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judy3ca - Hi Grace
Grace/IL - (((Judy))), You're so prompt!
teri - stephanie, i see that you are prek. where
Grace/IL - It's sort of like my friend and former principal. His name is Kim.
cavey - Hi Everybody!
brad - Am I a reading "folk?"
cavey - Snow Day today!!
brad - hello everyone
brad - Snow day?
sharon - sunny and warm here, cavey
Grace/IL - (((Brad))) --hugs to you, too.
cavey - ((grace, judy, brad, sharon))
brad - We're having a big thaw
baglady - I don't. The material that I think that they should "get" I read to them or paraphrase. My principal-another of my supervisors, wants me to address the standards, and I do, but not the way the classroom teachers do. I just tell her that I am doing what she wants me to -then I shut my door and do the right thing.
judy3ca - aw, group hug
Grace/IL - (((Sharon))) I can't keep up with everyone here.
brad - supposed to be 40's and 50's by Sunday
sharon - tis ok, grace... and thanks for the hug
cavey - We were supposed to be thawing, but a little storm kicked in
baglady - Today was 60degrees. We had a foggy day schedule, school started 1 1/2 hours later.
sharon - that would be cold, brad... 70ish here
Grace/IL - Yes, Brad, you're a "folk". I hate it when I go to a restaurant and all the wait people talk to us as "You guys."
Barb in MI - I learned real fast to keep the kids inside the room, don't ask questions and shut the door. It works great.
brad - I think we're supposed to get a touch of something tonight, but. . . .yet to see it'
cavey - Kids got to sled again
judy3ca - Brad, my literary friend at work also loved The Little Friend. My husband just started it.
brad - 30's today and tomorrow, but that's about right for this time of year in OH
brad - Judy, I just got word that it's in and I'm picking it up tomorrow from library (at least I think that's what they were Holding for me)
baglady - Who lives in Florida?
Barb in MI - Well good to talk to you guys...check you later.
judy3ca - Oh, hooray. Now I just hope you like it as much as I did, Brad.
sharon - cavey... was that the honey, i love picture book that you picked up at bookcloseouts?
Grace/IL - We had freezing rain and snow in the night. It was in the 30s today but not much melting going on.
brad - I still need to finish "Emperor" slow going, but it's getting good now
cavey - not me Sharon
brad - lotsa melting here. more grass than snow now
sharon - hmmmm... darn... can't remember who it was now... oh well
cavey - I bought lots of other bookcloseouts stuff today
cavey - I got The Love of the Game Michael Jordan
judy3ca - cavey, I haven't been in a while--anything good at bookcloseouts?
cavey - It was an expensive one, 6.99
Grace/IL - Reading Research Quarterly arrived today. Lots of stuff on second language learners but I haven't been able to read much of it yet.
sharon - what was the eloise greenfield that you got?
judy3ca - A youngish male teacher stopped by my room today and made a point out of telling me that he couldn't imagine having as many books as I do--and it was NOT said in a complimentary way, LOL.
cavey - Well Judy, lots of nonfiction right now, all the beatrix potters, and I got an original Wind in the Willows with new illustrations
sharon - really, judy?? why wouldn't he want all the books he could get??
cavey - Sharon, the Michael Jordan one is Greenfield, I don't know anything about it, but Katie Ray loves it
judy3ca - Sharon, I have no clue! Isn't that weird?
cavey - I want all your books Judy
judy3ca - cavey, is the Michael Jordan one a chapter book?
brad - Judy, do you have them organized in any way? Like if I asked you, do you have such-and-such, would you be able to go right to it. Or at least close to it.
baglady - Tell me about Reading Research Quarterly
judy3ca - brad, yup
sharon - no... he's probably right... junkin' up your room... cavey and i will help you out and take a few dozen off your hands
brad - Now that's what I think is impressive.
judy3ca - ROFL
Grace/IL - RRQ is a publication of the International Reading Association.
cavey - Judy, I don't know, just remember it being mentioned a lot in Wondrous Words
brad - I've read it, but it's been a while. And I always confuse it with "Salt in his Shoes" which is also about Jordan
judy3ca - cavey, thanks, I'll try to restrain myself until you have an opinion.
cavey - Yeah Judy, let me know when book clean out day is, and I'm there honey!
baglady - You book people-in a few more years I will be " disposing" of thousands of books from my collection. I will either donate them to a children's hospital or to my teacher friends. Let me know what kinds of books you like and I'll keep you in mind. We'll have to find a way to keep in touch.
brad - certainly!!!
cavey - I like this baglady!!!
brad - lol
judy3ca - (((kim)))
Grace/IL - (((Kim)))
sharon - hi kim
cavey - (((oneka)))
Kim/1/Ca - ((smooches!!))
Kim/1/Ca - Notice that Cavey left my color alone. I sure taught HER, huh?
brad - It's entertaining to me that I think my collection is so small and when i look around, I have one of the two largest collections in my building. Interesting or pathetic
brad - Hello Kim
judy3ca - ROFL
baglady - Kim-where are you in California
Kim/1/Ca - Why is judy restraining herself?
cavey - Kim. you'll note I took the scarlet tonight. More appropriate for me anyway
Kim/1/Ca - So Cal.....Antelope Valley
Grace/IL - I had to fight for my color. Someone in the previous group had it but I persisted -- figured she'd leave anyway.
judy3ca - Kim, LOL, isn't it unusual for me to restrain myself???
Kim/1/Ca - Hello Baglady........new in town?
Kim/1/Ca - It is.....why do you do it, judy? It isn't healthy.
brad - restrained peas
cavey - baglady is cool, she's going to give us all tons of books
sharon - she's our new bestest friend... promisin' free books))
judy3ca - Kim, when you know me better, you'll find I rarely restrain myself.
Kim/1/Ca - woo hoo!!!
judy3ca - give peas a chance
Kim/1/Ca - You are all so cheap. I am ashamed. Bought with books.
brad - You KNOW I'm cheap!
Kim/1/Ca - Never get to the beach.......but drive through central valley all the time, Baglady!
sharon - peas... no more puns
cavey - Better than Jan, bought with cheap wine and cookies
brad - puns de leon
judy3ca - rofl
judy3ca - whirled peas
cavey - Oh Lawdy!
sharon - lol!
Kim/1/Ca - Grace is fighting and Judy is restrained. And brad is selling himself for books. You are all going to hades in a handbasket.
baglady - I am not "buying" anyone. I think books need to be in the hands of booklovers. By the way, why do you drive through the central valley, if I didn't live here I'd never visit-or drive through
Kim/1/Ca - Visualize Whirled Peas.
judy3ca - Wait, Kim, I wanna be SLEEK!
Grace/IL - peas porridge hot
Kim/1/Ca - LOL, Baglady.........I drive through on my way to Sacramento. AND you are chattin' here with the Queen of the Books.
cavey - Judy, you were born sleek, and no one can take that away from you
Kim/1/Ca - Puns of Steel.
brad - What's 'at? 'Sleeky faucet.
Grace/IL - Kim, do you get RRQ?
judy3ca - I heard one of my kids tell an observer today that I'M the Queen of Books.
Kim/1/Ca - Hey Grace..........some of the kids just DON'T get those -itch words. Did assessment today. YIKES.
cavey - Grace.... trying to maintain some type of decorum
Kim/1/Ca - Yes, Grace.
brad - decorum duh apple
Grace/IL - Just wait! Pretty soon they'll be overgeneralizing -itch
cavey - You can both be the Queens of Books
brad - hey sharon, you must be keeping busy. Haven't heard from you lately
Grace/IL - Got my RRQ today -- lots on 2nd language learners. Haven't been able to read much yet, though.
brad - My research cup no longer runneth over
Kim/1/Ca - Thank you Cavey. But it sounds like Baglady is also a Queen of Books. We can be a deck of playing cards. Room for one more.
sharon - it's been busy lately, brad
judy3ca - cavey, LOL, you are such a darling peacemaker (Brad, not a pacemaker)
Erin - Hi all
Kim/1/Ca - I have to get it online.......I don't know if I like that or not.
brad - dr. work?
sharon - i don't send it to you anymore, brad... figure you'll get your own
sharon - hi erin!
Grace/IL - (((Erin)))
Erin - Can't stay long. Chiropractor says I can't sit for extended period of time
brad - judy, you set the pace
judy3ca - (((Erin)))
cavey - (( Erin))
Kim/1/Ca - (((ERIN))))) (Where is that music coming from?)
sharon - yes, brad..some of it's interesting...
