Have You Noticed?

That Welfyville is always near the ocean?  Well, it is. 

Test Questions

I spent the past three days writing test questions for the science end-of-year assessments.  It sounds kind of easy.  It was HARD.  I mean REALLY HARD.  I've written to a prompt before.  This was the mother of all prompts.  We had to write a question that assessed the content, that gave some information about how students were doing with the intended learning outcomes, and that wasn't too hard or too easy for fifth graders.  Oh boy. 

It was an incredible experience.  The other teachers were there because they really wanted to be and the group I was with was intelligent, creative, and funny.  Even working hard from 8:30 am to after 4 each day I was able to write only 12 good questions.  Others wrote more, but 12 was average.  It doesn't sound like much when you realize that was only four questions per day.  But it really did take that long to come up with questions that met all the criteria.

I'm proud of the work we did.  We won't see any of these questions on a test until 2011 or 2012 at the earliest.  Still, it was incredibly interesting and I get to go back tomorrow to try writing questions that use flash graphics.  FUN!

Finally

About nine years ago Mike and I added a patio and pergola to our backyard.  We've loved sitting there in the afternoons and evenings, especially in the spring when things are beginning to bloom.  When we finished the pergola we planted clematis and wisteria hoping they would eventually twine over the top of the structure creating an arbor.  They both took off, spreading up the supports and over the top of the pergola just as we planned  The second year the clematis bloomed in shades of pink and dark purple.  By the third year we had to trim back the foliage.  We lost one of the wisterias and replaced it with another. They had yet to bloom.  We've found we could grow fuchsia against the house as it's cool enough for them there. 

We winter them over in the garage and they bloom in there before we can even move them outside.  But the wisteria continued to remain bloomless.  Until this year. 

Whoot!

ConGRADulations

Sean D honors degree in gender studies and psychology.  Welfycat BA in English.  Whoot!

Good Luck and Goodbye.

Great timing, Pauline. If I had been writing it as the climax of a novel it couldn’t have been better executed. Bide your time while showing more and more disdain for your daughter and her choices. But wait, wait until the time is exactly right before playing your ace. The graduates are all seated. The music has stopped and the dean of the college has risen to introduce the commencement speakers. Now. This is the moment to announce that you are leaving. You “just can’t take it” any longer. You hide behind dark glasses, though when you remove them your eyes look suspiciously dry. Then, instead of actually leaving, you hang out in the restroom three steps from our seats. You were easy to find. I imagine it was stupid of me to try, but I sometimes miss the obvious. I ask you to stay, still not getting it. You use the moment to deride your child, say horrible things about her that we both know are not true. How can you pretend they are? I don’t know why I thought you would want advice. When I try to give it you sarcastically tell me I must be “the perfect mother.” I realize it is a lost cause – that you are a lost cause and I leave. I don’t know how you will get back, but when we arrive your car is gone. No one misses you. Your daughter asks if she can finally cut the last string. I used to be your cheerleader. I kept thinking your daughter would be sorry if she cut you off completely. How foolish I was. She is the wise one. She had years to judge your character. I should have listened to her. She is changing her cell phone number and canceling the email account you use to contact her. I will not take your calls or your email. You have two more daughters to raise. Good luck with that, Pauline. I hope they find someone who will help them cut the string when the time comes.

Big Ugly Changes

Check out this article:  http://www.sltrib.com/education/ci_14894766
Our ever-popular (not really) superintendent decided to take the money.  It's always about the money, isn't it?  Anyway, they chose four schools to reconstitute and ours was one of them.  I'm not sure if I've calmed down enough to actually write what I'm thinking about this turn of events.  For years we have said, "If only we had the funding we could make so many important changes."  Things like a longer school day or more days of school were out of reach for us, and yet they could make so much impact in catching our students up to their peers. 

So now the federal government is willing to give us money - lots of money.  Enough money to really make those types of changes.  But not with the teachers currently working so hard to make these kids' lives better.  Nope.  Half of us will be asked to leave because apparently we don't have the vision or the dedication, or the whatever, to do the job.  It really feels like a slap in the face.  I can't think of a faculty I've EVER worked with that has done more professional development, has worked harder to develop a learning community, or to support students and parents than are at my present school.  What a shame that every underperforming school is painted with the same brush.  Sucks to be us right now.

Spring Break

Well, maybe it isn't Cancun or Hawaii, but at least I'm kicking back and putting my feet up.  It's spring break at last (or already!) and I don't really know how to enjoy it best.  It's tempting to just sit down in a comfy chair and do nothing.  On the other hand, there are projects beckoning, dirty corners crying for attention, and interesting places to go tugging at my mind and don't forget taxes.  We've let ours go until the last because we'll owe some and who wants to pay that too far in advance of the deadline?  So far I've had three days of relative quiet - took Norma and Kimmi to a play, spent Sunday reading with a few minutes of yard work thrown in to prove I wasn't completely lazy.  I spent this morning going over all the stacked up paperwork that needs attention.  Tomorrow is tax day and Wednesday I'm going in to work (yeah, it bites, but there are things that must be done when there are no kids there).  Thursday so far is free.  Mike is home on Friday and we're contemplating an overnight run out to Park City or even just downtown SLC.  I love quiet times at home, though, so I'm thinking I'll recharge right here in my nice comfy chair after all.  That is until Sean shows up to work on the coffee table/display case for the Millennium Falcon.  Happy spring, everybody.  I wish you a couple of days off with nothing much to do.