sunday's "so they said"

there are so many ways a student or parent can thank you for the hard work a teacher does for them

maybe it comes in the form of grading tedious amounts of papers

or remembering your favorite type of candy bar at the end of the year

for me, this is my first year as a middle school teacher

and my first year experiencing site based teacher of the year nominations

and the best part, each nomination is given to you at the end of the week

and getting to read why your students have nominated you

is a pretty special way to be thanked

so this week's "so they said" is in written form

and I think I'll be stashing these away to read after a hard day in the classroom

sunday's "so they said"

this week was an odd one for comments from my kids

this week included:

"Mrs. Lewis, did you mark me off a point for calling Napoleon, Neapolitan?"

My response - "No, of course not, oh wait, maybe I did."

Grading 165 history tests is causing my grading curve to get a little questionable

I would always say I grade objectively

but apparently getting the ruler of France confused with an ice cream flavor

rubbed me the wrong way on that particular day

I was also told that

"You look so different today.  I think it is because you are wearing pants.  I think you look a lot more professional when you wear pants.  Just my opinion.  Your dresses always have so many...patterns."

mmmmkay...

noted.

but seeing as how this came from one of my boys 

I think I'll just file that conversation away somewhere

And finally I received good & bad news in about a minute

good - the teacher I'm filling in for the year is not coming back next

so the possibility to stay in the same position two years in a row is actually there

or should I say was there for about 30 seconds until I heard the bad...

bad - pink slip number 5 is on it's way

if only they could find a way to get these to us while working

that would be nice of them

because going to the post office to pick this letter up again

just really doesn't sit right with me

layoffs went out as far back as 11 years seniority

that's not so fun either

sunday's "so they said"

right before break we took a day to celebrate our hard work that has been going on lately

in our room

between compiling a nine piece poetry anthology

and having LOTS of district big-whigs coming into our room

looking very intimidating with their business suits and iPads

and asking OH so many questions of my kids

we needed a day to kick back and just celebrate

and that's what we did

my favorite memories of the day include:

finger snapping with my kids instead of clapping

eating a donut with first period but feeling like I had eaten 7 by the end of the day

there is such a thing as smelling too many donuts

having one student go up not just once to read her poetry

but a total of 6 separate times

each reading slightly different, including accents, sitting poses, etc.

my favorite things they said that day include:

me prompting a student to read a second piece of poetry because he chose to read

his haiku poem, only three lines, and he looked up at me and said oh so seriously

"can I read the same poem again?"

now, let me tell you that typing this quote does it no justice

I was laughing so hard that I was literally crying

later in the day, one of my students as she sat down on the stool said

"oh wow, as soon as I sit here I just feel so dark and mysterious, ok, 

now I am ready to read my poem"

and lastly, I was so excited to hear this last quote from our woodshop teacher as he saw the donuts on the back counter of my classroom

"Oh that's right, you have your poetry coffeehouse read today."

seeing as how we don't really talk, and our classrooms are on opposite sides of the campus

I was curious how he knew so much about my day

the kids of course

and they were so excited they even asked their shop teacher to come listen to their poems!

they loved it.  I loved it.  done & done

sunday's "so they said"

well, this week I had the pleasure, no honor, to chaperone yet another middle school dance

being on "freak patrol" is always such a shining moment in my career

I also got into a very interesting tangent conversation with 4th period on Friday

I had to ask one of my kids to put away his old school calculator that he was 

messing around with during class

I let him know that I already had to worry about people

texting, updating their facebook status, etc.

well, this led to some confessing on their part

apparently the thing to do in class, when you don't care about what's being taught

is to hide your earbud cord from your ipod in your sweatshirt sleeve,

and then just lean your head on your hand to the side

and walah - listening to music in class

not the teacher

you should have seen the look on my face

REALLY?