Grace/IL - RRQ online is different from the hard copy.
Kim/1/Ca - IT IS?
judy3ca - Erin, are you okay?
brad - and you're not sharing, sharon??
Kim/1/Ca - (You guys hear that theme music from Rocky III? Why yes.........Eye of the Tiger by SURVIVOR.......right when ERIN came in.)
Grace/IL - Yes, in this issue they were dissing about additional articles online.
judy3ca - rofl
Erin - Judy, hurt my back last Saturday. Couldn't walk...got a little better..went to Chiropractor...one side is one inch longer than the other
sharon - like right now i'm gathering info about ehri's word identification phases and (can't remember this researcher's name) but he says 4 decodings and a word becomes a sight word... that's not what i'm seeing in the sequential part of the full alphabetic and i'm wondering if they have to be hierarchical full alphabetic before that happens
brad - one side of your back??
judy3ca - Did Grace say 'dissing?'
Erin - Ah, that was the music. I didn't know if it was SURVIVOR theme
Kim/1/Ca - Anything good, Grace?
Grace/IL - Erin, since the fall, or always?
sharon - and even then i question it
judy3ca - Oh, Erin, I'm so sorry. I'll be thinking of you.
Kim/1/Ca - Grace is talkin' trash!
baglady - When I had to pack up my portable classroom, I moved over a hundred boxes into my garage-over a year ago. My present classroom is full and my garage is still full. In addition, I have wall to wall shelves in my garage arranged pretty much according to the Dewey decimal system. I love books. I was a trainer for AIMS and I always brought along a slew of books that went along with each science/math theme that I taught about. Besides-I don't smoke, drink or do drugs-I do books.
Kim/1/Ca - She did say DISSING. It follows a spelling rule , you know.
brad - 4 decodings? Meaning 4 encounters?
Erin - Yes, brad, from walking off center I guess...I really tweaked it...went twice this week going back on Mon
Grace/IL - That's what she said.
Kim/1/Ca - You have to double the "s" when it follows a short vowel.
cavey - Judy, I'm thinking that too. I'm not sure I know what dissing is. A few weeks ago, Grace was using $%#@&^^ language too!
baglady - I think if everyone was a king or queen of books, we would have whirled peas.
sharon - that's what his study showed... i've got it ordered to read myself and possibly set up a replication study
Kim/1/Ca - You were an AIMS trainer? MY best friends are AIMS trainers!
Erin - Thanks Judy
judy3ca - Too true, baglady (I'm in CA, too)
Grace/IL - Hey, I've heard more intelligent people than I use the word in lieu of "discussing."
brad - I'm interested in how they set up that study. Keep me posted.
judy3ca - Erin, are you in a lot of pain?
sharon - will do
baglady - I came to California because of AIMS-and divorce. I trained up until this year-I can't give up my summer time anymore. Judy-where in CA?
brad - I've never heard dissing used to mean "discussing"
judy3ca - It doesn't mean 'discussing' in CA, ROFL.
Kim/1/Ca - Sharon it scrolled away!
Erin - Judy, it gets bad if I do anything too long, walk too long, sit too long...etc. It just stinks.. I'm frustrated and irritable
judy3ca - Live in Moraga, work in Walnut Creek.
cavey - I thought it meant "disrespecting". The word that was once a noun but has become a verb.
sharon - dissing in alabama is usually proceeded with "yo mama"
baglady - Dissing-distancing-right?
Kim/1/Ca - Grace.....it is slang for "disrespecting" here......."Don't DISS me!"
judy3ca - (((Michelle)))
Erin - Baglady, where are you. I'm in So. Calif...near Magic Mountain
brad - yes, cavey, that's what I think it means
Erin - Hi Michelle
judy3ca - cavey, that's what it means here, too, LOL.
Kim/1/Ca - I know a few AIMS people.
brad - yes, that noun-verb thing (michelle!). My pet peeve these days is people who say "conferencing"
Michelle - hello!
Kim/1/Ca - (((michelle)))
judy3ca - Brad, and "inferencing."
sharon - hi michelle!
baglady - I'm about 1 1/2 hours north of you-right off of 99-I live in Tulare UGH!
cavey - Hi Michelle, you blend in with all the other whirled peas, I didn't see you.
brad - I haven't heard that one yet, judy
Kim/1/Ca - I am sorry, Baglady. (Tulare)
Michelle - oh, no....I stopped being navy because of that
Michelle - I'll switch....let me take a look around here to see what's being used...
Michelle - is anyone navy?
Erin - I'm purple!!1
Kim/1/Ca - I love AIMS stuff. My friend Connie has a whole shed of AIMS stuff. I act as her Gopher.
brad - Michelle, I believe lavender is a road untaken
Grace/IL - Conferencing and inferencing -- new vocabulary -- I nearly choked up one day when I picked up the paper and saw a quote where my son said their business was communicationally challenged. LOL
judy3ca - I cringe at all the nouns turned into verbs--but 'conferencing' is pretty common--I've even heard writers say they use it.
cavey - Just don't touch Kim's orange red, or you'll suffer the scourge of civilization
baglady - When is everyone's portfolio due? Mine is due in April and I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.
brad - I'm guilty of it myself, but I'm really working hard to eliminate it.
Erin - Ouch, Grace, that's pretty bad
Kim/1/Ca - Now, really, Cavey......
Erin - Portfolio?
brad - I also have "irregardless" as a pet peeve
Michelle - i didn't see "lavender" listed
Erin - Brad, AAGGHH, that one drives me nuts
judy3ca - baglady, that was the last group
cavey - Brad, I love that one. Mine is alot.
Erin - Or "I couldn't care less"
Kim/1/Ca - No portfolio here, Baglady. We are the Professional Reading Groupies.
brad - Maybe it's orchid michelle
Grace/IL - Hi Becky
sharon - nb, baglady? not going through that
Kim/1/Ca - CAVEY wrote something bad.
judy3ca - irregardless
Kim/1/Ca - Hi Becky
cavey - I also have issues with lay and lie
Michelle - oh, i hate irregardless.
Erin - Kim, did you get my email about talking to my principal?
Michelle - or could care less.
judy3ca - Do you have a temperature? That one drives me nuts! When a kid says he has a temperature, I respond, "I certainly hope so."
Michelle - if you could care less...then you must care!
Becky - Hi! Just dropped in to see what's happening.
sharon - well how about my favorite kid word... 'butcept'... i love to hear kids use that one!
Kim/1/Ca - LOL........when I was in 6th grade I wrote an essay for my older step sister..........for her 10th Grade English class........It was really good! But I used "alot" and got an automatic F. She was very upset with me. LIKE SHE KNEW THE DIFFERENCE. Ha! Cured me of THAT little problem.
Grace/IL - If he didn't have a temperature, he'd be in bad straits, right?
judy3ca - Sharon, LOLOL.
brad - baglady didn't have to leave! wait!! Where's my books??
Becky - Are we talking oxymorons?
Kim/1/Ca - Something I said?
cavey - Hey baglady, leave the books on the doorstep
Kim/1/Ca - Pet Peeves, Becky
cavey - No Becky, we're just talkin morons
brad - My books!!
Grace/IL - Baglady was here for the earlier chat and just stayed on to chat with us for a while.
brad - LOL cavey
Michelle - oh, I admit to being guilty of the temperature phrase.
judy3ca - cavey, rofl
Becky - I have no pet peeves tonight.
Michelle - I had a temperature of 105 last week, how's that?
brad - leave mines in the mailbox
judy3ca - But now you know, Michelle, LOL.
Michelle - I have a big pet peeve...my principal. remember when I used to really like her?
Kim/1/Ca - I want mines too..........did you ax her?
Michelle - the good ol' days.
cavey - Oh come on Becky, surely there's something
brad - rumor running around that the ESL program will be leaving our campus
judy3ca - What happened, Michelle?
Erin - No she's comin to are house
Grace/IL - 105! That's bad!
brad - LOL, Michelle. Fill us in.
judy3ca - Brad, is that good or bad?
brad - Oh, erin, that one is all the times showing up in my students' writing
Erin - It drives me nuts OUR OUR OUR
Kim/1/Ca - The whole program? What does that LOOK like, anyway.....a whole program just getting up and walking out.
Michelle - well....I had a parent all the sudden, out of the blue, go to the principal to complain that her son isn't learning basic math facts.
cavey - No Erin, your coming to are house.
