Caramba! The Adventures Continue! Prayers Cherished!

[ToraGirl 5,498]

Hola, Familia Auburn!

After 22 years in the regular classroom (K-6, each one, at some point), the butterfly heads for Montgomery Public Schools as an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher. Campus TBA, but elementary and quite possibly more than one. MPS is now 1/4 Hispanic and growing, severely ESL-understaffed. I was blessed that GiftedEd doors opened too, but I chose this road y estoy tanto alegre. (I am so happy.) Get to use my Spanish more frequently and honor the legacy of my favorite AU prof...the late Jose Escarpanter! (If you've ever seen "Stand and Deliver", you've essentially seen Dr. E. True story...East LA...AP Calculus gets started at inner-city, struggling Hispanic Garfield High and changes trajectory for posterity. Stays in my top 5 no matter what is released.)

It will be fruitful and challenging, and I would be grateful for your prayers as I get started....TUESDAY. MPS learners are virtual until October...and our second language families sometimes have hurdles that others don't in this respect. Would love your prayers for them, too. 

There is no mistaking God's fingerprints nor timing on this. My previous situation was comfortable...but the call of my heart is more and more to equalize that comfort. 👀😉  Aguila guerra, todos! Lo mejor sera, sera! (War Eagle everyone; the best is yet to come.) 

❤🌮🌎🦋🇵🇷🌶🇲🇽🙏🌯❤

[gr82be 14,401]

2 hours ago, ToraGirl said:

Hola, Familia Auburn!

After 22 years in the regular classroom (K-6, each one, at some point), the butterfly heads for Montgomery Public Schools as an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher. Campus TBA, but elementary and quite possibly more than one. MPS is now 1/4 Hispanic and growing, severely ESL-understaffed. I was blessed that GiftedEd doors opened too, but I chose this road y estoy tanto alegre. (I am so happy.) Get to use my Spanish more frequently and honor the legacy of my favorite AU prof...the late Jose Escarpanter! (If you've ever seen "Stand and Deliver", you've essentially seen Dr. E. True story...East LA...AP Calculus gets started at inner-city, struggling Hispanic Garfield High and changes trajectory for posterity. Stays in my top 5 no matter what is released.)

It will be fruitful and challenging, and I would be grateful for your prayers as I get started....TUESDAY. MPS learners are virtual until October...and our second language families sometimes have hurdles that others don't in this respect. Would love your prayers for them, too. 

There is no mistaking God's fingerprints nor timing on this. My previous situation was comfortable...but the call of my heart is more and more to equalize that comfort. 👀😉  Aguila guerra, todos! Lo mejor sera, sera! (War Eagle everyone; the best is yet to come.) 

❤🌮🌎🦋🇵🇷🌶🇲🇽🙏🌯❤

Congratulations! Very happy for you. Love that you said God's fingerprints were on this. I've personally seen his fingerprints on something recently too. I know you'll be perfect for this and that's why it worked out. 🙏👍 By the way, I love Stand and Deliver. One of my all-time favorite movies. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

Clicked "love" but evidently I've exhausted my allowed emotion for the day. You are truly an inspiration and I am very excited for the children who get to enjoy your tutelage going forward. Gonna sign off for the night because I'm not going to see anything more uplifting on the internet tonight. Please just bring your usual energy and passion to this new endeavor and I am confident that you will be as richly rewarded as your students. Congrats, good luck, and thank you from someone who hopes his children are exposed to a teacher or two like you along the way.

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

15 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Clicked "love" but evidently I've exhausted my allowed emotion for the day. You are truly an inspiration and I am very excited for the children who get to enjoy your tutelage going forward. Gonna sign off for the night because I'm not going to see anything more uplifting on the internet tonight. Please just bring your usual energy and passion to this new endeavor and I am confident that you will be as richly rewarded as your students. Congrats, good luck, and thank you from someone who hopes his children are exposed to a teacher or two like you along the way.

I’ll donate a “love” in your name. 

[Grumps 3,693]

Awesome news, Toragirl!!! Keep us updated on how it goes!

[ToraGirl 5,498]

Thanks guys, SO MUCH.  Your encouragement means more than I can tell you.  I had a long update typed on my phone and lost it, so here's the nutshell.