I asked, thinking I was oh so hip and on top of these things

clearly I'm not

and then I ask the question

 So, have you done this in my class????

a few quickly spoke up

"no, I actually find this class kind of interesting"

my response, well thanks - so your telling me you haven't done that in this room

"Well...we have, but only when you have a sub."

so there you go

compliment, yes

realizing just one more reason why NOTHING gets done when I'm gone

it all makes since now 

for now I'm going to get my geek on with the return of The Walking Dead

and relish in the thought of only teaching five more days until I'm off to

the happiest place on earth!

sunday's "so they said"

let's just say this week almost took everything I had

just to get through

the chapter was extremely challenging

and seeing as it is after winter break

the calendar has quickly become my greatest enemy

with STAR testing right around the corner

so, now my days consist of teaching

the best I possibly can

and do it in record time

here are two of my favorite comments from this week

first, when talking about the War of 1812

and how it pretty much was the end of the Federalist party

groans and cheers instantly filled the room

now why do teenagers care that a political party, that mind you,  they hadn't heard of 

before that week

finally had met their demise?

well, because for the "Republicans" of our campaign they viewed it as a final victory

and the poor "Federalists" were feeling very defeated!

and really, my favorite conversation I just happened to hear 

when walking around on Friday before the bell rang

"So, how do you think you did on that test?"

response: "I'm pretty sure I just kicked the crap out of that test.  Oh, sorry Mrs. Lewis.  I didn't see you there."

I responded: "Don't apologize, I'm glad it wasn't the other way around!"

And truth be told

they did kick the crap out of that test

and if the word crap is my biggest problem - well, I'll take that

sunday's "so they said"

this week we discussed censorship with free speech

finally began to understand political parties and how they were created

had a flash mob come into first period

and after my suggestion - we now have an entire 8th grade flash mob in the works

for their graduation

and had such a simple compliment really brighten the week

"Mrs. Lewis - I just wanted to let you know that your class has really been the highlight of my day...well actually, it is always the best part of my schoolday."

if they only knew what part they had in making our days awesome

and while we're talking about awesomeness - here was my lunch date yesterday...

sunday's "so they said"

earlier this week I shared the worksheet I made for my very first lecture of the year

and let me say, it turns out, just like chocolate cake

everything is good for you...in moderation

and as I now know, this can include a little lecturing here and there

my biggest issue with lecturing is the amount of engagement of the students

and the thought of me doing all the talking for 55 minutes sounds like

 the last thing I would want to do

well, my kids proved that we could turn that type of lesson into more of a conversation

and I'm so glad we did - they had so many amazing questions and talking points

here are a few of my favorites:

"So, at the Presidential Inauguration, 

they are sworn in on the Bible.  

What happens if they are an Atheist?" 

Talk about a great way to start a conversation about SO many things.  And this question didn't just come up in one of my classes, but in all of them, and from so many different students, asking about different faiths and backgrounds, hypothetical situations, and the general progression of politics in our nation.

  I exclaimed my excitement by telling them what amazing questions they had - and that most adults have probably never even stopped to think about any of them.

I really do think they are getting it.  

I really do think they are starting to realize why we should study history.

I really love how quickly they "got" the significance of having President Obama

choosing to be sworn in on Abraham Lincoln's Bible

Oh, and I'm so in love with our lessons this week...

campaign rally for the Federalists & Republicans

with rally signs, buttons, and all - yes please.

sunday's "so they said"

well this week I must say my favorite words that came out of my middle schooler's mouths

were them singing the lyrics to a Bill of Rights song

we sang this song every day this week

and I truly think my evil plan is working

I bribed them with some extra-credit on their next test

for every day they sang the song they got a stamp on their song lyrics

each stamp gets them a point

win win

and even though they liked to gripe before we started singing

 they sure did chime in pretty quickly

especially once I started obnoxiously with the first line

now no, this isn't my class

it is actually my aunt's class picture from back in the day

look at those rows and perfectly folded hands

priceless

and because my district is pretty old

several of my classrooms have been laid out just like this

sink, cabinets, and bulletin boards in the exact same position!

tomorrow I'm off to the city with great friends, antiquing, & a visit with my sister

three day weekends are truly the best

sunday's "so they said" - hashtag

image here

turns out the first day back to school made my 4th period a little...

interesting

so right before class the kids starting saying "hashtag" before anything they said

I mean anything & everything

I heard "hashtag - good morning mrs. lewis" so many times before the start of class

that if they were actually tweeting all these #'s I would have definitely been trending

and really - who was this little game of theirs hurting?