Becky - I've just spent the evening quilting with a friend. very mellow now!
Michelle - then she scheduled and held a meeting with her, without me!
Erin - no cavey your rong
judy3ca - One of my kids recently wrote, "all of the sudden." That was a new one.
Michelle - what does the principal know about how he's doing??
Michelle - and why didn't she even suggest to the parent that she contact me?
brad - More bad but mostly indifferent. We are two buildings, one campus (k-3, 4-6) and the ESL instructor we had last year is a good friend, but she was "switched" to other building this year. And personally, with this new instructor, I could care less if mines even go to ESL
Erin - Did you talk to the principal about that Michelle?
Erin - Did you talk to the principal about that Michelle?
Grace/IL - What accompanied the quilting?
Erin - sorry
Kim/1/Ca - My eyes are bad tonight....OMG! I read Becky's post and thought BRAD wrote about quilting tonight with a friend. (holding sides getting a visual on that one)
sharon - lol, grace
Erin - Now, Kim...what's rong with brad quilting
brad - How could you get a visual, Kim?? You all think I'm fat and blonde!! Rofl!!
Kim/1/Ca - VERY unprofessional of your principal, Michelle.........totally.
Erin - Where can we post pictures so we can really get a visual
cavey - I don't think your blond Brad
judy3ca - She just thinks you're fat.
Kim/1/Ca - No, I have revised. I think you are brunette with goats. And wire rimmed glasses.
Erin - Well Brad, fess up, what is it?
brad - LOL, Judy, you're a little naughty tonite. . . . AND I LIKE IT!!
Grace/IL - There's a page on teachers.net where you can post pictures but I don't have a clue as to how to get thar.
Kim/1/Ca - NO.......he is probably "beefy" but not fat.
sharon - i see you kinda looking like maynard from the dobie gillis show, brad
Becky - Killer brownies!
cavey - We can email pics, but how will we know if their rilly us?
brad - ROFLMAO, MAYNARD!!
brad - LMAO, BEEFY!!
Michelle - then...I have another parent who has, all year long been harrasing me to let him know if anything is up...so I emailed him to let him know that his son is starting to lose focus during math, and that if he keeps it up, he will fall behind..and he went to the principal the next day and had a similar meeting about why is his son all the sudden low in everything............but he's not low!!
sharon - it's that goatee thang
Michelle - I've tried to talk to the principal, but she won't meet with me. She hasn't answered my emails about it, either.
cavey - Beefcake brad
sharon - wow, michelle... that's unprofessional of her
brad - technically, it's not a goatee, right. That's a willy wonka thing.
Kim/1/Ca - .....and GOOOOOOOD lookin'
Grace/IL - Michelle, it sounds as though they're ganging up on you.
Michelle - these 2 parents, within 3 days of each other. Very coincidental. Hadn't had a complaint all year until then.
Erin - Sorry, Michelle. That is definitely not appropriate for your principal to be so unavailable
judy3ca - Yikes, Michelle, is something else going on with your principal?
brad - The 'stache too. A Van Dyke, but not long
Michelle - hmmm....maybe these parents met at basketball or something?
Erin - Hair color, brad?
cavey - Michelle, you need to try and get to bottom of this ASAP
Michelle - I know, I don't know what's up with her. She's never been like this before.
Grace/IL - Brad's a painter?
brad - Salt and pepa' here and we're in effect. . .
Kim/1/Ca - OOOoooohhh ....... a stache too! Hair short, though.
Becky - Michelle, I think it's a January thing. Teachers, kids, parents, etc all cranky in Jan.]
Erin - LOL brad
sharon - how long have you worked with her, michelle?
brad - We are distracting from Michelle's issue. I'm just now catching up. Pauvre Michelle
Erin - I've had parents freaking out on me because progress reports went home. Well, I always am hard on the progress reports so that there is time for students to improve
sharon - no kim... maybe he has one of those side parts... like at his ear and then strategically pulled over the top of his head
cavey - Michelle is in a crisis and we are talking about facial hair
Michelle - thanks, brad. I'm a little distracted here, anyway...a friend keeps IM'ing me.
Michelle - are you? facial hair?
brad - Hair short since Caleb's birth
brad - OH, great, now Sharon thinks I'm bald and doing a comb-over
cavey - baby vomit in hair = not good
Becky - I have had five meetings this week. Behavior and academic concerns. Like I said, It's a Jan. thing.
Erin - Send your picture via e-mail brad, and put all the speculation to rest
brad - cavey--thoughts of tiny hands yanking on it prompted cutting
Michelle - sharon, this is my third year with this principal.
Erin - baby vomit period=not good
cavey - I'm giving out 2 D's. Would have gone home today but for the snow.
Kim/1/Ca - Same here, Becky. Meetings, programs, grad class, etc. Glad it's Friday night.
judy3ca - Well, either Brad or Nicole has dark hair, right?
Kim/1/Ca - Good relationship so far, Michelle?
Michelle - becky, i hope your right about it being a January thing. so it should all blow over by monday? That would be nice.
sharon - michelle... does she know that you put in for that transfer?
Erin - Michelle, no problems before?
brad - both have dark hair
brad - Nichole is half cuban
Becky - The weeks seem so long and exhausting in Jan.
sharon - or was that erin? geeeze... i get confused
Becky - I need to go south.
judy3ca - I'm such a detective! That's why your kids have dark hair, LOL.
brad - Jan always goes quickly here because of MLK and REcords day giving us two four-day weeks.
judy3ca - I LOVE Cubans! My best profs at UCLA were Cuban!
Becky - Monday will be Feb. with a vacation only two weeks away.
cavey - Judy - sleek and smart too!
Erin - Sharon, it was me but my principal knows because I want to go with her
Kim/1/Ca - You sHure are a sHerlock, Judy.....
Michelle - Kim, we've had a good relationship until this.
cavey - I love cuban coffee!
brad - I've never met the Cuban side, Judy.
Kim/1/Ca - Then it is probably something else distracting and upsetting her, Michelle. Truly.
judy3ca - That's it--Nicole is inheriting my books.
brad - I know Michelle, I really thought you and your principal got along. It's a little unlike her.
judy3ca - Are they still in Cuba, Brad?
Michelle - hehe, sharon....transfer.
judy3ca - You laughed at me because I liked Che!
cavey - Wait Judy, I've got dark hair too.
Kim/1/Ca - Che...........(homer drool)
Michelle - Some friends have said that it's not about me...that our principal just likes to feel "on top of things" and likes to try to take care of things herself when parents complain.
brad - Abuela and Abuelo are gone. They escaped Castro and both died in late seventies. He was a pretty renowned cardiologist. Dad is a good-for-nothing who is in Costa Rica right now. She's only talked to him twice. Never seen but in pics
judy3ca - cavey, I like dark hair--that wasn't a dis
Kim/1/Ca - She must have taken Micromanagement 101, Michelle.
Michelle - that sounds about right, kim.
Erin - Michelle, my principal did that to me my second year. I spoke with her about it and said I would like parents to come to me first. I was the first teacher to say anything and she has been good about it ever since
Kim/1/Ca - Sounds like my "mother."
Becky - I always tell my principal when I have an issue with a parent. Just a heads up. He appreciates if an issue comes up.
Michelle - the parents do not like Investigations. This is our first year with it.
sharon - well michelle, i had my first complaint a couple of weeks ago... parent went to the principal and said my room was too hot
Grace/IL - We always had a chain of command. Parents MUST speak with the teacher before they confront the principal.
brad - Sharon is muy caliente
judy3ca - The grandparents are probably the same age as my profs were--they'd also escaped. One had been a member of a wealthy and prominent family...wound up in Miami with $50. Fortunately for me, he later wound up at UCLA.
Erin - Sharon. LOL,
Michelle - lol, sharon.
brad - She's one HOT teacher
Kim/1/Ca - Well, YOU know you are doing a good job. It will probably blow over.
sharon - you know what my wonderful principal said?
cavey - Well Sharon, that is a big one. Crucial learning environment issue and all
Becky - Our principal tells parents to talk with the teacher first. If they come to him, he will set up a meeting with all of us.
Erin - Wear a t-shirt?
judy3ca - Sharon, that is precious!
sharon - she said... gosh... that's hard to believe with her having those hormone problems and such I would think she kept it too cold
Michelle - yeah, it's just that I feel she's being disrespectful towards me. But I'll get over it.
