Pheww...is it Friday yet??

It is unforgivable to have let my blog sit untouched for so long....and for that I am sorry!! The school year has begin, both at S-E as well as at Utica College...and I am running as fast as I can...and I LOVE IT!! Yes, it is busy....but it is all so worth the effort I can't begin to describe it.

The enthusiasm in my classes is evident and it makes burning the midnight oil worthwhile for me. Seeing your faces light up as concepts make sense is great...I look forward to moving into making you bilingual by June!!

Workin' for the weekend...and never forget....MONOLINGUALISM CAN BE CURED!!

getting ready to run....

I am so happy I could just scream.....I am getting ready for Freshman Orientation tonight and after spending the afternoon in my classroom yesterday I am felling the excitement of "back to school". Today is also the first day of Fall classes at Utica College, but since I have orientation to attend I am allowed to miss class, the Director of the Program told me so.

It has been a fun-filled Summer after all, between the broken ankle, Graduate School four noghts a week and thyroid surgery..I think I packed enough to do into my break, and now am ready for the Fall.

Can't wait to see you all!!

Happy 4th mi gente

If there is anything I have learned so far in teacher school it is that I do like the long weekends with no homework. This program has been the most challenging thing I have ever done. I am so glad that it is almost over and I will soon have reached the first of many milestones I have been reaching for...for a long time. I always have to remind myself that anything worthwhile is hard work!! But I sure am glad the end is in sight!!

Independence Day ROCKS!!

Hope you all had a safe one!!

brushing off the cobwebs

Well after a long hiatus I am back...life happens I guess and time flies by and before you know it months have passed!!

Since I fell and broke my ankle I have had more of you guys checking in on me than I could have ever imagined!! Thanks for that.

So I suppose that in all now that the school year is over (at least for me) I have to thank you all for helping me break through into teaching. It has been a long year, full of challenges as well as personal triumphs. I am excited to get planning for next fall.

I want to thank each and every one of you that I had the pleasure of meeting throughout the course of the school year...in LOTE class and outside of it!! I love the new career I have chosen for myself and it is thanks to you that I have the courage and energy to hobble around and "Get 'Er Done"!!

Happy Summer All!!!

Way cool "schoolie-duty!!

So today was the first day of the Northeast Conference!! All I can say is WOW!!

It is such a small world...why you ask?? Well of all people to meet on the escalator of the Marriott Marquis between the fourth and fifth floors...but a girl who lives in Harlem, teaches in Brooklyn and grew up in a small town upstate...named SHERBURNE!!! Can you dig it?? It blew me right away I tell ya!! Psyched for tomorrow :)

Happy Sunny Monday...

...I am sitting in my mom's room, enjoying another cup of coffee and piggybacking on a neighbor's wireless internet...listening to all the city noises outside...I am glad to be back for the break and am soooo looking forward to the Northeast Conference of Foreign Language Teachers that begins on Thursday at the Marriott Hotel in the city. It is going to be way cool because I am taking a workshop on differentiation!! I hope to be able to bring back what I learn to you all and incorporate it into my classroom teaching as soon as Monday.

I am also heading out soon to the Teacher's Warehouse...to look for some Spanish and French props to help you guys make the concepts I try and teach you more concrete.

If I haven't said it enough....I love being your teacher!!

¡Gracias por todo!

Here comes Peter Cotton Tail....

...well it is finally Spring Break and I find myself back in the hood. It is nice to be back I must admit!! I am especially psyched because I am going to the Northeast Conference of Foreign Language Teachers next week. I am going to spend a whole day learning how to teach toward your needs. I guess by that I mean that we all learn better in different ways, some are lookers, some are listeners, and some are doers...so I am going to learn how to adapt my lessons to your learning style. I am pumped!!

It is raining down here so we stayed in and colored Lithuanian Easter eggs all day...it was fun...reminded me of when I was little!!


Hoppy Easter to all of you and yours!!

what a great day...

I think all my classes enjoyed our scavenger hunts today, and what makes it all even better is that we are on Spring Break!! A whole week off before the final push to the end of the year!

Overall I am confident that you all have what it takes to successfully complete the requirements to pass my class if you just do what is asked of you. The formula for success in my world is a simple one!! Follow instructions, cooperate, hand in the work on time and apply yourself accordingly in order to pass the exams given. I think that is a general overall rule of thumb for any class you take in school. Simply apply yourselves, and follow the rules and before you know it...it will be June and you will be itching for Summer vacation to start!!

I do love what I do...all my kids here in Afton want me back...but I like being among you ALL!!

S-E ROCKS!!

Looks like I made it!!!

SO today was the big day of the admissions interview...and I ROCKED IT!!!

