1. If you recall, I posted back in Dec. '06 on my frustrations with students not meeting deadlines. They had projects due so that we could select the best for our History Fair which was held in mid-January. (I will NOT bore you with that whole painful experience.) The top winners from our campus went on to the district's fair which was held yesterday.
I had to be at the site @ 7:00 am to set up their stuff; too bad punctuality is not the strong suit of the individual that was to register the influx of entries. Anyway, I had to RETURN that evening to collect said stuff and observe the awards assembly.
Ribbons were awarded for middle school and high school participants in four categories and our campus entered in two of the four. The first category was "Exhibit" and there were individual and group projects. None for us. Next category was documentary, again individual & group. The winners are always announced from honourable mention to first place. Imagine my shock, surprise, disbelief: we took FIRST PLACE in the middle school "Group Documentary" category. Honestly, I didn't think we had a snowball's chance in Hades of winning honourable mention, much less 1st.
It took me two days to float back to earth and when I relayed the news to our librarian, she had the same reaction as I. She had been my beacon of hope during this whole murky mess. Oh, the first & second place winners advance to the citywide competition in four weeks. Even though we only had the one win, it was affirmation that we are doing something right with our teaching. Not to mention it will keep FL in a good mood and off my case!
I have taken a boatload of notes so that I don't repeat the mistakes of this year. The Social Studies resident geek gave me some valuable advice and if his calendar is free, might even give the contestants from our campus some pointers.
2. Seems I have been on a win streak... The day before the History Fair, I won a$25 gift certificate to Office Depot at our weekly faculty meeting. Pray tell, how did I win such a lofty gift? It was a trivia question and I knew the question before the speaker could even ask it:
"In February we will celebrate Asian New Year. Can anyone tell me which year it is going to be?"
Faster than a speeding bullet, up shot my hand:
"The year of the Boar (Pig)," was my response. My gift card was passed along to me with the caricature of a pig drawn on it, compliments of FL.
3. We sponsored a teacher from Korea this week. She is here through the Fulbright program. A fellow colleague housed her and she will be visiting a high school in another district after she leaves us. I had the pleasure of having her in my class. Mind you I selected a class that I knew would be hospitable and cooperative. I noticed she was taking notes~she shared that she was going to use some of my methods in her class back home. At the 'lucky' faculty meeting she shared that she was "stealing" our ideas ~ teachers are the same all over the world! FL enjoyed being called Mr. President. After the meeting, I teased her about using/stealing my ideas. She said it was a reality and that she really liked the way I managed my classroom. The topic of discussion was the whole issue of slavery and the Civil War. She shared with the class the whole occupation of Korea by Japan in the early 20th century. I was grateful to hear her observations; I know she has no hidden agenda and positive comments are as scarce as hen's teeth.
~butterfly angel~
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