's so nice to have a camera phone to capture a memory.

Being at Shea, late in the season, didn't bother me until the game was over. Then, the melancholy feeling took over. I remembered going there with my dad and sitting in the red seats--the nosebleed sections. It was back in the time of Lee Mazzilli. The excitement of the 86 Mets came back and the memory of hanging out in Theresa and Jeff's bedroom at Annabelle's house came along with it. I remember all of us piling on the bed watching the series, stacking up beer cans into pyramids (the drinking age was 19, I believe) and so were we. Then all of the times we went to Shea with Kim, and got to sit in SAI's box seats--orange--about 6 rows up from the field, just past 1st base --scooted into my brain. I was near tears taking some last pics of the scoreboard. The end of an era.

First week of school

The first two days went off without a problem. I have a great, although sometimes chatty, group of 27 students. The heat and humidity for the first two days of school was unbearable. It was like walking through soup--and it wasn't gazpacho!!! We actually had a heat advisory and we had to make sure the kids took it easy during recess and that they got drinks every 15 minutes (which was how long recess lasted anyway). Being on the third floor is always a trip. It seems as thought the heat rises 10 degrees for each floor you go up. It was brutal trying to teach feeling as though you just stepped out of the shower and didn't get to dry off. UGH--these are the things the corporate world doesn't think about when they complain about educators.

Enough complaints. School is great and there isn't any job in the world I'd rather do...except sing in a Broadway show, but at my age, it's pretty unlikely to happen. If I wait another 20 years, I can play the old ladies in the shows...I DO retire in 20 years. Now there's something to think about.

My neck and shoulders were happy as could be after my appointment Thursday morning. Hopefully they'll both be happy until Monday. It's almost as though they're an entity apart from me. When they're in pain, I'm quite miserable. When there's minimal pain, I feel grateful for that and I'm a very happy person.

Tomorrow we're getting part of Tropical Storm (once known as hurricane) Hannah. I'm thinking that Cassie will not have soccer practice, but she does have a game this Sunday at nearby Bellport Middle School. Hopefully she will not get hurt--her eye is finally fine, although this past week she was fighting a sore throat.

Ali's trying to figure out her plans for tonight--a group of girls want to go to dinner together. It's her SAKKS group (Samantha, Ali, Katie, Katey, and Stine-short for Christine). They've had these get togethers each year since they were little and they always have a Christmas party/sleepover without fail.

I'll be working on typing up my first week of lesson plans. I usually use the same template for each week and just swap out what I'm teaching and put it into the time slots that stay the same week after week. Guess I should get to work...Happy Weekend!

Lovin' google; back to school; sleepless in Medford

Well, it only took me about ten minutes the other day to Google and find my dear friend, Louise! I sent her an e-mail, she responded and then I sent another to her and Robbi. We're hoping to see each other the beginning of October. The Internet is an amazing communications tool!

Students come in to school tomorrow. I could spend another three days organizing things and I'd still find more to organize. It amazes me how much work I can create for myself.

Year after year, I keep the things that worked the previous year and drive myself crazy trying to fix the things that didn't work. Last year, I finally found a great way to keep track of books that students read throughout the year AND keep them accountable for it. THIS year, I am in search of the perfect way to keep track of my independent and guided reading conferences that I have with my students. I've tried separate pages for each child, but found that I would miss some kids along the way. I've tried going around with post-its and then attaching them, but would lose the post-its, or the place where I wanted to put them. I've tried keeping a composition notebook, but found it was too disorganized and I couldn't find what each student needed to improve upon. SO this year I am trying a grid system-30 boxes, one box for each student and 3 left over to write small group, large group and individual lesson needs. On one side, the grid would be for independent reading conferences and the other would be for guided reading conferences. Let's see if this is the answer to a 10-year old problem.

I couldn't sleep last night. I don't know if it's the excitement of starting a new school year, but my neck was killing me--this time working into the right shoulder. At first, I fell asleep watching the Mets' game, but woke a short while later to Keith Hernandez shouting ...extra innings. The adreneline kicked in and I stayed up to watch the Mets actually win in extra innings. Then I was too excited to sleep and watched the rest of Friends, Sex & the City, and then Will and Grace. I tossed and turned all night and was thankful when the alarm went off at 6:45.

I also wonder if my neck is screaming at me--could it actually be in a pattern that it gets mad if I don't stick to my regular pt appointment. Since Monday was Labor Day, it would be a full week from the Thursday before until my next appointment. I am very much so looking forward to my appointment tomorrow morning at the bright morning light of 7 am!

Old Friends

Last Thursday, I took the girls and two of their friends with me to work on my classroom. It was so nice to have some help with the jobs that take so much time for one person to do--cutting out name labels and attaching them to folders and index cards and cubbies and closet spots etc... We went to the mall after that to have lundin (lunch/dinner) and to shop for some school clothes. The girls did very well and I found some great $5 bargains at NY&Co.

When we were just about finished shopping, and waiting for Cassie to get out of the dressing room at H&M, Ali and her friend Steff and I sat on a bench inside the mall. Who appears in front of my eyes....one of my high school friends, Robbi (Hall) Kumalo!!! It was so great to see her--it's funny how time seems encapsulated when you see someone you shared that high school experience with.

Robbie and I and our friend Louise Rizzuto (now Lee, I think) used to sing together. I was the alto of our little group, Louise the soprano and Robbie the swinger in the middle. We sang some great pieces back then...'Lift thine Eyes' and 'Send in the Clowns', and 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy'...Our harmonies and the blend of our voices made the hair stand up on my arms. It was so connected and beautiful. I miss the sound and the commraderie of our relationship.

It's sad how disconnected we all became after high school--Louise became a Physicians Assistant and the last time I saw her was at Brookhaven Memorial when Dave had sliced his thumb open right under his nail--it was a nasty, bleeding mess that had to be stitched--try putting a needle of painkiller under your nail--OUCH. I lost track of Louise after that. I saw Robbi a couple of times--once in Port Jeff a number of years back and once at a school play that her neice or nephew was in with Ali at Oregon Middle School.

So these chance meetings have got me thinking that there's a reason for us running into each other. I think I need to google Louise and get a date together that we can see each other. Time is short and people are precious factors of our lives. God can throw people into our paths, but we're the ones who need to foster those relationships.