Erin - ROFLMAO
judy3ca - ROFL
sharon - i said... gee, thanks for setting her straight... i think
cavey - LOL Sharon
Michelle - I had a bunch of people in my room observing me doing reading conferences on Wednesday. That was a lot of fun.
Kim/1/Ca - Your own personal summer, Sharon? LOL..........
brad - (said sarcastically?)
Erin - Today, in our weekly bulletin my principal, in reference to attendance sheets, wrote "Sign your John Henry"
cavey - My mom calls them power surges instead of hot flashes
Becky - What's ROFLMAO?
Michelle - diane, I was thinking of you on Super Bowl Sunday....I was in your area that day.
Erin - I went in and asked, "Wasn't John Henry born with a hammer in his hand?" She looked at me and i said "Isn't it John Hancock?"
cavey - LOL Erin
judy3ca - Sharon, last year I walked into the office where several people were discussing a difficult parent. The principal told me to stay out of it because "she likes you." Somehow that didn't seem like a compliment either.
diane - hi guys
Erin - Fortunately she has a great sense of humor and cracked up
cavey - ((little d)) How are you feeling honey?
Kim/1/Ca - I have been very worried and anxious lately about possible layoffs. Seriously........waking up every morning so anxious I have to do deep breathing........awful.
diane - dizzy, cavey...thanks for asking
sharon - the heater has been malfunctioning... our room has been hot... so the parent complained and at least the heating people are up there working on it now... i had a little boy bring in one of those battery operated fans and water sprayers for me to use this week
Grace/IL - Oooh! Erin got censored
judy3ca - cavey--that is so cute! power surges
Michelle - kim, it's really bad around here, too.
Erin - Oh, Kim, have they said anything to you?
diane - michelle, were you visiting your aunt and uncle?
Erin - Are you in a new district?
Kim/1/Ca - (((diane)))
brad - Sharon, aren't you in a new facility?
sharon - whoa, judy!
Erin - I know Grace I saw that, how silly
Michelle - no, I was with a friend's family out toward....can't remember the name of the town....near Forest Grove.
sharon - yes, brad
brad - trouble with heating already?
sharon - and not in control of the thermostat in my room unfortunately
diane - cornelius? gales creek?
Michelle - no...
Michelle - gaston
Kim/1/Ca - Well....especially since SUPPOSEDLY our "union" has wording that protects strictly on seniority. Last hired, first fired........and there are a TON of emergency credentialed teachers in the district. All districts in a crunch, so no jobs. And THEY CAME AFTER ME.
Michelle - at a fifth grade teacher's house, actually. Teaches in Forest Grove SD.
Erin - Even before the emergency credentials?
sharon - they won't let you go, kim... they'll find a way
judy3ca - Kim, I'm not following....is your position in danger?
diane - that's my district, michelle...
Grace/IL - Kim, that would be terrible!!!!
cavey - Oh Kim, come to Virginia, where the pace is slow and the speech patterns are slower
diane - who is teacher?
Michelle - Dilley, is the name of her school, i think
Michelle - I can't remember her name.
Kim/1/Ca - Well........I have been thinking so and it has really worried me. So, I finally took the bull by the horns and asked.
judy3ca - cavey, ROFL, you are a hoot!
diane - dilley is a k-4, tom mccall is the 5-6
sharon - speech patterns slower, cavey? we never get around to final consonants here
Michelle - you know any 5th grade teachers at Dilley?
diane - small world, michelle...
Grace/IL - And?
Michelle - oh...I may be confused....there were a lot of teachers there.
Michelle - which is the one where they are planning the covered play area, or something like that?
Erin - I gotta go. Been sitting too long already. Hopefully I'll feel better next week. bye all!!
Kim/1/Ca - I walked into her office and she and the EL coordinator were talking about me and how my name came up with the superintendent in a negotiations meeting...........
Becky - Goodnight! I have to go to bed. Stay warm!
cavey - sharon, I know you speak my language dahlin
sharon - bye erin
brad - bye erin
Michelle - bye, erin and becky.
cavey - Hope you feel better Erin! goodnight!
diane - i think we're all getting a covered play area...
Grace/IL - 'Bye erin
cavey - Bye becky, come again!
judy3ca - Bye, Erin, take care! I'll be hoping for the best!
sharon - i have to clear out too... gettin' up early to have the "chalkdust" removed from my hair tomorrow... can't have logan commenting about it again
Erin - Thanks everyone...Kim finish...I'm waiting
Kim/1/Ca - .......he told them he "heard good things" etc.....I said, "so does that mean I wont' get layed off?" (laid off?)
judy3ca - Night, sharon, LOL.
sharon - bye all... bye maynard... i'll send you the research when i get it
Michelle - goodnight, sharon.
cavey - Night Sharon!
brad - nite sharon keep me posted
Grace/IL - 'Night Sharon.
diane - night sharon, erin
Michelle - well, then I was no help.
sharon - (waiting to hear kim's final too)
Kim/1/Ca - She looked very perplexed and basically said I was the BEST teacher she had hired in a LONG LONG time and I am a "jewel" and that she would NEVER NEVER led me go and she has five others lined up for lay off but NEVER me.
Grace/IL - Kim, continue. . .
judy3ca - KIM!
diane - lol, michelle...man or woman?
brad - whew
Michelle - oh, good, kim.
sharon - good, kim... night all
diane - phew, kim...that's great news
judy3ca - Phew
Grace/IL - Let's hope she has clout.
Kim/1/Ca - So...I guess I am safe. I just feel wrung out. I work to dang hard and I am too old to have to stress over these things.
Michelle - Kim, similar situation for me last year....principal put me under contract a year early so I wouldn't be laid off.
cavey - Well, you'll be okay then Kim. but, you know what happens to jewels around here.
judy3ca - Hi diane--I didn't even see you were here until we phewed at the same time.
Michelle - woman....that much I'm sure of.
brad - rolmao cavey
Kim/1/Ca - That's good, Michelle.........and this the SAME one who you are worried about? LOL.
diane - lol, judy...simultaneous "phewing"
Grace/IL - Lots of times they give out pink slips in spring but find places to hire back.
judy3ca - cavey, ROFLMAO
Michelle - yeah, kim. Like I said...we always got along fine before.
Kim/1/Ca - TOO dang hard. Geez.
brad - Kim, you are NOT old
Michelle - diane....what does your district have planned since the failure of measure 28?
Kim/1/Ca - It made me feel good.........they were really talking about me........"joyful classroom" stuff. REally nice.
diane - i'm worried we'll lose our first grade teacher...temp contract. she's amazing...friends with linda hoyt, other amazing people
diane - michelle, we're cutting 6 days
Kim/1/Ca - wow, diane!
judy3ca - Diane, it looks like we're going to lose at least one terrific teacher, too. Very sad.
cavey - LIttle d, where are you again? I get mixed up.
Michelle - my boy who's dad went to complain to the principal about his son being low, told me that his parents told him he might be repeating third grade next year. Geez.
diane - cavey, i'm northwest of michelle in oregon
brad - cavey, don't you just feel sorry for our california friends. I'd hate to be in that position.
judy3ca - Oh for Pete's sake, Michelle.
Kim/1/Ca - Oh, wow........forgot to tell you. chapman class went splendidly.....NO DOOFUSES. (doofi?) Everyone is passionate, interested, motivated.......they CRIED during Reading With Dad!
cavey - I thought so, but I kept thinking Northern CA
diane - is it my dizziness or is my color hard to see?
judy3ca - That's the sleek one, cavey!
Michelle - makes me want to tell the dad nothing unless it's drastic. So much for being pro-active
cavey - I know Brad, we are in a shortage here!
Kim/1/Ca - diane.......NOT your dizziness. Change to something darker.
Grace/IL - It's a great poem, Kim.
cavey - I know where you are sleek baby!
judy3ca - Another phew
brad - Although being the bottom district, buildings may close here.
Kim/1/Ca - They WATCHED intently while I talked, and asked questions and WROTE stuff down. It was just so cool. I had them in stitches quite a few times.
Grace/IL - That's better.
cavey - Yeah Kim, I loved it. didn't really have a dad, but my kids will be able to relate
judy3ca - Muchisimo mas mejor, Diane.
Kim/1/Ca - Brad saved me on Wednesday night!
Lana - Hello! I am so frustrated! Does anyone want to know why?