Every muscle is aching, and I have soaked in Saturday like fresh rain.  In the last WEEK, I have culled, packed, resigned, explained to the WorldChangers and PR community with love, fingerprinted, done paperwork, sought proof of experience from 5 previous Central Offices, stored stuff in cars/carport/foyer (no place assigned to land), shown up for inservice, learned my (FOUR...one was unannounced until two days later) locations in the spread-out Montgomery (County) school system, inherited a room with "dating to 2003-resources, reading coach sample kits for no coach in years, and non-ESL JUNK" that had to be first moved, made a "Free" section in the teachers' workroom, navigated which emails to keep/discard from four principals, dealt with a dead inherited laptop (hanging by a hinge had to be a clue) and two lost-cause hot glue guns, navigated a new world minus the ability to get into any cyber-training or records EXCEPT for e-mail (but that's not mine to fix), worked until near-midnight establishing and transforming the WorldCafe three days in a row (w/amazing husband, who transported most of it w/son to my space once my daily training was done)...and none of that has anything to do with the "general angst" you can feel as teachers sit in rooms together, wondering how to "do this" when most of ours have incredible tech hurdles, half or more cavalier about masks (not me), and you get the picture.  It's a DIFFERENT world, but I know I'll learn a lot, love a lot, and be very needed.

I won't be meeting kids or anything "like that" as the first few weeks are paperwork/identification/etc.  ESL is a federal program, so there are ducks to get in a row.  The AirWar College international officers are not likely to be bringing their kids to my home base, MacMillan International Baccalaureate Magnet (which I think will be a pretty good MPS "fit" for me--I'll also be serving adjacent McKee Middle and country-distant Pintlala and Dunbar-Ramer, which will be an additional commute on those days but a very intriguing first-time rural environment)...this year, but when they do, it will be for one year with cultures from ALL over.  For the meantime, Spanish-speakers will be my greatest area of need.

I'll be updating with pictures...but for now, I'll show you who is glad to be out of the "Garden Patch Kindergarten" box...knowing that these will translate better than most "regular people" can.  Notice that ONE is CovidConsciousCopacetic.  Everyone wants to be HER friend!  

[gr82be 14,401]

On 8/8/2020 at 8:40 PM, ToraGirl said:

Thanks guys, SO MUCH.  Your encouragement means more than I can tell you.  I had a long update typed on my phone and lost it, so here's the nutshell.

Every muscle is aching, and I have soaked in Saturday like fresh rain.  In the last WEEK, I have culled, packed, resigned, explained to the WorldChangers and PR community with love, fingerprinted, done paperwork, sought proof of experience from 5 previous Central Offices, stored stuff in cars/carport/foyer (no place assigned to land), shown up for inservice, learned my (FOUR...one was unannounced until two days later) locations in the spread-out Montgomery (County) school system, inherited a room with "dating to 2003-resources, reading coach sample kits for no coach in years, and non-ESL JUNK" that had to be first moved, made a "Free" section in the teachers' workroom, navigated which emails to keep/discard from four principals, dealt with a dead inherited laptop (hanging by a hinge had to be a clue) and two lost-cause hot glue guns, navigated a new world minus the ability to get into any cyber-training or records EXCEPT for e-mail (but that's not mine to fix), worked until near-midnight establishing and transforming the WorldCafe three days in a row (w/amazing husband, who transported most of it w/son to my space once my daily training was done)...and none of that has anything to do with the "general angst" you can feel as teachers sit in rooms together, wondering how to "do this" when most of ours have incredible tech hurdles, half or more cavalier about masks (not me), and you get the picture.  It's a DIFFERENT world, but I know I'll learn a lot, love a lot, and be very needed.

I won't be meeting kids or anything "like that" as the first few weeks are paperwork/identification/etc.  ESL is a federal program, so there are ducks to get in a row.  The AirWar College international officers are not likely to be bringing their kids to my home base, MacMillan International Baccalaureate Magnet (which I think will be a pretty good MPS "fit" for me--I'll also be serving adjacent McKee Middle and country-distant Pintlala and Dunbar-Ramer, which will be an additional commute on those days but a very intriguing first-time rural environment)...this year, but when they do, it will be for one year with cultures from ALL over.  For the meantime, Spanish-speakers will be my greatest area of need.

I'll be updating with pictures...but for now, I'll show you who is glad to be out of the "Garden Patch Kindergarten" box...knowing that these will translate better than most "regular people" can.  Notice that ONE is CovidConsciousCopacetic.  Everyone wants to be HER friend!  

Can't help but ask about the Counting With Big Al book in the background. After 7 does it skip to 12 or does it just go to 8 like everyone else? 

