"Let's hear it for the boy . . . "

Our good friend and my colleague Kyle McClure was honored as Monrovia Teacher of the Year this year.  And then he went on to become Los Angeles County Teacher of the Year.  And recently he was named as a finalist for California State Teacher of the Year!

This week he was honored at an open house in his home and later the Monrovia School Board honored him at a board meeting.

Kyle is a great teacher.  I have watched him in action, and he has all the right moves!!

And he has a lovely wife and three beautiful daughters!!

We are proud of you Kyle - and glad to call you friend!

The "Extra" Clifton Mile!!

There has been a  new award going around Clifton with the addition of a new principal last year - at the monthly faculty meeting, an award is given for "going the extra mile."  Then at the next meeting, the award is passed on - each recipient selects the next recipient.

Last May I received the award and today I passed it on - to Marcie Hoopes!

It is nice indeed to be recognized.  The new school year - all three days of it - has been pretty smooth.  The kids seem pretty well-behaved.  It could be a "honeymoon period" but it's been my experience that trouble-makers usually show their stuff almost immediately.

Let's hope that's still true.

And let's hope that a cooling trend materializes soon!!

Clifton news -

These two women have been manning the cafeteria at Clifton since 1986. So that would mean that at least Phoebe, Eliza, Hannah and Noah might recognize them. I'm not really sure how often any of you went to the cafeteria.

The woman on the left is Susan, the cafeteria manager. The woman on the right is Helen, her assistant. She was at work on Friday as always, pleasant and cheerful. And then this morning, when I returned from our 4 day weekend, I heard the news that over the weekend Helen had died! (She had a gall bladder attack that lead to a heart attack. A subsequent heart attack was the cause of death.)

Sudden death strikes hard at most of us. Mario, the custodian, and I were talking about it. He rather wisely said, "I guess you just have to treat everyone real well all the time - in case you don't ever get to see them again."

Life changes, life goes on. We recently had a 6th grade student get hit by a car crossing Huntington Drive near the district offices. She was seriously injured, but she seems to be improving. However, some of the staff members commented that since bad news comes in threes, they are all feeling a little spooked.

I think I will look both ways - and try to treat everyone real well!

"Time to say good-bye . . ."

One of the first things I noticed about teaching, when I was employed full-time, is that from year to year, nothing stays the same - ever. I don't recall being aware of that so much when I was a student myself. We left when summer began, came back in the fall, and though some things had changed, the sameness was being back in school. The rest seemed like details.

Things are really changing at Clifton these days - for starters, there were a slew of pink slips and job eliminations. One of them was Jan Marlia's job. Since she has seniority, she will still have a job, just not a job at Clifton. Sharon Socha has been back and forth at Clifton; she seems to get a new assignment every time I turn around.

But the big surprise today was Anna May's announcement that she is retiring!! I just can't imagine the main office without Anna May. Harry didn't seem to share my sorrow. I guess he doesn't really realize how often she has rescued me, consoled me, befriended me, assisted me, and generally been a wonderful friend and co-worker!

The "Girls of '45" are now down to Sandee Gray and me. And her job was cut down to 3.75 hours per day.

Nothing so constant as change. But that doesn't mean I have to like it!!

A day in the life . . .

Today was Bailey's last day of student teaching - and her birthday!!

It seemed to be the perfect reason to have a party!!

We "partied" all day long!! (Actually, we just had a little celebration for each class throughout the day, so it 's not quite so decadent as it sounds!)

I gave all the students note cards and instructed them to write a note to Ms. Porter telling her the one thing they will remember most about their experience having her as their teacher for the last 10 weeks.

One rather short boy wrote "I will remender that you are the tallest teacher I ever had!"

Another boy wrote, "You are a very nice and kind teacher. Not that Mrs. Terrill isn't."

Bailey did an outstanding job - I will miss her - and the students will miss her too. It has been a growing experience for both of us.

It's good to know that we are always learning!

(And yes, the box contained an apron I made her. Two boys said to Bailey, "Did Mrs. Terrill make that?" When she said yes, one said, "But it looks like what you buy in a store.")

Funny how looking "store bought" is a compliment!!

And the plate had pumpkin bread - a big hit. I never cease to be amazed at how hardly anyone doesn't like pumpkin bread!

What we do on Tuesdays around here

Well, one thing we do on Tuesdays around here is get together with the Girls of '45 and go to dinner - and chat up a storm!! The four of us all work or worked at Clifton - other than that we don't have lots in common - but we were all born in 1945 - and that alone seems to keep us with plenty to talk about. There is something about being with your peers!!

This Tuesday afternoon, I had a little after school workshop for those students of mine in the Science class where I am a collaborative teacher with the general ed teacher. They have a project due on Friday - a Newton Scooter - a vehicle that has to travel 1.5 meters - and has to be self-propelled - thus demonstrating Newton's Third Law. (If you google Newton Scooter, you will see some interesting little contests mostly at middle schools across the country.)

I found directions for a "mini car" that used a playing card, wheels from an old toy car, balloons, straws and duct tape - I got some "hot pink" duct tape - a big hit!

After some trial and error, we got two of them to "qualify" - that is, they went in a straight line for 1.5 meters. George and Hailey were having a fine time - it was kind of fun to hear their laughter and excitement. I used to groan when my kids had science projects - I'm sorry now I was such a sourpuss about them!

I'll let you know how it goes on Friday.