Michelle - Portland has cut 24 days off its school year.
brad - Maynard to the rescue!
diane - gracia, judy
judy3ca - uh oh
Grace/IL - Hi Lana, why?
diane - one of my kids asked me yesterday why adults didn't care about them
Grace/IL - I read about Oregon in the local papers.
Michelle - aw, diane, that is so sad.
diane - seems they want to know why the school year is being cut and criminals were let out of prison
Lana - Well to try and make a long story short I don't think the kids I work with are going to be prepared for the state tests in March
Michelle - even Illinois knows our troubles. Yeah, I'm so glad I don't teach in Portland.
Michelle - oh, that. I was thinking parents, etc.
brad - hoist a glass, Lana, and join the club
diane - i got a job offer in portland...thank god i didn't take it!!
Kim/1/Ca - We heard about you too, Michelle......."you know what OREGON is doing?"
Michelle - I just got my first paycheck today that included our payraise that came with our brand-new contract. We actually got a pay raise. Portland took a pay cut.
judy3ca - I don't even know what my own state is doing.
Lana - But I'm in a different situation. I am supposed to supplement what the teacher is teaching and he isn't doing anything.
Michelle - But some of my teammates actually got a smaller paycheck. Guess they are in the next-higher tax bracket. How frustrating for them.
Grace/IL - Talk about politics . . . Hubby heard on the radio today that IEA gave a half million toward the campaign of our new governor. Guess who's beholden to whom?
diane - with our days cut, my paycheck is immediately reduced...starts with feb 1. not sure what it will look like. hoping i don't need a second job...physically i don't think i could do it
cavey - I'm not feeling too bad now. I make a lot less than you guys, but I know I'll have a job and a raise next year
Kim/1/Ca - Then it is not your fault, Lana. You have them for a sliver of the time........and they are HOW old?
judy3ca - cavey, I'll have a job and we just got 2%.
cavey - what's your position Lana?
Lana - They are fourth graders.
Kim/1/Ca - CTA supported Doofus Davis (the man who blew a record 35 billion dollar deficit)........and now he sold us out.
Grace/IL - IL is 5 billion in debt but new gov says he'll support schools.
Michelle - I don't think I could, either. We even got a better deal for our health insurance, so I'm paying nothing out of pocket for that. Saves me 150 per month.
Lana - I work with the students who didn't pass the state test.
Michelle - we got 2%, too.
cavey - We're supposed to get between 4 and 6% this year
Kim/1/Ca - I mean he blew a 35 billion dollar SURPLUS........21% increase in population since late nineties. 26% increase in revenue. yet......36% increase in spending. What does THAT tell you? He should be put on trial for embezzlement.
Grace/IL - Lana, are you in an inner city school?
Kim/1/Ca - I'm sure your governor and my governor swap eMails, Grace.
Lana - yes
brad - Hey, a little OT, but what have you found works best for sticking stuff to cinder blocks?
cavey - Hey Brad, I read The Midwife's Apprentice! It is a bit bawdy, but only if you know what the bawdy references are referring to. Most kids would'nt get it. Very good little book.
Michelle - here's what I don't understand...how did he get re-elected? Was all this financial stuff hidden?
brad - I'm doing nothing, and was shocked when Amy told me
brad - LOL, that was for KIM
Michelle - brad, i use that blue sticky stuff.
Grace/IL - That may be very true about the gov who was just replaced. He's surrounded by graft and all his friends are in trial mode.
Kim/1/Ca - Hot Glue
Michelle - I own The Midwife's Apprentice.
cavey - Hot glue Brad
diane - brad, i use those wax clip thingies
judy3ca - cavey, my daughter loved Karen Cushman when she was younger (daughter younger).
brad - bawdy in what way, cavey, tell me, we're all adults here
Michelle - It's in my at-home library, of course.
brad - hot glue?? It has to come back down
judy3ca - LOL, Brad, I'm glad glue doesn't shock you.
cavey - references to husbands fooling around, and pinching cheeks
Kim/1/Ca - yes.....you use a hair dryer to get it back down.
Michelle - if you put hot glue on a low temp, you shouldn't have a problem
cavey - the glue comes right off
brad - hmmmmm
Kim/1/Ca - roll it in a little ball and fling it on the floor.
diane - i never knew this about hot glue
brad - husbands fooling around?? is cavey talking abou tme??
Lana - He has such control over his class, but does nothing with it.
brad - like boogers KIM?
Michelle - I have my felt word wall backing attached to the cinder blocks with sticky velcro and packaging tape.
cavey - I sure hope not babydadda!
Kim/1/Ca - yup.......that is why God invented vacuums. And classified staff.
Lana - I pray for those kids and hope that they do well.
Kim/1/Ca - We all do, Lana........we all do. You can't change other people.
brad - who's fooling around cavey?
cavey - I think it was the baker and the midwife
diane - bawdy reference, brad...right, cavey?
Kim/1/Ca - And besides.......it's just a TEST. Kids are not standardized.
Michelle - do any of you do reading conferences? I need to figure out how to get my conferences done in 5 minutes or so. They usually take me 10 minutes. Then I only get to see each kid once every 20 days or so.
cavey - right little d. Sheesh, I'm glad somebody'
brad - OH< you're talking about MIDWIFE, gotcha/
Michelle - yeah, the baker & the midwife. funny
diane - i'm always listening, cavey
cavey - thank you diane!
brad - Michelle, I do them, I can manage 4-5 kids in a 25 minute period
Lana - How many of you out there would allow someone in your room? Like an aid or an in class model.
diane - much to my students' dismay
Kim/1/Ca - brb want anything while I am up?
Michelle - how? I think it takes me too long to come up with a teaching point.
diane - alcohol would be good 'bout now
brad - ho ho, kim
brad - lana, the more the merrier, I say.
cavey - I've gotta go !!
Michelle - I have to, Lana. I have an assistant for a hour a day.
Kim/1/Ca - I will take anyone who wants to come in and help out........my kids need all the attention they can get.
brad - why's that, michelle? tell me your protocol
Grace/IL - 'Night cavey
judy3ca - Me, too--night, friends.
Lana - Does this make you uncomfortable?
Kim/1/Ca - One Ho Ho coming up.
Michelle - but, I do request that the Sped teacher help out in my room. She comes in 2 days a week and helps with math.
brad - Cavey, just when It was getting bawdy! NIGHT
cavey - See y'all next week!
Grace/IL - 'Night Judy
diane - night cavey and judy
Michelle - She's a godsend.
brad - gnite, oh sleek one
cavey - Goodnight Sleek One!
Grace/IL - I always had parent helpers in my room -- sometimes 3 at a time.
Michelle - Brad, I try to do it as outlined in Art of Teaching Reading....
Michelle - by judy!
cavey - Brad, you can't keep up with bawdy. I'm wasting my time with you.
brad - so you approach them, and they do what?
diane - last year i had 2 full-time aides (high needs kids) and parent helpers...i miss it
Grace/IL - With 25 kids, one needs all the help s/he can get.
brad - I'm a very bawdy goateed man
Michelle - I sit next to them, watch them read a bit, then go from there...usually talk about how it's going, how they've progressed from our last conference, and teach...
Lana - I work with another teacher who will hardly let me in her room. I wish she would to because i know i could learn a lot.
Michelle - and then we write it down in their notebook and mine, and they get started on the new thing as I watch.
Michelle - then I leave.
Michelle - When the literacy consultant debriefed with me on Weds, she suggested that I model the strategy I want the child to practice...I'd like to, but that's one more step!
Michelle - I have a parent helping with math on Tues and Thurs, the sped teacher on Mon and Weds...it's very nice.
brad - Maybe it's the teaching points. Mine are pretty common across the board. My strugglers still need help decoding words. My middles need help reading for fluency. My uppers need help reading for expression and comprehending. (Their books are the only ones with real "meat" to talk about comprehension)
Michelle - All but 3 of mine are very fluent readers, so with them it's always something regarding comprehension.
diane - brad, what sorts of things do you do to help with fluency?
Michelle - And sometimes it takes me a couple minutes to see where they are at and where they should go.
brad - First, I call fluency, Reading Like Talking, becuase the word "fluency" leaves them clueless
Kim/1/Ca - I brought the Ding Dongs, Brad. No Ho Hos.
Michelle - I'm thinking that the more conferences I have under by belt, the quicker they will become because I will have the past to draw upon.
brad - How often are you meeting with them Michelle?
diane - now, ding dongs i have had...