I got up early this morning and well everything that could go wrong did!! Found not one but two doggie pile surprises TRACKED all over my year old carpeting (light colored too) in the living room...then after cleaning it all up and oxi-cleaning all the many stains...I realized that there was no milk in the house!! So no latte just a tall black strong coffee that was enough to sprout hair on any good chest...lol...then I go to pick out what to wear....and guess what...NO STOCKINGS.....so that blew that idea....so I made the best of it and got it together, found a pant suit and hoped for the best. Mind you Utica College is a two hour ride from my house, so rather than take my daily commute and go RT 12 up to Utica I went through Sidney and took Rt 8. Nice ride btw!!

I got there like 45 minutes early so I scoped out the campus and found the place where my interview was taking place. The committee of 5 grilled me for about 40 minutes. I thought I did well because they went from stern and serious to relaxed and friendly after a while.

By the time I got home there was already a message on my answering machine congratulating me and the head of Graduate Admissions said that I did a great job at the interview!! WOW MAJOR VALIDATION.

So in a nut shell...I am one step closer to my Personal Legend!!

search inside yourself

Today a kid I babysat for (who just turned 30 *my age is showing again*) helped me remember why I love what I do. I do what I do because I am a HERO!!

All of us has the materials we need to become a hero too...all you have to do is search deep inside ourselves...all you have to do is look.

What he said today is simply this:

Max Tucci

my new quote that i just made up!!! "Be still and know.. in stillness we find truth.... in stillness we find God.... and in stillness we find Freedom"!!

Happy Sunny Saturday Y'all.....

Ah....still sittin' in jammies and enjoying a second caffe latte!!

What a great week last week guys...when the days fly I think it is a sign that we are doing something right. I hope that next week is just as fulfilling.

In Spanish IV we are reading "The Alchemist", in Spanish I we are finishing up taping spoofs on the Food Network...creating our own instructional videos on stuff like preparing the Killer Sandwich, the secret of fried ice cream, microwave meal making as well as the perfect fruit salad!! French I is just putting the finishing editorial touches on the suitcase song. That project is actually a gift for the MS French teacher to thank her for making them so proficient in French!! Needless to say that the video footage is a bit of a mess, so we are making an IMovie that makes a bit more sense!!

It is all so much fun for me to do with you...and to see you guys finally feel confident enough to use what you have studied all year and succeed!!

Thanks for that!!

daylight savings time funk

Seems that losing the hour springing up has me feeling like I left something behind....lol

I am plugging along here and the year is actually beginning to wind down. I think we have like 12 weeks left if I am not mistaken. How cool is that?? Before we know it we will be ushering in Summer. I hope you all are still chugging through too...we are almost there....PROMISE!!

another week comes to an end...

Foreign language week is over and I think it was fun to inject a bit of bilingualism into morning announcements. Many thanks to everyone who participated.

There always seems to be something fun to create at your school. It is so cool to be a developing teacher in an atmosphere where we are encouraged to be creative and use different ways to help you guys "get" it.

Foreign Language Week begins...are you ready??

There are days that I have to wonder....why?? Then I remember that I am trying to rationalize adolescent behavior with an adult mind. *my age is showing again*

It gets difficult to enjoy the time we spend together when I am trying to convince certain students that it is to their best interests to get the job done.

Like you haven't been doing this since kindergarten...or is it just a matter of feeling the power??

Food for thought

...it is all in how you make people FEEL....

"People won't remember what you said. They won't remember what you did. But they will remember how you made them feel."

As I live among you everyday I have to consider myself very fortunate....everyday, without fail there is always that one particular someone among all of you that ALWAYS succeeds in making me FEEL good!!

Thank you!!

Chilin' with my peeps...

Ah...I am sooooooo glad that they invented Energy Conservation week....at least that is what they called this week off in February when I was a kid....mom came up for the weekend too!!

The snow is almost completely melted away from my lawn...that makes me happy too. The thought that Spring is coming is a huge relief!! Just think I used to live for winter in my youth and now I can't wait till Spring springs.

Another thing that makes me happy is that you guys appreciate what I do...between the great Valentine's gifts I found on my desk, to the notes on my blackboard from you guys, to an email (in Spanish) from you letting me know that the Costa Ricans are replying to your letters....PRICELESS!!!

Gettin' late....

just realized that it has been a while since I laid down some of my pearls of wisdom for those of you who care to read what I have to say!! I had someone tell me they can't wait to "get out of here"....well guys my pearl for today is that it isn't the here that is the problem....I ran out of Afton so fast I didn't even take the time to wave good bye. The thing I learned from that is this...wherever you go, whatever it is that you are trying to run away from....it follows you. Why is this?? I believe that it isn't the place that you want to escape from that is the issue...it is YOU and where you find yourself....again that darn P word...PERSPECTIVE!!!