well, not me, because by fourth period I really needed something to keep me interested!

and come on - getting the answer "hashtag - the judicial branch" works for me

hashtag - what the kids are doing these days

"so they said"

last week I had the honor & pleasure of chaperoning the middle school winter dance

I was helping one of my students get her permission slip when we had the following conversation:

me: "wow, those are some pretty crazy heels you have on"

student: "yeah, I never get to wear them, they are pretty hard to walk in"

me: "so you thought you should wear them to a dance?"

student: "well yeah Mrs. Lewis, because students don't really pick up their feet anymore while dancing, they pick up their butts"

me: "oh, I see.  how silly of me."

You learn something new everyday, especially if you teach middle school.

sunday's "so they said" on monday...again!

today was my first official day of thanksgiving break

and I've been enjoying my time off already

yesterday morning the husband and I went for a little walk...

to the doughnut shop!

not a bad start to the day

we also visited our favorite antique mall

where I found some pyrex treasures I'll be sharing soon!

we ended the day by strolling the mall

and getting some coffee, so not a bad end to sunday either 

This week was pretty fun with my kids.  When doing a pre-activity with them to teach them the frustrations the writers of the Constitution had while drafting, I was called a name that I will use as this week's "so they said".   Instead of jumping right into the Constitution we spent the first part of our day trying to vote on a Pandora station to listen to in class for the day.  We went through the formal process of voting, but what they did not know is that I rigged the game so that they would never reach the nine votes they needed to reach a consensus!    After several proposals and the equal amount of rejections (and the tensions & frustration level highly elevated!)  we reflected on the activity where I was called...

"an evil genius"

Well, thank you.  I take that as a compliment.  

I also had one student, who I may let you know has been "identified" with oh so many "labels" tell me...

"so you just spent more than half of this class period making a point?"

Yes.  That is exactly right.  And I don't feel bad about it, not one bit!

To my teacher friends out there - enjoy our first, very well-deserved, break!

sunday's "so they said"

this wonderful three day weekend I've had quite a bit of time on my own

so what better thing to do than taking a little afternoon stroll...with my camera

and now on to some sunday business -

this week was filled with lots of grading

here are two things that were "said" on paper, and cracked me up, and scared me all at the same time! And one classroom question I had to keep a straight face for!

one of the essay questions I asked students was what event they thought had the biggest impact on getting the colonists to enter into war with England...here was one response:

"The boston tea party had the greatest influence because they got tired of the tea."

Sounds like a good reason to go to war.  I'm not a big fan of tea either.

And I also learned some geography facts:
Asia is now apparently a country.

My favorite question from the week:
"Is Martha Washington the wife of George Washington?"


Really?  I mean, REALLY?  I kindly responded yes, and that I blame your first grade teacher for that one!

Pretty proud of the above three quotes, and that brings me to...
day twelve: what I'm pretty darn proud of
Well, it's pretty clear I'm not going to say the above knowledge that was displayed this week.  At least they are trying, and I do remember that they are thirteen, and so I just smile when they have a "moment", even though it hurts me inside just a tad.

But, in all seriousness, what am I proud of.  Hearing that my class is an 8th graders favorite class to go to, who is a self-proclaimed "hater of history", that is a moment to be proud of.

Also, the fact that I taught a teenager Martha Washington was our first President's wife.  Hey, at least she got it before high school!

day two - inspirational quotes

Three quotes that mean something to me - go figure, they have something to do with teaching!

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken

joy in creative expression and knowledge."
Albert Einstein

My next quote is short, sweet, and from the wonderfully amazing Alice of Wonderland.  It was first shared with me at the end of last school year, when I was experiencing a very sad, stressful situation regarding being laid off, again.  Now, I get to see it in the mornings on the coffee mug where it lives, and it always reminds me of the student and family who gave it to me, and that's pretty great.

"It would be so nice if something made sense for a change."

Alice

My last quote is very special to me.   It came to me in the form of a letter, given to me on the last day of school last year, written by a mom of one of my students, and yes, it made me cry.  So here it is, from the beloved Nanny McPhee -

"There is something you should understand about the way I work.  When you need me but do not want me, then I must stay.  When you want me but no longer need me, then I have to go.  It's rather sad, really, but there it is."

