the "first" week back
We are gladly back in school after missing 9 school days! I missed 10 days actually because I had plans to go up to Boston to shop for a wedding dress. We were supposed to (as in before the hurricane) not have school on Nov. 8-9 for the teacher convention in Atlantic City, which was damaged during the storm. Because of the devastation of Sandy, the convention was cancelled and schools were in session. Since we had already made the hotel reservation and I booked an appointment at this bridal boutique, we went up anyway and I took the day off. So on Monday, it was my first time seeing the kids in 2 full weeks. Also, the week before the hurricane our district had half days for parent-teacher conferences. Having not seen the kids for full days/at all in a while, it was like the first week all over again! Some of the classes surprised me with how well they behaved - maybe it was that surprise and excitement factor that had them behaving so well in the first couple classes? For other classes, they were more out of control. The kindergarteners were the ones I thought I'd have problems with, but it was actually one first grade that was the most shockingly annoying.
the best laid plans, yadda yadda
I had a wonderful plan to do a fun composition on the Smart Board as a big summative assessment for steady beat, high and low (sol and mi really but we just call it high and low right now), and showing contour. This was supposed to happen after we did all of our spooky songs for Halloween, but then we didn't have school so I shifted things around. It's all about being flexible. Now I have to come up with another summative assessment project but that will be a good way to end out the calendar year. I don't give out grades for my students every marking period - just 2nd and 4th. It gives me time to be able to set a good foundation, get to know them, and give a more complete and accurate grade for each student.
halloween
I wasn't planning on doing a lot of baltantly-Halloween-themed songs; the only song I did that said the word Halloween was a cute little ditty called "What Will You be for Halloween". I added in between repetitions a place for the kids to come up and sing to the class what they were going to be using sol and mi. One little kindergartener came up when it was his turn to sing to the class and said that he doesn't celebrate Halloween. I did not anticipate this, especially because I had done this song with 6 other classes before theirs. This boy handled it like a champ, though. I asked him if he would sing the name of his favorite cartoon character and he smiled and sang "Spiderman". I was very proud of his reaction! He didn't melt down or make a scene. A few days later when I was leaving the building, he yelled my name and waved with a big smile (he's a huge fan of mine, nbd). His mother walked over and said very nicely how her son told her that we did a Halloween song. She wanted me to know that her family does not celebrate Halloween and to not require her son to sing those songs. I let her know that her son handled it so well and how this was going to be the only song we did specifically about Halloween. I assured her that her little boy was a wonderful student and acted very maturely in a situation that could have been iffy. That made her smile and helped comfort her fears. I have to make sure before I do any winter songs that there are no other issues, but this kid is a joy!
November has flown by. Next time I post, I'm sure it'll be about my favorite turkey tunes!
Happy Thanksgiving in advance in case my next post doesn't occur before the day of turkeys.
Today is the seventh school day that my district has been out due to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. I think everyone knew that this "superstorm" had the potential to bring heavy damage to our state and the eastern seaboard in general, but it's really overwhelming to see exactly what the storm brought. In these difficult times, I think about my students and how they're coping. My kindergarteners and first graders are young and probably don't fully understand what happened, but children can pick up on stress in the home and can understand from the tone of voice of the adults around them that something is wrong. A lot of the district where I teach is still out of power. The lasting damages of Sandy in my area were caused by all of the trees that fell. I took a walk around my town on Wednesday (the storm made landfall on Monday night) and there were 100something year old trees that just uprooted. There wasn't as much rain with this storm as there was with Hurricane Irene but the intense winds were what damaged these old, amazing trees. A large portion of my district is still without power. It's a very sad situation because it's getting to be pretty cold at night - last night went down below 30 - and without heat it's obviously not easy to be comfortable.
My finance's parents have a house down the shore on one of the barrier islands. The ocean and the bay met on every barrier island (meaning the whole island had water on the ground at a point during the storm). Check out these before and after interactive photos. The one of Mantoloking is really breathtaking. Look closely and you'll see that there is a new inlet between the bay and the Atlantic there that wasn't there before. I've driven down those roads that no longer exist hundreds of times. We haven't been able to get down to the beach house to look at any possible damages because there is sand all over the roads, sinkholes in the towns, no power on the island, and houses in the middle of the roads. The town is slowly letting citizens back to the island, starting by bussing in 90 full-time residents and eventually letting everyone back to check their homes, recover what they can, and winterize the homes since there is no heat. I am cautiously looking forward to when we are allowed to go back to the house because it means that we can start to recover. We are so happy that the house is still there because it could have been so much worse. In the next town over, Ortley Beach, is being called the "ground zero" for damage in this area. All of these interactive photos are from the island where the house is.
Despite the difficulties that the shore is facing, we all must be thankful for certain things. NJ is a strong and resilient state. The cleanup and rebuilding have begun already and people have been donating their time and energy to help others. One of the most inspiring things that happened after the storm was a small gesture by a church down the shore. My cousin Amanda got married the Saturday after the storm hit. Her house, the church, and the reception hall were all without power. I was the cantor for the mass and used everything I ever learned about breath support to make sure people could hear me! But more importantly, the ceremony was beautiful. It was a little chilly...but absolutely beautiful. The reception had to be postponed to next year and we were expecting to go to the church hall for cake (not the real wedding cake but a sheet cake), but when we all walked in, there were appetizers, drinks, hot food, a dessert table, and a someone with battery-powered iPod speakers. It was a complete surprise to everyone. It made the day even more special. Those small gestures are something that will get everyone through the tough times.
I look forward to seeing my students again and pray that they will recover from this disaster.
