Thursday....Thursday...

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... On my way to work today I had an exciting moment.... some of the construction on my work route has been finished....and my detour is GONE... Yayyyy......yayayayayyayyayyaaayyaay.... I am happy.... The next happy part of my day was at the meeting I had this morning. One of my bosses was at the meeting... and while I have a lot of respect for her, she can be hard to read. I was worried about the meeting this morning because it was a meeting that would decide whether or not one of my current students would still qualify to receive special education services or not... this was a complicated case... I won't go into the details..but knowing my boss as I do, I thought she may be looking for a way to NOT have this kid qualify... he NEEDS services...regardless of what label we give him.. he needs help and support... and he is just starting to come around after many transitions.... So... I had tried to plan something that would make my boss happy...something that may impress her so that she would be thinking about other things before the meeting started besides ways to dismiss this kid from services... So... I had created individual portfolios for each person who was to attend the meeting. In the portfolio I had an agenda, one that encompassed some things that the student enjoys...I had dividers that had pockets on them...and had strategically placed the various reports, graphs, grades, etc. in different pockets, in a sequential order based on how the meeting would go... I had dome something similar in the past, but used post it notes to create tabs to which I could refer parents as we were reviewing information. This method, today, was much better and efficient. Well... my trick worked...she ooooed and ahhhhhed appropriately and even complimented me...which this woman is known for NOT doing, especially at one of these kinds of meetings. So I scored some points with her, which may help in my hopes of getting a new position next year.... but more importantly I helped create a positive environment for the meeting. And....... it worked!!! Well, I would like to think that the outcome of the meeting today would have been the same with or without the portfolios (glorified binders really) but... I do think it helped... and this kid WILL get services...that he needs... I was happy. I talked to the kid about it later in the day and he was relieved too... he is not the most animated of kids, but he is a good kid...with a great heart...who has dealt with a lot in his life...and most importantly.... will, I believe, let me help him... YAY! I LOVE that.

The rest of the school day was a little hectic. The kids are getting that vacation itch...as tomorrow is their last day before Turkey Day break...(teachers have to go to 2 inservice days next week.) After school I had a meeting for sign ups for my track team. There were some key athletes missing and I am going to try to see if I can do some recruiting. It was great to see some of those kids... kids I have coached since they were in sixth or seventh grade...now seniors... how cool is that? A couple of the girls, sophomores, are awesome. Not only are they amazing atheletes, but they are steller people...with awesome character. They were happy to see me and that felt great.

the down side of my day was not going to the gym. My knees are both feeling stiff today... maybe it is the weather? So I am a slacker... Plus... I had to get oil...heating oil... so... that I don't run out... gotta love paying out the behind for that.

Today I got an email from a woman in NY... she got good news form her doctor about her PVNS... it is not cancer!! YAY! I can sooooooooooooo relate to that feeling of relief... I have a lot to write to you my friend....and will....but probably not until tomorrow..just know that I am happy for you...and really enjoy our communications.

That's all for today my friends. I am trying to formulate my plans for Turkey Day... I will be spending time with my family and am looking forward to it. I am just trying to figure out when I want to head up there, and when I want to return.

Oh... GREAT news about my cousin... I think he is being released from the hospital tomorrow!!! How amazing is that?! He has a long road ahead still, but he has done amazingly well.