The end is near

Hard to believe it's already Thursday night...or, maybe it's not...

You can tell it's the end of the trimester:

Kids are getting anxious for the holidays...and about their report cards...
Parents are scheduling conferences...
And grades/comments are past due...
Teachers are getting antsy for the much needed "mental health" holidays...
The snow has started to fall...and it's only mid-November...

The train is nearing the end of the tracks...and the holidays are that light at the end of the tunnel...

I think I can...I think I can...I think I can...

Not of my own, but worth the read

Not any original content today, but these gems are worth the read...

20 Things You Should Never Say to Teachers

20 Things Teachers Love To Hear You Say

Bored! Eight Ideas About Bored Students and Boring Teachers


And worth the listen: Best Day of My Life (American Authors)

Happy Monday!

Tomorrow I get to hear this guy in concert...that makes for a pretty exciting Tuesday... :)

10 Miles - Woot!

10 miles down and feelin' pretty good.

We sure lucked out with race day weather, that much I am sure about. And my sister and I finished under our goal of 1:30:00 for the race, which is awesome.

Yesterday was a little stressful with finishing grades and writing comments for report cards, but today is already looking much brighter (and a little more stress-free). 

I think I may try to write a couple of assessments for my 6th and 8th grade religion classes later on, but then tonight I am putting the work away and enjoying a night out with a couple friends in support of Catholic Charities.

(I hope there's dancing...)

Teachers Got Talent

An opportunity to be ridiculous in front of students and school parents? Bring it on.

Some of my fellow teachers (myself included) did a rendition of Evolution of Dance at the end of tonight's Middle School Talent Show. And it was so much fun! I am so glad I allowed myself to be talked into it.

I'm not a dancer by any means, but I guess I fooled a few people tonight. (Ha ha)

My favorite part was practically being tackled afterwards by some of my 4th grade vball players and some of the 5th graders. (Oh, how I miss that age group!) So darn cute.

On my way home, my mind started wandering, and I got to thinking - how would my students describe me? I think (and I don't think I'm too far off) one of the top words would be "joyful" - and not just happy (because I'm not always happy), but rather rooted in the joy that God loves us and calls each of us to be a sign of His love to others.

They probably all wouldn't say that - some may say I laugh too much or am too hard on them...and those could be pretty accurate too, I suppose.

Ah, well, it's definitely something to think about, eh?

They were listening...

It turns out the 8th graders were listening...

Example 1 - While on a Church "tour" on Monday, our pastor asked one of my students if people at the time of Jesus celebrated the Mass the same as we do today.

Now, we had just gone over this the previous week, so I was crossing my fingers...

The student said no, explaining how at Jesus' time the Eucharist was more about being with the community and sharing a meal in celebration of their faith together. And many times it was done in secret - definitely not in churches.

Alleluia!

Example 2 - When I was scoring 8th grade quizzes yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised by how much detail the students were able to convey. The idea of the Age of Expansion being a time when Christianity became legal and people were no longer martyrs actually stuck with them, and one student even wrote about how the monks were considered the martyrs of their day. (And that was a student who usually gets into some kind of misbehavior on a regular basis in class.)

While it may seem that we, as teachers, are oftentimes beating our heads against a wall and that hardly any of our students are listening, I urge you to think again. (Trust me, my 8th graders can be quite the shenanigans.) They do hear and they do connect the dots...at least once in awhile.

Now, the challenge becomes one of how do I keep them engaged?

Oh, how I wish I had all the answers to that one...

Top 3

A small miracle today - I completed my lesson plans (without rushing) with all of my classes.
A larger miracle could occur tomorrow...if they remember everything (or even some of it).

Here are my top 3 moments from today:

1) Teaching "Mary, Did You Know?" in sign language to my 7th grade students in small groups while they were doing different Marian stations

2) Having a student ask if we could have a Bible Study club after explaining how I had participated in a Bible Study last night

3) Ridiculously dancing around to Father Abraham with my second 6th grade class

Other than the rain, I think it's been a pretty rock solid day...and I haven't even gone to volleyball yet.

6000 words?

A picture says a thousand words...and I have 6 of them.

  

  

In all honesty, pictures AND words could not do Saturday's ACE reunion at the ND/Navy game justice...but they sure are a good start. As you can see, the weather was a far cry from perfect (though, during the game it was almost pleasant...if you can call 40 degrees pleasant). But there were about 30 ACE 15 (my class) grads there + scores of other ACErs, parents/friends of ACErs, etc. - each time I turned around, I was bumping (sometimes literally) into someone I knew. What a joyful day!

And, as you can see, the ND band made a bus on the field for halftime - it was pretty sweet.

Back to the work week. Happy Monday!