Friday, October 31, 2003
The In-Service
This week, we had our first professional development day during the school year. In the last 4 years that I have been at ACS, there was never a day alloted for prof dev. This changed this year. Unfortunately, the PD day coincided with the end of the quarter, i.e., grades and comments needed for report cards. Due to this, I had a slightly negative view to taking a day for PD. The good part was that the Action Planning committee would only be in the morning and Fred Schafer's Six Traits workshop, to which I was looking forward, was in the afternoon.
Please bear in mind that it is Ramadan. Although the school tries to compensate, they just don't "get" how tiring the day is.
Anyway, the in-service was commencing at 8:15 am (due to the administration recognizing that the hours had been shortened during Ramadan--thanks to Allah and them) in the auditorium. I know that the auditorium is cold, but I forgot to multiply that cold by the fasting factor and raising it to the power of watching others drink hot liquids, which helped to warm them. Having arrived early, I went back to my room to get my fleece blanket, which I had brought to school to use in case I wanted to nap on my couch during the day. With it wrapped around me, I slowly got warm. Sandy Robinson, the accreditation facilitator, passed out some information. I cautiously put my hand out into the frigid air, accepted the material with a smile and thank you, and placed it in my ever-present backpack, as there was NO WAY that I was going to read that by exposing my hands to the arctic conditions.
Soon, George, the Superintendent, gave us the low-down on what we would be doing in our small groups. One thing that I really appreciate about George, and have told him, is that he keeps the whole group thing short. It is difficult to daydream when the time is so short, lol! George mentioned that each group would need a scribe, someone taking notes. I vowed to undertake that position because I know that by taking notes, I am forced to pay attention.
We broke into groups. Each group contained teachers from each of the schools, parents, and high school students. Our group also contained all 3 counselors because of our objective. Jen and Greta were our facilitators and when they asked for a scribe, I volunteered and mistakenly said that it would keep me awake. Although everyone laughed, that wasn't what I had meant. I had meant to say that it would keep me involved. Strike that one up to frozen gray matter.
Our group retreated to Ashley's art room, on the lower level. We wrote down the strengths and weaknesses of how we were currently meeting our objective.
I'll write more later. Must go and do grades and algebra notes.
This week, we had our first professional development day during the school year. In the last 4 years that I have been at ACS, there was never a day alloted for prof dev. This changed this year. Unfortunately, the PD day coincided with the end of the quarter, i.e., grades and comments needed for report cards. Due to this, I had a slightly negative view to taking a day for PD. The good part was that the Action Planning committee would only be in the morning and Fred Schafer's Six Traits workshop, to which I was looking forward, was in the afternoon.
Please bear in mind that it is Ramadan. Although the school tries to compensate, they just don't "get" how tiring the day is.
Anyway, the in-service was commencing at 8:15 am (due to the administration recognizing that the hours had been shortened during Ramadan--thanks to Allah and them) in the auditorium. I know that the auditorium is cold, but I forgot to multiply that cold by the fasting factor and raising it to the power of watching others drink hot liquids, which helped to warm them. Having arrived early, I went back to my room to get my fleece blanket, which I had brought to school to use in case I wanted to nap on my couch during the day. With it wrapped around me, I slowly got warm. Sandy Robinson, the accreditation facilitator, passed out some information. I cautiously put my hand out into the frigid air, accepted the material with a smile and thank you, and placed it in my ever-present backpack, as there was NO WAY that I was going to read that by exposing my hands to the arctic conditions.
Soon, George, the Superintendent, gave us the low-down on what we would be doing in our small groups. One thing that I really appreciate about George, and have told him, is that he keeps the whole group thing short. It is difficult to daydream when the time is so short, lol! George mentioned that each group would need a scribe, someone taking notes. I vowed to undertake that position because I know that by taking notes, I am forced to pay attention.
We broke into groups. Each group contained teachers from each of the schools, parents, and high school students. Our group also contained all 3 counselors because of our objective. Jen and Greta were our facilitators and when they asked for a scribe, I volunteered and mistakenly said that it would keep me awake. Although everyone laughed, that wasn't what I had meant. I had meant to say that it would keep me involved. Strike that one up to frozen gray matter.
Our group retreated to Ashley's art room, on the lower level. We wrote down the strengths and weaknesses of how we were currently meeting our objective.
I'll write more later. Must go and do grades and algebra notes.
Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Assigning Seats
I can't believe that a thing as simple as assigning seats has helped keep the focus of the eighth grade classes on the lesson instead of social matters. Why didn't I do this since the beginning of the year? My classes are only 40 minutes long so I feel that most (not all) students can make it through the period without resorting to their nomadic roots. First, by having assigned seats, I can have all of their papers distributed before they come in the room, which saves a lot of time. Plus, they know exactly where they should go.
Today is the second day of Ramadan. I haven't felt any adverse effects, except feeling a bit sleepy in the middle of the day. Now I feel a bit sleepy, but I will fight it or take a ten-minute power nap.
One of the topics on Middleweb right now is about posting homework a week in advance. I do this, but I am willing to change it, as the need occurs. In fact, I have been changing it quite a bit lately. The algebra classes are over a chapter behind the high school, but I feel that my students know the material better. I don't feel right if the pace is too fast for them. (Man, I cannot keep my eyes open, lol! I had better post this and try to say more later before I fall asleep at the keyboard.)
I can't believe that a thing as simple as assigning seats has helped keep the focus of the eighth grade classes on the lesson instead of social matters. Why didn't I do this since the beginning of the year? My classes are only 40 minutes long so I feel that most (not all) students can make it through the period without resorting to their nomadic roots. First, by having assigned seats, I can have all of their papers distributed before they come in the room, which saves a lot of time. Plus, they know exactly where they should go.
Today is the second day of Ramadan. I haven't felt any adverse effects, except feeling a bit sleepy in the middle of the day. Now I feel a bit sleepy, but I will fight it or take a ten-minute power nap.
One of the topics on Middleweb right now is about posting homework a week in advance. I do this, but I am willing to change it, as the need occurs. In fact, I have been changing it quite a bit lately. The algebra classes are over a chapter behind the high school, but I feel that my students know the material better. I don't feel right if the pace is too fast for them. (Man, I cannot keep my eyes open, lol! I had better post this and try to say more later before I fall asleep at the keyboard.)
Monday, October 27, 2003
Ramadan: Day 1
Today is the first day of Ramadan. I got up at 4:30 am to eat suhoor and then dressed for work. My intention was to leave immediately, but I sat in the majlis with my husband. The kitten curled up in my lap and I decided to wait until the dark had lifted. My eyes kept falling shut and I realized how difficult this month must be for kids who are fasting. My intention is to come early each day and leave relatively early (5 pm).
The best thing that I have done this year was assign seats to my last period algebra class. They have probably needed that since the beginning of the year, but at least I did it now. With success in this regard, I must do the same for the before lunch algebra class. This way, they will know exactly where they need to go upon arrival to my room. Organization, Sara, organization. That is a key to good teaching.
I'm happy to say that I have done an admirable job of managing the homework. I have this rack on top of my desk that Laurie (our securitary) was throwing out. It seems to really help me organize. Who would have thunk that a simple object would improve my teaching? Makes me wonder why I didn't do this earlier.
Today is the first day of Ramadan. I got up at 4:30 am to eat suhoor and then dressed for work. My intention was to leave immediately, but I sat in the majlis with my husband. The kitten curled up in my lap and I decided to wait until the dark had lifted. My eyes kept falling shut and I realized how difficult this month must be for kids who are fasting. My intention is to come early each day and leave relatively early (5 pm).
The best thing that I have done this year was assign seats to my last period algebra class. They have probably needed that since the beginning of the year, but at least I did it now. With success in this regard, I must do the same for the before lunch algebra class. This way, they will know exactly where they need to go upon arrival to my room. Organization, Sara, organization. That is a key to good teaching.
I'm happy to say that I have done an admirable job of managing the homework. I have this rack on top of my desk that Laurie (our securitary) was throwing out. It seems to really help me organize. Who would have thunk that a simple object would improve my teaching? Makes me wonder why I didn't do this earlier.
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
The End of Week Without Walls
The week is at an end and I have to admit that I am ready to return to normalcy, or as normal as middle school can be. It has been a fun week, but very tiring--and I didn't even go to Turkey! I figure that they will be exhausted since they arrive Friday morning at 4:00 am and need to be in school on Saturday morning. I'll give them a day off, with nothing new introduced, but on Sunday, it is back to normal. I can't afford to lose more days since we have 2 back-to-back four-day weeks, due to a professional development day and conference day. Not to mention that Ramadan should begin on October 27, which means that our classes are shortened by a couple of minutes. No big deal when I was teaching a block, but with classes at 40 minutes now, a reduction of 5 minutes will be felt.