Grace/IL - An older teacher once said, "Just talk it to me" regarding fluency.
brad - That's what I was thinking when I asked michelle
diane - i have a couple of kids that are painfully slow
brad - For fluency, I model model model.
brad - For some I start snapping like a metronome.
Michelle - Yeah, my three lowest ones...their conferences are quickest. Fluency is pretty quick to assess and prescribe (hate that word...)
brad - For some, I give a super easy "cat sat on mat" book and then I cover the words with my hand as they "read"
Michelle - well, since I can only get to 3 kids a day, I meet with them very seldom.
brad - For many I have them echo read
brad - You may find it flows faster later on Michelle
Grace/IL - Sometimes it helps to put a marker above the words. Just slant it a little so the eye is led to the next line.
brad - If it's just comprehension, Michelle, don't listen to them read everytime.
Michelle - I'm thinking on giving up and just sticking to concentrating on the strategy we are focusing on in mini-lessons, if something doesn't come to mind pretty quickly.
Kim/1/Ca - Yeah...it cracks me up when they immitate me. "The tiger DEFINITELY did not know."
diane - i don't know what the proper term is, but i have seen people read behind a child and whisper in their ear as the child reads aloud...mostly simultaneous...i'm wondering if that is effective
brad - That's what I did in third. I hardly ever listened to my "good" ones read aloud
diane - i don't listen to most of mine read anymore
brad - I've done that diane. I do that if I ask struggling readers to read aloud in the class (which is RARE)
Michelle - Calkins describes something like that, diane.
Michelle - coaching.
Michelle - I don't listen, i follow along.
Michelle - and then talk to them. I'm watching them read, not listening. Sorry about that.
brad - I just ask "Good" ones, "What's going on?" or "How's that book?" or if I know the book I'll be specific, "Did she find the treasure yet?"
Michelle - I try to follow their eyes.
brad - Do you go to them Michelle, or do they come to you?
diane - i got a new student on tuesday...haven't been able to accurately assess, as he's too mistrusting to read with me...near as i can tell he's reading at a pre-primer...
Michelle - I ask them what they're thinking or "how's it going"
Michelle - maybe it's because they don't really know what they are expected to say? maybe I need to teach that more?
Kim/1/Ca - diane.....i'm sorry...what grade?
Michelle - i go to them.
diane - 3rd, kim
Kim/1/Ca - pre primer.......? hoo boy.
Michelle - although...I must say that they are getting pretty good at questioning.
brad - Be strategic. Line up who you're meeting with that day. When you're visiting with one, eye the other from across the room to get an idea before you go to them
diane - it's rough going so far...he won't write without dictation. i'm his 18th teacher...
Grace/IL - 18 teachers in 3 or 4 years?
Michelle - yeah, brad. I'll do that. I think I need to be just a little faster-moving, too.
Kim/1/Ca - I come up behind them and listen, chat awhile, move along.......sometimes I get on the floor in the midst of about 4 or 5 reading on the rug........I listen to all of them simultaneously.......fun.
brad - Have some set "goals" and use those as your teaching points. PRetty soon, I think you'll get to know them and know that Hector needs work on predicting and Joanie needs to figure out character traits, etc.
diane - i'm guessing 4 to include kinder...he's in the foster system
Michelle - we do goals. I check those when we meet.
Kim/1/Ca - Oh geez, diane...........how awful.
Grace/IL - Poor kid. He's never been anywhere long enough to figure out what's going on.
Kim/1/Ca - Do they partner read, michelle? or all independent?
brad - Last year, I went to them like you're doing. This year, I have a group come sit at my table and when i'm done with one, boom, I move straight to the next.
Michelle - it's mainly independent reading.
diane - he's breaking my heart already...just working on trust for a while...gee, wonder how he'll do on the state test...
Michelle - i do suggest to some of them to partner read. Those who really need that conversation to extend their comprehension. For many of them, partner reading is distracting.
brad - I think that helps me move faster
Kim/1/Ca - done, grace........as good as banned. ISP will be contacted also.
Michelle - I think that would me too, brad.
diane - brad, i like your idea to have them come to you
Kim/1/Ca - I just lost one.......no warning. Same kind of situation. Very sad.
Kim/1/Ca - Good idea, brad..........
Michelle - I got a new girl this week. yay,now I have seven!
Michelle - still have 18 boys.
brad - At the beginning of the year, I couldn't do it, becaue the rest couldn't keep themselves managed, but since then conferences move very quickly. Plus they're used to procedures
Kim/1/Ca - You know how important vocabulary development is? I mean........when there isn't a wide variety of words to choose from, look what you are reduced to when you really want to make a point. Very sad state of affairs, dont' you think?
diane - lol, michelle, last year i had 17 boys and 4 girls. one of the girls is severly autistic, so she did little to bring the energy level down...i was definitely tired at the end of the day
Grace/IL - Sounds as though you've made a lot of progress, Brad.
Michelle - wow, diane. I won't complain, then!
brad - It's always two steps forward, one step back
diane - you can still complain, michelle
brad - They have the blue books that we used for exams in college that they keep with their baggies and when they sit down, most of them know to get out their blue books first and hand them to me. It's cute.
brad - I keep all records in there, goals rr's, etc.
Kim/1/Ca - It's wide reading, diane. You know? Lots of literacy experiences lead to a very large vocabulary. THEN, when you want to come into a teacher's chatroom on a Friday night and act like a walking advertisement for birth control.....you can be erudite and articulate.
Michelle - oh, brad, i thought of you on Super Bowl Sunday, too.
Michelle - I played a fun, new game.
brad - Yes, I did win for everyone. They didn't think we'd do it.
Michelle - but I can't remember the name of it. It's spelled Zy_y_y_
Kim/1/Ca - Which one, Michelle?
brad - LOL, Nichole was like, "Did you know there was a player named that?"
Michelle - Those are the letters I remember.
brad - And then his picture came up, and she said, "Uhh, but he's ugly!" LOL
Michelle - It's a scrabble-like, crossword-type action packed thing.
Michelle - oh, yeah...him too. but he has no goat, that I saw.
brad - oh, well, then why else were you thinking of me?
Michelle - anyway...y'all would like this game.
Kim/1/Ca - Yes, Brad. Special Needs you know? The kind who will leech off the system its whole life and then blame the world for doing it wrong..........sad.
Michelle - each player begins with 9 letter tiles. you try to form your own individual crossword puzzle with the letters.
Kim/1/Ca - Must be a terrible speller, huh Brad?
brad - yes
Michelle - when you use all your letters, you say "draw", and everyone draws a new tile and has to fit it into their crossword.
diane - where did everybody go? am i the only one with a totally white screen?
brad - Michelle, is it called Take two?
Kim/1/Ca - Right here, diane.
Michelle - it gets pretty crazy.
brad - Hey Michelle Have you played Jitters?
Kim/1/Ca - That's it! I played that a couple of weekends ago. It was fun!
Michelle - no, It's called ZY_y_y.
Michelle - oops.....Zy_y_y_
brad - How do you pronounce that?
Michelle - the lines mean I can't remember those letters.
brad - oh
Michelle - No, I haven't, brad.
Grace/IL - I have a meetin' in the mawnin'. Guess I'll head out. 'Night all.
brad - Jitters is kind've like that. I got it real cheap on ebay but we've only played twice
Michelle - is Take Two like the game I described?
Kim/1/Ca - Good night, Grace.
brad - Yes, Take Two sounds exactly what you've described. I don't own that one though
Michelle - I won't be here next week. I will be at a retreat in Medford.
Kim/1/Ca - Writing retreat?
Michelle - Jitters is like my game and Take Two?
Michelle - no, a single mom's retreat.
Michelle - but a writing retreat sounds great!
brad - Both games. Jitters is solitaire, each player's turn you see how many crosswords you can fill with letter cubes before timer goes off
Kim/1/Ca - It does, doesn't it?
diane - weird screen issue
diane - michelle, had a meeting of my writing project class on saturday...it was wonderful to sit and write again
Michelle - the game I played is a solaire-like game. You do only your own crossword. The winner is the one who uses all their tiles first.
brad - I didn't even say goodbye to grace cause Wonderboy was propositioning me for a piece of my bubble
Michelle - I've finally started trying to write in earnest.
Kim/1/Ca - She would understand, Brad. First things first.
Michelle - I wrote a poem about my coc kroaches.
brad - Why not write in ink, Michelle, it's so much easier.