For me, and my five years in the classroom so far, could not be summed up any better.

And now I leave you with a glimpse at the Declaration of Independence project my students completed last week.  And yes, this is the student who was mentioned in this weeks "So They Said"

Go check out other inspirational quotes!

30 Days Hath November

sunday's "so they said"... on monday

and, happy halloween.  officially this time.

This last week the kids worked on creating their own Declaration of Independence where they included original text from the document as well as sections re-written into "their language".  I will be posting photos soon, they turned out amazing, as usual, because like I've said before, my kids rock.  Anyways, I must preface this quote by saying that this quote, as punishable as it may seem, came from one of the sweetest, quietest girls, said to again, one of the sweetest, quietest girls.  And instead of a referral, I laughed until tears welled up!

Just as I happened to be walking past the table I hear:

"Seriously, I want to jump-kick you in the face right now."

Well, hers really was THAT good.  And so, there you go, my favorite thing one of my teenagers said this week!

And, because it is Halloween, I couldn't pass up sharing my favorite Post Secret from this week.

I couldn't agree more!

image here

sunday's "so they said"

Even though the temperatures haven't quite dropped to my standards of "fall", apparently the leaves are disagreeing.  Today - finish report cards on the patio.  But first it's time for "so they said".

With this being my first "end of the quarter" in middle school I had a very interesting week.  Even though we've been in school since August, no one has seemed too concerned about grades until this week.  Well, it doesn't quite work like that.  You ask me why you are failing when you have 12 missing assignments?  Do we really need to have this conversation?

So, this quote comes from COUNTLESS students this week:

"What can I do to raise my grade?"
If you asked last Monday I probably said to turn in any missed assignments.  If you asked Friday, I said nothing, start fresh next week.

Now on a more academically uplifting note, my next "so they said" made me smile.

"Mrs. Lewis, how come I learn more big words in your class than I do in English?"
my response:
"Because I like using big words - duh."
my students found that response pretty comical.  The funniest part was a girl had written down this "big word" (don't ask me what it was at this point) on her hand, and then I guess another one came up and she asked me to repeat it so she could write it down, again, on her hand.  Hey, whatever works!

Go academic language!

sunday's "so they said"

friday was amazing
my favorite "so they said" came from smack dab right in the middle of one of the debates.
I was standing behind one of my students when he turned to me and whispered

"Mrs. Lewis - thank you so much for letting us do this.  Seriously, thank you."

You're welcome.  

Friday also brought me this - Halloween or not, I want to wear my costume 24/7

sunday's "so they said"

Missed last week's "so they said".  I'm thinking weekends when I have class, posting will be pretty much non-existent.  So, here are a couple of my favorites from the past two weeks:

While seeing my kids from last year at the school's annual Fall Festival, my kids were full of quotes.  My favorites were...
"Mrs. Lewis, you are still wearing that bird necklace.  And your purse is the same.  And your shoes."
They realized that things haven't really changed even though I'm not their teacher anymore.  I realized that I am a creature of habit who prefers spending my extra money on pyrex, not accessories.

"Mrs. Lewis, the worst part of this year is you not teaching us science.  I miss that the most."
Go figure, the subject that almost put me over the edge is what some miss the most, I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought sometimes!

And finally, this week my 8th graders were pretty great too.  In response to my newly re-filled air freshener...
"Mrs. Lewis, it smells SO good in here.  Like a little piece of fall heaven.  Thank you for that."
You are welcome.
here is a little glimpse into our walk tonight.
these shots are from two houses in the neighborhood
that are real into decorating!

sunday's "so they said" is back for my fifth year in the classroom

Truth be told this little blog started back in August of 2009.  I was new to this whole process and was trying to figure out what I really wanted from this little page.  It began with people constantly telling me to write down my crazy teaching stories so that one day I could write a book.  Well I tried that whole writing down thing and it just wasn't my thing.  Turns out I'm a pretty fast typer and I love incorporating photos with my rambles.  So, blogging began.  Now last year I really picked up posting as well as some awesome readers, and even started a weekly tradition I called "so they said".  Just one of my favorite quotes from the week of teaching.  My plan was to get right back on these posts in August, but it turned out that with 180 students I had no idea what they were saying to remember a quote come Sunday!

