Standardized Testing

This week will begin the first in a series of tests that our students will take for standardized testing. My fourth graders will be taking the writing portion, while the third and fifth graders will all take the reading portion. Our students did amazingly well last year, and we received the status of recognized. This year they have been pushed to achieve the highest standard of exemplary.

I hope each year that the stress is not to much for them. I try to make it as positive as possible, and reinforce the fact that they have learned all they need to know, and that they are just getting a chance to show off those big brains. So please pray for all our students in Texas on Tuesday. They have had many lessons, tests, and pep rallies to get them ready. Pray for stress relief for the students and the teachers, and fresh well rested minds for our children.

Since I have been placed back in the regular classroom to try and get a group of students ready for the test, I am more worried and anxious than I have ever been for a testing season. Please pray that I will be able to sleep between now and Tuesday. I know there is nothing I can do at this point, but I just hope they can and will show just how smart they are. I also hope their families do not have crazy events happen so they are not bothered by outside circumstances during this time.

Mothers

I was reading about Momma Pugs new nephew on her sister's blog and it made me think about how and who you choose to model yourself after. There have been many people who have passed in and out of my life, and quite a few of them have had a lasting effect on me. Grandma and Grandpa Pug (MP's parents) were one of those sets of parents. They were always supportive of their girls no matter what their goals were, and they were even willing to be nice and help take care of their kids annoying friends--(me)-- which says a lot to me. As Madgette has grown older, I have thought many times on their tolerance for annoying little girls and have tried to be as patient with Madgette's friends.

Another person who definitely needs to be recognized is our old high school band director. He and his wife while a little odd, were amazing people who cared about kids. We all know high school kids can be a pain. They knew this and still cared about us. There are several phrases that I still use that came from him. For example, 10 pounds of sausage in a 5 pound bag.
He was there when I lost my favorite great aunt in the whole wide world, when I went through quite a defiant stage, and when I totalled my truck- just to mention a few.

There are so many others that I should mention like P.J., R.Y, B.H., C.C., and J.C. all from MUMC. They showed me how life should\could be lived in the joy of the Lord. Many of those homes were open to me as I made life changing decisions. I would never made it out of High School without the people I have mentioned and several more. I guess I should probably sit down and write a few letters and tell people how much I appreciate them and what a profound effect they have had on my life...

BARNES AND NOBLES SUCKS!!!

UPDATE: I returned the less expensive book since I still had the receipt for it. However, I will stick to my word. I will NEVER spend even one penny in ANY Barnes and Nobles for the rest of my life!

ORIGNAL POST: I am highly pissed right now. It is a rather rare occurance these days that something can truly get my dander up, but boy they have! I went in about 2 weeks ago to purchase several books for my principal certification courses and was disappointed to find out that they only carried ONE of the eight books I needed. As we went out to search for the one book, we came up fruitless. One of the employees was able to locate it in the back book room. It had been entered in the system but not placed on the floor. She went and got it, and it had not even been removed from the shrink wrap. As I went to purchase my book, I decided to renew my membership for another year. This added another $25 to my total for the day.

I was lucky enough to find another copy of the book for half the cost at another store. Today I went to go return my brand new shrink wrapped book and I was told NO. I had misplaced my receipt so there was nothing they could do for me. --Now let's think about this for one moment. They have a database of my information that they tap into each and every time I make a purchase! They cannot pull up my data, and give me my money back?

Someone in charge was called to deal with me since I was not accepting what the poor guy at the cashier stand was telling me. She continued to tell me that there was nothing she could do. That was store policy. However, she could make an EXCEPTION for me and give me a store credit! An EXCEPTION!!! They will give me a special allowance of a store credit. I told her I did not want a store credit- I wanted my money back. She said the only one who could authorize that was the store manager. Of course, I asked for the store manager. He was on vacation (imagine that) and no one in the whole store knew how to get ahold of him. NO ONE!

I told her that the entire policy was a bunch of crap. (Keep in mind that this was the strongest language I used-- Madgette was with me) She had the nerve to ask me to watch my language! I said, "Excuse me?" because I was sure that was not what she said. She repeated herself and told me that they had children in the store. Then my smartass side started to show up. I told her that I had a child of my own, and that I had not used any bad words. Of course, if she needed me to, I definitely could. I also asked her if she needed to call security- to go ahead. This was the most ridiculous policy on the planet- especially when people are paying them for a member ship! They are one of the largest bookselling chains in the country, and they treat their customers this way! I told her I wanted to be completely removed from their system. I was a loyal customer before, and had spent several hundred dollars there in books for my classroom, but they would never see another penny of money from me or anyone I know.

So I implore each and every one of you-- do not shop at Barnes and Nobles! Shop at your local mom and pop bookstore, or visit http://www.amazon.com/, but do not shop at Barnes and Nobles---- they SUCK!!!