Sigh. That is not a sigh of sadness, but of fatigue. I have planned out the next two weeks of lessons and do have them up on the website, but somehow, I feel behind. I had planned on accomplishing so much organization-wise, but it just didn't happen. At the last minute, I did get up my first challenge problem of the week. I didn't know that The Math Forum was no longer as free as it was. In order to search the library, one has to be a member. Wow! Everyone seems to be charging for their website now...
The week is at an end and I have to admit that I am ready to return to normalcy, or as normal as middle school can be. It has been a fun week, but very tiring--and I didn't even go to Turkey! I figure that they will be exhausted since they arrive Friday morning at 4:00 am and need to be in school on Saturday morning. I'll give them a day off, with nothing new introduced, but on Sunday, it is back to normal. I can't afford to lose more days since we have 2 back-to-back four-day weeks, due to a professional development day and conference day. Not to mention that Ramadan should begin on October 27, which means that our classes are shortened by a couple of minutes. No big deal when I was teaching a block, but with classes at 40 minutes now, a reduction of 5 minutes will be felt.
Sigh. That is not a sigh of sadness, but of fatigue. I have planned out the next two weeks of lessons and do have them up on the website, but somehow, I feel behind. I had planned on accomplishing so much organization-wise, but it just didn't happen. At the last minute, I did get up my first challenge problem of the week. I didn't know that The Math Forum was no longer as free as it was. In order to search the library, one has to be a member. Wow! Everyone seems to be charging for their website now...
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
The Lockheed-Martin Visit
Yesterday brought our second field trip. As you saw how hastily I ended the blog yesterday, you know that we arrived a bit (OK, one hour!) late at Lockheed-Martin. Lockheed-Martin is the world's largest defense contracter and its Abu Dhabi office is located on the eighth floor of the Abu Dhabi Mall. When the elevator arrived at the eighth floor, we discovered that we had to be buzzed in (tight security). After many apologies, we met with Dennis Burns, who happens to be the parent of two of my former students and a member of the ACS school board.
Dennis led us into a very futuristic-looking and comfortable boardroom. What attracted all our eyes was the giant (18 foot long) smartboard at the front of the room. An F-16 served as the background--very impressive. That smartboard, admittedly a bit shorter, is what I want at the front of my classroom. It was sectioned into 6 parts so that different applications or Internet sites could be displayed easily at the same time. I kept thinking about how I would use it in my classroom.
Anyway, Dennis talked about what made an airplane fly, backed up with animations from different Internet sites. It was very interesting. I asked tons of questions, as did many of the kids. (My brother is also a managerial electrical engineer working for a defense contracter so I felt like I was getting a bit of insight to his job.) Dennis saved the best for last. (No wonder many of the kids mentioned that he would make a good teacher in their thank you notes!) We walked out of a well-hidden door from the boardroom into the room housing the flight simulator. It was a cockpit mock-up of an F-35, the kind of fighter that the UAE Air Force is purchasing from Lockheed. (Side note: 80 F-35 fighters for $6.5 billion--the material for many future math problems, lol!) In front of the mock-up were three huge screens that displayed a map of Abu Dhabi. Every student tried to takeoff and land. Only one, Tegene, was successful with a non-crash landing. I didn't try because I was worried that with my weak knees, I would never get out of the tiny space. :---)
After thanking Dennis and saying our good-byes, he presented us with posters of different Lockheed Martin fighter jets and pins with the logo for the UAE F-35 Fighting Falcon. We descended in the elevator down to the food court to grab lunch before undertaking our next trip--a relaxing dhow ride.
Yesterday brought our second field trip. As you saw how hastily I ended the blog yesterday, you know that we arrived a bit (OK, one hour!) late at Lockheed-Martin. Lockheed-Martin is the world's largest defense contracter and its Abu Dhabi office is located on the eighth floor of the Abu Dhabi Mall. When the elevator arrived at the eighth floor, we discovered that we had to be buzzed in (tight security). After many apologies, we met with Dennis Burns, who happens to be the parent of two of my former students and a member of the ACS school board.
Dennis led us into a very futuristic-looking and comfortable boardroom. What attracted all our eyes was the giant (18 foot long) smartboard at the front of the room. An F-16 served as the background--very impressive. That smartboard, admittedly a bit shorter, is what I want at the front of my classroom. It was sectioned into 6 parts so that different applications or Internet sites could be displayed easily at the same time. I kept thinking about how I would use it in my classroom.