You sometimes feel like you know it all, that you have all the tools necessary to live your lives....well sorry to be the bringer of bad news, but YOU ARE NOT!! You can run away from it all but mark my words....it will find you wherever you run to....so DON'T RUN!! Relax and take a good look around you....even if you don't see it, there are people around you that only want the best for you...all you have to do is look!!

I believe in you....ALL OF YOU!!
Just ask me...I'll always call it like I see it!!

I can only wonder when it will happen for some of you....so often I hear kids say "Why do I have to learn that" or "When will I ever use that in my life".

My wish for you all is that you will never think that what I have to teach you is only useless information. Is Spanish really just something you will never need in your adult lives.

Becoming bilingual is one of the few things that we as a society do not take seriously...but again this is ONLY my OPINION...do we only want to know enough of anything we learn to pass a test and that is it?? Dunno...can't say!! What do you all think?? I would love to know!!

reaching out

You all are so amazing...I hope you do enjoy getting to know the Tico's that were in Afton last month. I hope that you find common strings of interest that will weave you together as global citizens that have the future in your hands.

It is all about connections.

...new quarter new rules...

Ah the beauty of a fresh new start!!

You all seemed to enjoy the new furniture arrangement!! When I told you all that you can sit where you want to...the looks on your faces were priceless...but sadly the grupo de cuatro came together like a drop of mercury would after you try to squish it!!

We have to remember that in my world, it is all about YOU....I am here to be your teacher, to share with YOU the things I learned in college...it is up to YOU to open your minds enough to let me in...not to have a discussion on how you don't NEED to hear anything about what I know...N'est pas???

So that being said let's use this calendar moment to make a fresh new start and Strive for Excellence!!

All I am asking you to do is try...be open minded....shift your perspective....hey, ya never know, you might like what you see!!

Super Bowl Sunday

What a weekend...flew so fast I can't believe it!! My Costa Rican exchange student is leaving tomorrow and I am trying to not be SAD...hard but I will cope!!

We went shopping to Bingo again today, then snow tubing, and once we got home I had to make a dish to pass for the "Tico's" going away party tomorrow. Since all the kids were gathered together I figured I would ask them what they wanted me to make for them...see Melina has been ranting about my cooking....so I figured ot only fair to ask them if they had anything specific they wanted...half wanted lasagna (my lasagna ROCKS!!), and the other half voted for rice and beans. Needless to say I made both...and a chocolate pie.

I also have more house guests today than I have children...lol!! One of the Tico's asked if they could sleep over, and one of Alexa's friends had already made arrangements to stay over last week...so they are "camping" in the girl's room....OY!!

Well the student world has a day off tomorrow...but us in the teacher world have Schoolie Duty tomorrow....hope they keep it down long enough for me to fall asleep without having to go in there and force lights out on 'em....ROFL!!

¡Hasta el martes mi gente!

...happy hump-day...

kind of a weird day, being on campus and not teaching....seeing some of my students through the window of a closed door, laboring and toiling away at the English Regents, hoping in my heart of hearts that my review of English grammar or my shpeil on how to take a standardized test may be resounding in the deepest fathoms of your minds....I could only sit back and watch.

I spent my day preparing to move furniture around in my room so having nobody to teach was a bit of a welcomed reprieve for now. As I get used to this whole teacher thing I think my methods will work better if I made my room a bit more Feng-Sui for you guys.

After all it is all about YOU!!

I had my day in the sun...now it is your turn....will you shine?? Make me proud mi gente....I dare you!!

time flies...

and I must say I am having fun...so I guess that is the excuse I am posting for not having written in like almost a week...

Busy doesn't begin to cut it....all the stuff I have going on lately, between the Miss Ridikas course planning and teacher work, the almost grad student applying to school and financial aid, the mom sitting in the stands watching the JV volleyball team (every night last week mind you), the staple chaperone for ACS school events, the maid doing chores and the cook making meals for the week all in one day....*whew*

I have to send a shout out to my girls in Spanish IV class....HEY Y'ALL.....I must say that my Spanish IV class is getting into the swing of things with this video project...too bad we are running out of time. I will be editing the tape we have to date during regents week, and with their permission I will post it here for all to see what my kids think of the things going on in this Big Blue Marble we live in!! No worries...we have subtitles...*giggles*

I must also RANT about the kids in my life who should know better...yet still want to test my good nature. I don't want to sound like a broken record, but what is your point?? why even try....*shrugs* I couldn't tell ya!! I mean you DO realize how many people would LOVE to be in my class, yet there are some of you that still want to be by your standards cool and disrupt...I just don't get it!! Is it my age showing again??? Must be!!

history in the making

...what a surreal feeling today to watch history in the making!!