Kim/1/Ca - Michelle....I have been bad about that. I need to also....
Kim/1/Ca - OH! Your pets?
diane - remember, michelle, you can always send your roaches to me...as long as they hiss
Michelle - unfortunately they are only your run-of-the-mill roaches.
diane - i'm down to only one roach...i think he's lonely
Kim/1/Ca - My snake was such a hit I brought in my tarantula. Kids just LOVE animals.
Michelle - alta!!!
Michelle - where you been?
Kim/1/Ca - ((((alta rose!))))
Alta Rose - Hi guys!
diane - kim, i'm wanting a tarantula
brad - Alta Rose!!
Alta Rose - Went out for supper tonight.
diane - hi alta
Kim/1/Ca - She is very pretty and low maintenance, diane.........chilean rose hair tarantula.
Alta Rose - Hey, we had an exciting morning!
Michelle - there's a neat greek restaurant in Portland. the owner picks table up in his teeth and dances with them.
Kim/1/Ca - I am wondering if this latest little snert had language processing problems. Seemed kinda limited, you know?
Alta Rose - A PD day today. No kids. We started out with breakfast at one of the neighbouring schools...
Michelle - yeah, kim. I was thinking similarily.
Alta Rose - I was getting my coffee, with my back to the breakfast table, when CRASH!
brad - so i was the only one with an offer, huh? Hmm.
Alta Rose - The table collapsed and there was fire everywhere!
diane - yep, brad, looks like it....
Michelle - oh no!
diane - oh man, alta!
brad - ????
Kim/1/Ca - oh no
Alta Rose - Everyone was OK. Two teachers standing close to the table got fluid on them, and the fire travelled thru the fluid and hit the wall...
Alta Rose - Principal came with fire extinguisher...Everybody OK.
brad - ohmigosh
Alta Rose - Thank goodness for Alberta winters...Had my collegues had sandles and shorts on they would have been in trouble!
brad - was the table just too loaded?
Kim/1/Ca - Yes Michelle
Alta Rose - Yes, I didn't see it collapse, but I heard the cooks put a container of sausages on one end and over it went.
Kim/1/Ca - Big bunch of excitement, huh? My meetings never go that way.
Alta Rose - The ironic thing was that one of my collegues who was closest to the table when it happened lost her house to a fire over Christmas...So everyone gave her a hard time about that!
brad - That reminds me. I have this girl who just doesn't learn. she keeps tipping her seat back adn falling over and over and she STILL does it. She's almost been seriously hurt several times.
brad - I wish my meetings had that kind've excitement
Michelle - I got my reciept back for the Western Regional IRA conference....my district DID pay for my lunch with Eve Bunting. Yay! I think I'll be too nervous to eat. None of my friends will be at the luncheon with me.
Kim/1/Ca - Well, Brad.....you know how it goes. Like our little snert here.....some people have to be on the lower end of the Bell Curve to make the world go around. To serve as an example for all of us about how intelligence is really a GOOD thing.
Michelle - the most exciting thing at our meetings is when they have us get into pre-selected groups.
diane - i'm so sad that my district won't pay, michelle...you'll have to give a complete report
brad - I just always look at her and say, "Now how many times have you fallen out of that?"
Alta Rose - Oh Michelle, that's neat!
Alta Rose - Brad, last year one of my son's teachers used to take kids chairs away when they did that.
Michelle - brad, I was like that in 4th grade.
brad - The most exciting parts of our meetings is when she says, "Well, I'm not going to keep you any longer."
Kim/1/Ca - Oh, wow.......how wonderful, Michelle! That is so cool! Eve Bunting?
Alta Rose - The funny thing is that one day the teacher himself did the very same thing and HE fell over!
Michelle - I liked tipping my chair back and thought I would learn how far I could lean it w/out falling over. It took a few tries.
brad - alta, that didn't work with her. Usually one good time of falling and busting your head does it, but not her!!
diane - okay guys, i'm having a hard time focusing on the screen now
Alta Rose - We have desks, not chairs, but some kids are bound and determined to sit at the very top of the back of the seat.
Kim/1/Ca - Brain damage, Brad. How sad........ maybe her mama will get her a computer for her birthday and then let her use it unsupervised.
Michelle - I took one of my first grader's chairs away. He was a danger to himself. His mother and I are still friends.
Kim/1/Ca - diane........are you feeling alright?
brad - she has so many other issues too
Michelle - diane, you are having trouble with your computer screen, right?
diane - it comes and goes, kim...
brad - why always her? why not some other keys?
Michelle - I am so excited that today was payday! I'm going to go grocery shopping tomorrow! Yay! And I'm going to buy more than just milk and bread!
Alta Rose - I missed a great conference today, about teaching reading, but my friend filled me in at supper.
Kim/1/Ca - How did the scan go? Know anything yet?
Michelle - (little things)
Kim/1/Ca - Yay....payday. (I know)
diane - i haven't gotten the mri back yet...i figure no news is probably good news
Kim/1/Ca - That's why I asked, diane.
brad - I treated myself to Chinese before the belt gets tight tomorrow
brad - first of da month and all
Alta Rose - She talked about phonemic awareness and reading comp...Said some strategies, like fix-up are "key", but others like SI are important, but should be taught as secondary...Didn't get too many details yet, but will look at the book.
brad - who was it, alta?
Kim/1/Ca - I have to keep reminding myself. Do not go to Amazon. Do not go to Amazon. Do not go to Amazon.
Michelle - what book?
diane - the mri itself was weird...i've never had one before...i actually fell asleep in the midst of all the knocking noises...i could hear myself snore...lol
Alta Rose - A lady from BC...Didn't get her name...But my friend came away saying every teacher of reading should her here. I'll let you know more after I see the book.
Kim/1/Ca - I have this new kid who is such a sweetie pie. He is ELL.......he asked if he could borrow some books. I said yes.
Michelle - I looked at my bank statement...I spent over $200 on books last month. No wonder I completely ran out of money.
Kim/1/Ca - So he comes back with 16 books!
brad - Diane, LOL, My aunt said she was trying to go to sleep one time and she kept thinking "What is that noise?" It kept waking her up. LOL, Later she realized it was HER snoring.
Michelle - what did you say, kim?
Michelle - how long does the MRI take?
Kim/1/Ca - I said, "Hugo........that's a lot of books." He asks, very concerned, "I should put one back?"
brad - That sounds like "Can I drink water?"
Michelle - lol
diane - lol, brad...in the chamber the snoring was echoing...i kept thinking the poor woman giving the test must have been annoyed
diane - it took about 45 minutes i think
Kim/1/Ca - I wrote 16 books on the bag.........and he brought them all back! Then his sister comes in yesterday! "You got books?" She asks, all hopeful.........it was soooo cute.
Alta Rose - My friend said the instructor told them that there is a teacher in BC being sued because she taught this person's son Whole Language in kindergarden!
diane - aww kim, that's a sweet story
Michelle - oh, how sweet! how old was the sister?
brad - Hey, Kim, you should run off the raz books for them
diane - what are raz books?
brad - reading a to z, it's a website with books to run off
Kim/1/Ca - They are reading chapter books now (the twin sisters). Hugo reads around a grade 1....quite good.
brad - there are some for free, but you have to join to get the whole library
Kim/1/Ca - Becky ran off the whole thing and had it in a binder. Looked good.
Alta Rose - My friend who teaches resource room loves the a-z site.
diane - google search for reading a to z?
brad - I love them. Some are better than others, but a good deal of nonfiction. My kids love them.
Alta Rose - I think the Reading Lady's site has a link to it, diane.
brad - I think it's readingatoz.com
Alta Rose - Could be wrong, though.
Kim/1/Ca - I will check it out, brad..........
Michelle - how much does it cost to join?
diane - thanks...it sounds good for my new little one
brad - For me it was 29.95, but now I think it's 39.95
brad - but there are already over 200 books on the site; they all come with lesson plans/worksheets, and they add about 10 each month from K to 5
brad - They're leveled and there are decodables and then there are some for introducing letter sounds.
brad - Well worth the money
Michelle - hmmm....sounds worth checking out.
Alta Rose - They're also great to stick in a sub file, as like brad says the lesson plans are all there.
Michelle - a bit skeptical about books without binding. doesn't feel the same.