Anyway, Dennis talked about what made an airplane fly, backed up with animations from different Internet sites. It was very interesting. I asked tons of questions, as did many of the kids. (My brother is also a managerial electrical engineer working for a defense contracter so I felt like I was getting a bit of insight to his job.) Dennis saved the best for last. (No wonder many of the kids mentioned that he would make a good teacher in their thank you notes!) We walked out of a well-hidden door from the boardroom into the room housing the flight simulator. It was a cockpit mock-up of an F-35, the kind of fighter that the UAE Air Force is purchasing from Lockheed. (Side note: 80 F-35 fighters for $6.5 billion--the material for many future math problems, lol!) In front of the mock-up were three huge screens that displayed a map of Abu Dhabi. Every student tried to takeoff and land. Only one, Tegene, was successful with a non-crash landing. I didn't try because I was worried that with my weak knees, I would never get out of the tiny space. :---)
After thanking Dennis and saying our good-byes, he presented us with posters of different Lockheed Martin fighter jets and pins with the logo for the UAE F-35 Fighting Falcon. We descended in the elevator down to the food court to grab lunch before undertaking our next trip--a relaxing dhow ride.
The Dune
OK, yesterday, I took you as far as the return to the bus. On our way back to Abu Dhabi, we stopped at a 300 ft sand dune--the highest in the UAE. The kids took their makeshift sandboards (skateboards with the wheels removed, paper cartons broken down and redesigned as snow sleds, and an actual snow saucer (which brought back a flood of memories for me!)) and ascended the dune. Adam, a sixth grader with the movements of a gazelle, reached the peak first. It was fun to watch the students attempt to sandski on their creations. The skateboards did not work well at all, but the saucer made it down. Al Ain sand is very fine and doesn't pack as well as some of the other sands in the other Emirates. The students enjoyed their time and came back on the bus sweating profusely. Sand was everywhere, sticking to skin, hair, clothing and soon to be piled on the floor of the bus. (From experience, I know that after climbing a desert dune, sand gets into places that are completely clothed. It is a great traveler!) More cold waters were passed around. The rest of the trip to Abu Dhabi was spent in silly songs and "golden oldies"--the music that I listened to when in middle school like The Cars, The Police, Supertramp, etc. Too funny! My music isn't old, is it?(!)
:---)
We made it back to school by 6:00 pm. Everyone was deservedly exhausted. Hopefully, like me, everyone jumped into the shower and crawled into bed. Another day of field trips awaited us the next day.
OK, yesterday, I took you as far as the return to the bus. On our way back to Abu Dhabi, we stopped at a 300 ft sand dune--the highest in the UAE. The kids took their makeshift sandboards (skateboards with the wheels removed, paper cartons broken down and redesigned as snow sleds, and an actual snow saucer (which brought back a flood of memories for me!)) and ascended the dune. Adam, a sixth grader with the movements of a gazelle, reached the peak first. It was fun to watch the students attempt to sandski on their creations. The skateboards did not work well at all, but the saucer made it down. Al Ain sand is very fine and doesn't pack as well as some of the other sands in the other Emirates. The students enjoyed their time and came back on the bus sweating profusely. Sand was everywhere, sticking to skin, hair, clothing and soon to be piled on the floor of the bus. (From experience, I know that after climbing a desert dune, sand gets into places that are completely clothed. It is a great traveler!) More cold waters were passed around. The rest of the trip to Abu Dhabi was spent in silly songs and "golden oldies"--the music that I listened to when in middle school like The Cars, The Police, Supertramp, etc. Too funny! My music isn't old, is it?(!)
:---)
We made it back to school by 6:00 pm. Everyone was deservedly exhausted. Hopefully, like me, everyone jumped into the shower and crawled into bed. Another day of field trips awaited us the next day.
Monday, October 13, 2003
Off to Oman!
Yesterday, we took our first field trip with the NTK (Not Turkey Kids) to the desert oasis of Al Ain. Al Ain is a very special city for me because it is where I met my husband, was married, and gave birth to our son. I hadn't been back in Al Ain for quite a few years and so much development has taken place.
Anyway, the field trip. It was fantastic! I forgot how fun it is to travel with kids on a bus. There were 5 adults including me and 18 kids--an excellent ratio! The bus was cool and comfortable. The kids replenished all their junk food at our first rest stop. The first site that we visited in Al Ain was the Hili Archeological Park. We saw ancient Sumerian tombs and learned that the area was over 5,000 years old! It was interesting to find out that these people entombed their dead in a crouching position--quite strange. Our tour guide was the curator of the Al Ain National Museum, Dr. Walid Yassin. As he verbally recreated the civilization, one felt as if they were there.
