Making me smile

On Monday I got home from work and Adam and Mark were loading bikes onto the bike rack.  Adam recently bought me a pretty new bike.

We went for a little bike ride in the sunny cool evening and it was sublime.

We haven't had time to go again all week, but hope springs eternal.

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Mark stayed after school the other day to help clear out the stage and auditorium because there was going to be a school assembly.

Me:  They have those in the auditorium?

Mark:  Yep

Me:  But the students don't all fit in there.

Mark:  Not even half of the students fit in there.

Me:  Well who goes to them?

Mark:  People who don't have cars.

Me:  What are the assemblies like?

Mark:  I don't know.  I have a car.

Me:  During Homecoming week, they had a pep rally and they had it in Valhalla because they thought more students would go to that.  (Valhalla is the big gym.)

I don't know.  It kind of cracked me up.  Our tax dollars at work.  They have assemblies and they know full well that most of the students will leave.  They have a facility that will hold all the students (the gym) but they don't use it.

Maybe if your assemblies are so pathetic that you know everyone is going to leave, don't have assemblies?  Keep them in class?

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Yesterday my students were researching monuments and landmarks for a social studies project.  They are all in and super excited!  One girl, from Peru, wanted to research Maccu Picchu because she's been there.  One girl, whose mother is Guatemalan, wanted to research a Mayan temple in Guatemala because she's been there.  Pretty awesome.  And they correct my pronunciation in very gentle ways which I appreciate.

Two girls wanted to research the Eiffel Tower.  They excitedly told me and one said, "I want to go to Paris someday.  It is my dream."

I told them about another little girl who had the same dream at the same age.  She worked two jobs and saved all her money and she is there right now.

The girl said, "Your daughter earned all the money?"

Yes, she did.

Coincidentally, the same little girl who is in France sent me a photo of her ID this morning because she was so happy to finally get it. It will give her steep discounts in the cafeteria.  (It took a lot of talking to different people to get it accomplished because her supervisor seems kind of checked out.)

All kinds of proud of this girl.

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I got to do family history with Marie Louise last night.  It feels like an oasis in my life.

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My students were making comics in writing (practicing beginning, middle and end).  One student turned this in and it delighted me.

I vaguely remember her asking me one day what my first name was.  I love how she captured the banners in our room and I think she made my hair look better than it usually does.

And now to rest.