What is it that I will remember most about this historic moment?? The gratitude and appreciation of my students when I informed them that I felt it my civic duty to allow them to witness this momentous event...or the chit chat from others as we watched in silence and awe..or the poor guy's slip of the tongue as he was being sworn in...the outbreak of sympathetic laughter in my classroom made us all realize that this man is human just like us and gets so nervous, even HE forgets the words!!

Hope is in the air....SWEET!!!!

My kid's first all nighter...lol

We are expecting an exchange student from Costa Rica who is landing with her group at some ungodly hour of the morning at JFK Airport...so Alexa and some of the other host sisters and brothers went with Afton's Spanish teacher on a yellow bus to the city!!

She wasn't sure if she was going but I am glad that she took the chance to make a memory both for herself as well as Melina!!

It was a bit of a no brainer for me to allow her to go...could any of you who know me see me doing any different...NOT!! Let's just hope that she doesn't fall asleep in class tomorrow *giggles*

¡Hasta mañana mi gente!

the learning never ends...

ya think it is over when you finish school...but it in not!!

But what is it that we really learn...is it just stuff you will never need?? or is it more just perspective?? Some of you seem to think you know it all....at least in foreign languages...it becomes challenging I must admit...but then..I remember that it is all about perspective....my perspective and my ability to try and help you guys see it from a different point of view.

I know what I know...I have had a lot more years to acquire all these pearls of wisdom than most of you have...and it is my duty to place these pearls in your satchel of knowledge now....and when I am dealing with interruptions, whispers, and talking...I can get mad, write you up...but instead it just made me realize that I was just doing it all wrong...a simple shift in perspective helped me realize that it is more about me and how I teach than anything else!!

Thanks for helping me see that guys...

feelin' frumpish today...

Dunno if it is the idea that I should call some parents tonight or the fact that I had to ask myself if I should be writing more of you guys up that is bothering me more today. Maybe it is all the "stuff" on my plate...from school, to certification, to my life, to my future.

I try and be the best teacher I think I can be...you all know that!! But it does get difficult at times when I find myself looking for strategies that enhance proper behavior for students who should know better!! I mean honestly...your very peers say that ISS is not punishment!! My rant for today I suppose is this...What is it that makes you need to challenge the establishment when all I am trying to do is teach you guys a foreign language??

keeps getting better...

I can't believe that everyday I like what I do more and more. It is nice to have you guys be on task with your lessons...even if it sometimes means that I have some of you sitting on desks during lecture or need to have an earphone in to stay focused..there are times when I can relate to your need or inability to be the most conventional of students. I think that is why I enjoy what I do so much. But head my warning....my kindness should never be mistaken for weakness!!

I realize that I know what I know....it has taken me a long time to learn it....and it is my responsibility to offer that knowledge to you in away that it not only makes sense, but also in a way that you retain it and make it part of your intellectual baggage. My goal, I believe is to make sure that if you ever need to communicate in either Spanish or French...that you can with confidence!!

I love snow days....*Smiles*

It was too cool to hear my telephone ring this morning at 5:55AM. It was our fearless leader with the smashing news that we are better off staying hunkered down at home rather than to risk harm trying to get to school today. I LOVE MY JOB!! (If I haven't said that enough so far let's just say it one more time).

See ya tomorrow!!

Priceless moments....

Ya know that commercial for Master Card...well I had my priceless moment today after getting gas at Stewart's....I had someone admit to me that they actually understand Spanish...eavesdropping at the Y...lol!! It is so nice to know that I helped make that happen for you!! It makes doing what I do way worth it...Thanks

Great First Day Back...

Hey guys...I realized that the days are getting longer...on my way home tonight the sun was still up even after I pulled into the driveway! How cool is that!!

At this time of the year I like to think that I am looking forward to Spring so much, that I see signs of it anywhere I can....even if it is only in something as simple as the onset of darkness.

I must say that I honestly liked being back at work today. While we were still on break, it was hard for me to imagine wanting to get ready for work, but this morning I was quite stoked about it!! I feel so privileged that I really want to go to work everyday. Thanks to all of you guys...Happy New Year!!

As it all winds down....

back to school tomorrow...I am excited to see you all again! Sure it was nice to be with family celebrating the holidays, but I am looking forward to getting back to work.

When I was downstate I cruised all my old haunts looking for cool stuff for you guys. I hit the Ideal Foreign Bookstore looking for material for you all, but the prices made me feel faint, so I figured it wiser to surf Amazon for some cheaper options. It was kinda cool to be in there again after all those years. I shopped there when I was in college because my Prof's used to give us long lists of books we had to read for class, and they always had all the books in the list. It still smelled of dust and decomposing paper...kinda made me flash back to my younger days *smiles* I liked it!!

I hope that you all have rested your bodies as well as your minds...and we are all ready to hit 2009 running!! Make me proud!!