...and a half

UPDATE:

We met with Madgette's teachers this afternoon. We all agreed that she should have not put her hands on another student. However, I am still of the firm belief that she was provoked. My little girl would not attack another human being. In all the privacy laws, they weren't able to tell us much but they will be moving the girls apart from each other. They will also be keeping a close eye on BB to make sure she doesn't push another child's buttons. As an after thought, I guess I should just be happy Madgette didn't use any Tae-kwon-do moves on her!

Original Post:

Today has been a traumatic day for Madgette. She has been in the school environment since she was 2. The only behavior color she has ever gotten has been green which is the best color you can get. She has never, I repeat never, gotten in trouble at school. Today was a different story. For the last 2-3 months she has been coming home telling us about a certain little girl who is in her class. For the purposes of this story let's call her betty bully (BB). Well, BB has had quite a few run-ins with the law (the teachers and administrators).
BB has spent several days this year in "in-school suspension" because of various crimes committed to other students and to her teacher. BB seems to have no motivation to behave like a regular law abiding citizen. Today, Madgette was assigned the glorious position of caboose for her class when they are moving about the building. If you know me very well, you know that I love to have a title--anything will do-- and when I get that title, I take my position very seriously. Obviously, my daughter has the same affliction.
BB waited for the teacher to get out of sight when the class turned the corner, then made her move. She attempted to take over the position of caboose. Oh boy, that did not go over well with Madgette. They took several turns going to be last position in the line, then Madgette finally reached her breaking point. Months of being teased and bullied all came to a head. Madgette shoved the other little girl and told her to get out of her spot. A shoving match ensued, and the other little girl pulled Madison's pinky (which Madgette had surgury on at the age of 2).
Needless to say, Madgette came home with her very first red frowny face. We are attempting to schedule a parent teacher conference for tomorrow. We will see how this all turns out.

Want to know what my dad, the former elementary principal asked her? "Madgette, did you win? If your gonna fight at school, you at least better win!"

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

As I am sure the pictures illustrate, we all had a wonderful time at the TCEA convention. This was my first time to attend, and we made the most of it. Our keynote speaker for the opening session was Lisa Ling. She was an amazing speaker who made me smile, laugh, and cry at some point through her presentation. We were all able to attend some very educational sessions to gather information we can take back to our campuses. The best part of the whole convention had to have been the exhibit hall. It was huge! Most of the latest and greatest school technology was there on display. It is amazing to see what has been developed to try and help kids in their classrooms.

I found what I wanted to for my birthday present, and before the conference was over I went back and bought it. It is a D-Note Digital Note Recorder. It is amazing! I also like the fact that they are giving me the interactive whiteboard software with it. I can't wait until Monday when I can break it out in my classroom.

As much as we enjoyed our time in Austin, we were very glad to be able to come home. We made tracks getting back to Houston so we could be there in time to pick Madge up from school. We were all happy to see each other, and the we picked up Julie. Our friend Tree had let Julie stay with her- thanks Tree! When we got home we dug through all the free stuff I had collected and just hung out.

Tomorrow the Razorback has his first team meeting for his/Madgette's softball team. He has a couple of folks coming by the house to look at the Camaro, then Madgette's children's choir will sing in both services on Sunday. So we are looking forward to a fun filled, fast paced family weekend. I hope all your weekends go just as well!

The City of Happy Hour

Well, this week The Razorback and I are in Austin which I have decided is the city of Happy hour. I have been here for 2 days, and my colleaugues and I have been able to hit a happy hour for dinner every night. Last night we went to a really cool Jazz bar, where they had very expensive food and at half price it was reasonable. The other ladies and gents had some cocktails but I just went with a water. Tonight we went to another restaurant near the convention center called the "Moonshine Patio Bar and Grill" where we sat outside around the fire and had a wonderful meal. We all ordered different appetizers and stuffed ourselves. Did I mention it was also happy hour there? All the appetizers were half price, and some drink were also. We had some wonderful spinach and artichoke fondue, fried asparagus, brick oven pizza, homemade chips, and "corn dog" shrimp. We have decided that if we just go to a different happy hour each night, we will actually be able to stay within our food budget this week. Isn't that wonderful?

However, this week has already reminded me of how perky and annoying I can be. Some of these people are so blah, and grumpy in the mornings. Some are that way all day long. What joy can you get out of life if you never get excited about anything? I am looking forward to each and every day that I will be here. Tomorrow the exhibit hall will open with all the vendors- that is one of the absolute best parts! Free stuff, plus you get to see all the cool new stuff that is out on the market for the technology departments. Woo-hoo!

Anyway, guess I should get off here and pick out my classes for tomorrow!