Kim/1/Ca - This I better check out, then.........!
brad - You 'll do your own printing and binding
brad - I bought a heavy duty stapler and I use the combs to do the longer books
Michelle - are they books like they sell in the bookstore, or different?
brad - Real simple to assemble though, just folding and one cut
brad - books esp for website. some are better than others
diane - sadly we are pretty much out of paper at our school...
Alta Rose - Out of paper?
brad - that could be a problem, diane. (why is paper so preciious? it's a school for crying out loud. Paper precious here too)
Michelle - can't buy any more for the year.
Michelle - and only halfway through the year. that's rough.
diane - yep...truly out of paper...
Kim/1/Ca - pssst.......i have paper.
Alta Rose - So, if you run out you have to buy your own?
Michelle - in your pendaflex folders, kim?
diane - don't be a paper tease, kim
Kim/1/Ca - you come over to my house.....i put some in your trunk. come at night.
Michelle - yeah, have to buy your own, if you want it badly enough.
brad - I haven't told anyone, but I received my box for the first semester, then I had some left over from last year. Plus when I changed rooms, they delivered me a new box AND I found some left behind in the closet. I haven't said a WORD
Kim/1/Ca - slink down in the seat when you drive up. flash lights once. drive around the block and then back in when the coast is clear.
brad - And I saw our second semester delivery in the hall yesterday
Michelle - lol, kim....planning my next trip to CA now.
Alta Rose - LOL, Kim!
Kim/1/Ca - did any FALL off the cart, brad?
brad - too heavy to fall off. LOL
brad - But we won't talk about how I stole the actual cart LOLOLOLOL
Kim/1/Ca - you have to MAKE IT FALL brad........what........are you dense?
diane - michelle, i'll pick you up on the way down i-5
Kim/1/Ca - You hafta move quickly. Like lightning.
brad - Exactly! Its too heavy to move like lightning
Michelle - we don't get our own paper here. I'm starting to think we should because some teachers are running copies like crazy.
Kim/1/Ca - then you sneak it into your room. stash under desk and camoflauge with cleaning supplies.
diane - michelle, that's our issue...i don't use a whole lot of the copy paper
Michelle - I don't make many copies....but I want the paper to be there when I do!
Alta Rose - Same with us. We just help ourselves in the workroom when we need it.
diane - i did run off a whole bunch of practice tests for the state test, though...that seemed like a colassal waste, on so many levels
brad - They went around the first week of school looking for that cart. "What?" "That cart? Oh, I've had that since last year for my overhead."
Kim/1/Ca - You BAD, Mr. J.
brad - Transparencies for that dianae
Kim/1/Ca - (I love it!)
Michelle - our district bought the workbooks for Investigations so we don't have to make the copies. That's the only thing I really need often.
brad - Oh, that's good Michelle, I ran off a lot of copies for that last year
Kim/1/Ca - But I LIKE it! I like it!
diane - i wanted the kids to practice bubbles
Kim/1/Ca - A whole cart.
brad - Just tell them to work up the spit and blow, diane
Alta Rose - LOL!
diane - lol, brad
Michelle - I was waiting for that, brad.
brad - I also pirated a computer but I was busted and the principal just told me, keep it now
Kim/1/Ca - Good one..........I wish somebody would pirate the dinosaur in my classroom. What a waste of space. Slower than weight loss.
brad - That's why I took that one, Kim. I traded my dinosaur
Alta Rose - Can't you get rid of it, Kim?
diane - i've gotta go guys
Michelle - me too, kim. I've asked several times for my three clunkers to be removed. They just take up space.
Alta Rose - (((((Take Care, diane.)))))
brad - And did I mention how I rolled that table in the corner down from the workroom one day? No one needed that, right?
Michelle - bye, diane.
brad - nite d take care
Kim/1/Ca - No.......it is hooked up to the network so I can get eMail. but no printer, no internet that I can find........I get whole tasks done waiting for it to load my eMail.
Alta Rose - Brad, what a klepto!! LOL!!
diane - night all
Kim/1/Ca - hee hee hee hee hee....a whole table?
brad - And that old reading series? Where'd that come from?
Michelle - a friend and I got ourselves into the storage room (forbidden by order of the custodial staff)...found lots of good stuff, including the staffroom microwave the custodians took for themselves!
brad - scandale michelle!! we could use a 2nd mike in the lounge
Kim/1/Ca - I lifted a bunch of books that just SAT there and NOBODY ever borrowed them. EVER. But then the Resource Nazi gave birth to a bovine. We all got a MEMO.
Michelle - oh no, not a MEMO. lol
Kim/1/Ca - I had to SNEAK them back in under cover of darkness. Hee hee hee...........
brad - I've been shocked everytime, Kim. We get memos for other pirating all the time. But I've only been caught with computer.
Kim/1/Ca - Good one, michelle.......
brad - I guess I am FAVORED. LOL
Michelle - someone stole my stool when I had a sub.
Kim/1/Ca - who knows........there were class sets. Her COW wasn't over the borrowing.....it was over the borrowing if you weren't from that GRADE LEVEL.
Michelle - no one fessed up when I sent an email.
Kim/1/Ca - Heaven forbid you should let kids read books NOT ON GRADE LEVEL.
Michelle - there were a few "sightings" though.
Alta Rose - Oh, Heaven Forbid, Kim!
brad - No one has ever asked about all those extra chairs in the corner either. LOL, they went around for those the second week of school
brad - LOL, michelle's elvis stool
Kim/1/Ca - I think you need to do one of those milk carton thingies, Michelle.........put a picture of the stool on a milk carton.
Michelle - someday I will get a new stool, with my name on it real big.
Alta Rose - LOL, Kim!
brad - I keep my eye out, and if no one's used it within two weeks, BAM, it's in my room
brad - I might have your stool
Michelle - you must have a fairly large room, brad.
Kim/1/Ca - Hey Michelle........psst. I just got a mysterious eMail from somebody who says they know you. From your district.
Michelle - I have a large room, but I still like to get rid of things.
Kim/1/Ca - It has a picture.....wait.. it is uploading.
Michelle - are you serious, kim?
brad - this is assuming I even want it. Those grammar books. Shoot, they still sit in the corner
Kim/1/Ca - OH NO! It is your STOOL. Bound and gagged! Duct tape!
Michelle - no, you are not.
Michelle - I'm a little slow.
Michelle - duhhh
Kim/1/Ca - Newspaper letter words........hard to read...........
Alta Rose - LOLOLOLOL!!!!
Alta Rose - What's it saying, Kim?
Michelle - hmm...if it were magazine style letters, you could figure out what magazines and I might know the culprit.
brad - They come around, "do you have enough english books?" "Um, yeah, thanks, I'm all set."
Kim/1/Ca - SeNd $500.00 sMaLL bILLs IF yOu wANt tO sEe yoUr stOOl aGAin.
brad - LovE bRAd
Michelle - it's starting to sound like confiscated biological samples from Kaiser. No thanks.
brad - signing a ransom letter. . . . doh!
Kim/1/Ca - DoNt CaLL pOliCe. StOOl wIll bE dEleGGed!
Alta Rose - That's like the bank robber who used one of his cheques to write the "It's a Hold Up" note, brad!
Michelle - I'll trade all my spare Scholastic book orders for it. I've got to have $500 worth of paper to recycle with all those things.
brad - NOthing like a paraplegic stool
Kim/1/Ca - Yeah.....with a little crutch.
Michelle - and I'll through in all my educational resource catalogs.
Kim/1/Ca - A special needs stool. A teaching tool.
Michelle - actually...maybe I can make a new stool out of all that.
brad - Oh, I'm telling ya', I hear ya' michelle. I just threw away scads of those today. I get them addressed a hundred different ways
Michelle - it should stack high enough.
Michelle - throw, not through
brad - I want to write back to catalogue companies, "School gives NO money. Return to sender."
Michelle - must be tired.
Kim/1/Ca - Reminds me of that old Gary Larson Far Side cartoon........the one with the retired frog farm? Next door to the French restaurant? and the all frogs all have crutches and protheses?
Michelle - oh yeah, I remember that one.
brad - yes, I must go
Michelle - it was nice to know that the frogs survived.
Alta Rose - 'Night, brad.
Kim/1/Ca - Yes........good night to all! ((smooches)) very tired.
Michelle - early basketball game tomorrow, then a Cub Scout thing all day after. It is late.
Michelle - see you in a couple weeks.
Alta Rose - Goodnight, everybody! Our Cubs are skiing tomorrow, michelle!
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