Finally this week I felt like I was back to my old self.  After throwing my own little personal pity party last week where I mourned the loss of getting to be an elementary school teacher as well as feeling oh so sorry for myself having to get my masters degree on top of everything, I cried it out.  Like big time.  Once that was done, I woke up Monday morning still not ecstatic to be going to work (yes, in years past I really have felt this way!) but I sucked it up, and turns out, the tides had changed.  All of a sudden, my kids were cracking me up, producing some amazing work, and all around making my days pretty great.  I was told it took longer to bond with middle schoolers, they were not lying.  And once I got over my own issues I was ready to just have a better year.

So, that was quite an introduction for this week's quote.  Typically, it won't be quite so wordy!

On Wednesday we held our Colonial Travel Fair where students set up mini booths about their assigned colony.  They displayed a slogan banner, travel brochure, tourist map, and colonial newspaper they had created over the past few days in class.  I must say it was a pretty fun day as the kids promoted and argued, in the best way possible, as to who had the best colony.

Before starting in one of the classes I had one of my girls come up to me and ever so seriously ask me

"So Mrs. Lewis, which colony has been trending so far?"

Well, I paused for a minute, realized what she was referring to, and responded that "currently the middle colonies had been trending".  I hope my response was grammatically correct according to twitter.  Well, I thought I was the cool young teacher, looks like I have a tad more work to do.

And, just because I didn't feel like this post was lengthy enough, I also want to try one more thing in the "so they said" posts - poetry, or writing in general.  When going through my inboxes for each class (that are currently empty & awesome) I began grading some extra credit poetry some chose to do for September 11th.  This one just caught my eye - so here it is.

We walked down the street
our hands intertwined
you smiled down at me and I looked into your eyes
you dropped me off in a twin and headed up the stairs
you pushed the button for the elevator
and walked on in
there was a rumble outside but no one paid a mind
there was a crash and a boom
and screams all around
as the plane crashed into the tower
and I heard the death filled screams
I closed my eyes real hard
and pretended it was all a dream
-Alyssa

And just because I think every post deserves a picture - here's a peek at what we did yesterday.

welcome fall

you are pretty awesome in my book

I've been collecting all sorts of inspirations over at pinterest 

I'm hoping to make some time to try some of this awesomeness out

this last week has also been pretty amazing in the classroom

feeling very good about that

I have so many projects to share

and will be ready to start back up my "Sunday's So They Said"

I'm getting back to having kids make me laugh everyday

and that feels pretty great

and yes I know I am technically a day early on welcoming fall

but hey - it's fall somewhere

all image links here

this year's last "so they said" on sunday

Ooops - missed last week because I was Out & About!  And well, the year is done, and I will leave you with just one more "so they said".  This one actually comes from a conversation I was having with a few of my parents that were with me on the last day of school.  Most of the kids were outside enjoying a perfect 80 degree June day, eating pizza and signing yearbooks, but a few of us were in the classroom opening some gifts.

One of my mom's told me that she asked her daughter if she wanted to start a countdown to summer chain, something they have always done, and her daughter said she didn't want to this year because summer meant I would not be her teacher anymore.  Another mom chimed in saying it was the first year her son wasn't looking forward to summer.  Seriously, tears!

These comments of course made me sad that this system is causing these kids so much pain, but when you step back you realize how awesome these comments were, you can't help but smile.  Not to mention, my class learned a life lesson that life isn't always fair, but that things will continue on, and everything will be ok!

So now I will leave you with my last picture from my classroom this year (well, unless I find another one I just can't help but share).

Our growth chart.  Just some bulletin board paper that was stuffed in the back cabinet until the last week of school.  The black ink is from the first week of school, and red from the last.  My babies grew SO much this year, and I'm pretty sure it was in more ways than just inches!

  It is amazing how you may not realize the changes when you are with them everyday.  

Thanks 5th grade - you rocked my world this year!

And where to now you may ask - well the only place my district hasn't placed me...middle school?!?