After Hili, we drove into Oman to visit Wadi Khutwah. This is a literal oasis in the middle of the desert. As the bus ascended into the Hajar Mountains, over an especially steep rocky grade, there was a splash of green at the bottom. This was the town of Wadi Khutwah. Town is too strong a word, more like village. The green was due to the farms in the area that grow fig, banana, papaya, pomegranate, mango, lemon, lime, plus a plethora of date palms. As we walked through the area and smelled the droppings of goats, camels, and humans, we saw fresh herbs/produce such as mint, parsley, basil, and rocket. One of the sixth graders, Reihannah, chased a small lizard until we spied a large one--over a foot without the tail! Do I need to mention how hot it was? Al Ain/Oman doesn't have the humidity of Abu Dhabi, but what it lacks in wetness, it makes up for in heat. When we were walking in the sun, it felt like a blast furnace.
Later on, when the realization came to the girls that the outdoors was all that there was available for relief, we sent the boys and men off down the trek and the girls (most of them) and female teachers made do with the facilities. OK, I never thought of peeing in the outdoors together (but privately) as a bonding experience, but it seems to have worked. I guess when you share the body's private functions, it does bring you closer together.
After that, I decided to plant myself and let the others go on to discover the copper in the mountains that was used for smelting. Non-surprisingly, I wasn't the only one who decided to stay. One other teacher and a smattering of girls elected to keep me company. We chatted about a variety of things and then decided that it was time to forego the primitive for the next step of the field trip--sandboarding on the 300 foot dune just outside of Al Ain. As we picked up to go back to the bus, we heard the rest of the group returning. Everyone was spent. Cold waters were passed around and stories were exchanged.
Eek! Time to go on the next field trip. Will finish later!
Yesterday, we took our first field trip with the NTK (Not Turkey Kids) to the desert oasis of Al Ain. Al Ain is a very special city for me because it is where I met my husband, was married, and gave birth to our son. I hadn't been back in Al Ain for quite a few years and so much development has taken place.
Anyway, the field trip. It was fantastic! I forgot how fun it is to travel with kids on a bus. There were 5 adults including me and 18 kids--an excellent ratio! The bus was cool and comfortable. The kids replenished all their junk food at our first rest stop. The first site that we visited in Al Ain was the Hili Archeological Park. We saw ancient Sumerian tombs and learned that the area was over 5,000 years old! It was interesting to find out that these people entombed their dead in a crouching position--quite strange. Our tour guide was the curator of the Al Ain National Museum, Dr. Walid Yassin. As he verbally recreated the civilization, one felt as if they were there.
After Hili, we drove into Oman to visit Wadi Khutwah. This is a literal oasis in the middle of the desert. As the bus ascended into the Hajar Mountains, over an especially steep rocky grade, there was a splash of green at the bottom. This was the town of Wadi Khutwah. Town is too strong a word, more like village. The green was due to the farms in the area that grow fig, banana, papaya, pomegranate, mango, lemon, lime, plus a plethora of date palms. As we walked through the area and smelled the droppings of goats, camels, and humans, we saw fresh herbs/produce such as mint, parsley, basil, and rocket. One of the sixth graders, Reihannah, chased a small lizard until we spied a large one--over a foot without the tail! Do I need to mention how hot it was? Al Ain/Oman doesn't have the humidity of Abu Dhabi, but what it lacks in wetness, it makes up for in heat. When we were walking in the sun, it felt like a blast furnace.
Later on, when the realization came to the girls that the outdoors was all that there was available for relief, we sent the boys and men off down the trek and the girls (most of them) and female teachers made do with the facilities. OK, I never thought of peeing in the outdoors together (but privately) as a bonding experience, but it seems to have worked. I guess when you share the body's private functions, it does bring you closer together.
After that, I decided to plant myself and let the others go on to discover the copper in the mountains that was used for smelting. Non-surprisingly, I wasn't the only one who decided to stay. One other teacher and a smattering of girls elected to keep me company. We chatted about a variety of things and then decided that it was time to forego the primitive for the next step of the field trip--sandboarding on the 300 foot dune just outside of Al Ain. As we picked up to go back to the bus, we heard the rest of the group returning. Everyone was spent. Cold waters were passed around and stories were exchanged.
Eek! Time to go on the next field trip. Will finish later!