 

[ToraGirl 5,498]

3 minutes ago, gr82be said:

Can't help but ask about the Counting With Big Al book in the background. After 7 does it skip to 12 or does it just go to 8 like everyone else? 

 

It most definitely skips.  It was an empathy-pity purchase to appease the little Bammers in my Garden Patch and WorldCafe! 

Hey, the adventures continue.  You know that I've taught every grade from K-6 plus a gifted maternity leave, right?  WELLLLLL....my greatest caseload is currently at McKee Middle.  I'll have 16 6-8th graders.  NO ONE TOLD ME THEEEEEEEEES~!  But I'm actually looking forward to the challenge.  Still virtual.  There is some question as to whether they will return in October.  Rumors are January.  Makes it harder for these, but they are conquering, and I'm here to help.  And I gained permission to walk them down to the WorldCafe when they return, rather than "service them" in a closet or empty boring space.  That way their peers won't see them...if you win the psychological war with middle school (pull-out isn't cool), then academics can follow.  I do have two gifted on my roll, which is cool, because it testifies that despite an English lag, they were still identified, which is what we want to see.

So we have....one director...four principals...33 and growing in my caseload...four schools, one magnet, one 6-8, one K-6, and one K-8.  Schools are adjacent (MacMillan Magnet/McKee) and 30 minutes away (Pintlala and Dunbar).  I'm learning how to sift and ignore e-mail (because the GenEd training stuff doesn't apply anymore and four schools can bombard)....manage ever-changing charts....look for posted WIDA posters (that part was fun...you get to know all of the GenEd faculty mask-to-mask that way)....and get my mind around the job title.  GiftedEd Certification class started back this week, too, online.  I have this one plus two others and I'll be certified for Gifted in May should I ever want to go that route.

I am still enjoying Caliente and En Vivo on Sirius radio!  I do have mostly Hispanic, but there are India and Nigeria thrown into the mix.  When things are "normal" again...if that's possible, Maxwell AFB will continue to serve families who come for Air War College and the mix will be even greater.

[gr82be 14,401]

1 hour ago, ToraGirl said:

It most definitely skips.  It was an empathy-pity purchase to appease the little Bammers in my Garden Patch and WorldCafe! 

Hey, the adventures continue.  You know that I've taught every grade from K-6 plus a gifted maternity leave, right?  WELLLLLL....my greatest caseload is currently at McKee Middle.  I'll have 16 6-8th graders.  NO ONE TOLD ME THEEEEEEEEES~!  But I'm actually looking forward to the challenge.  Still virtual.  There is some question as to whether they will return in October.  Rumors are January.  Makes it harder for these, but they are conquering, and I'm here to help.  And I gained permission to walk them down to the WorldCafe when they return, rather than "service them" in a closet or empty boring space.  That way their peers won't see them...if you win the psychological war with middle school (pull-out isn't cool), then academics can follow.  I do have two gifted on my roll, which is cool, because it testifies that despite an English lag, they were still identified, which is what we want to see.

So we have....one director...four principals...33 and growing in my caseload...four schools, one magnet, one 6-8, one K-6, and one K-8.  Schools are adjacent (MacMillan Magnet/McKee) and 30 minutes away (Pintlala and Dunbar).  I'm learning how to sift and ignore e-mail (because the GenEd training stuff doesn't apply anymore and four schools can bombard)....manage ever-changing charts....look for posted WIDA posters (that part was fun...you get to know all of the GenEd faculty mask-to-mask that way)....and get my mind around the job title.  GiftedEd Certification class started back this week, too, online.  I have this one plus two others and I'll be certified for Gifted in May should I ever want to go that route.

I am still enjoying Caliente and En Vivo on Sirius radio!  I do have mostly Hispanic, but there are India and Nigeria thrown into the mix.  When things are "normal" again...if that's possible, Maxwell AFB will continue to serve families who come for Air War College and the mix will be even greater.

Wow, first of all you have my utmost respect for what you are undertaking. I'd never be able to handle anything close to it. Your classroom looks awesome by the way. The year will be interesting to say the very least. My wife has 16 students and only 3 are distance learning. After 2 full days she says they seem like a pretty good group and are keeping their masks on for the most part with her having to remind the ones who try to remove them. Just hoping and praying that the year goes well for all involved. I will keep you in thoughts and prayers and add your students as well. By the way how is your knee(s)? 

[ToraGirl 5,498]

Thank you so much on all accounts!  I am so happy for your wife...that is a GREAT ratio of participation, truly!  Especially for K! Happy they are heeding her care with the masks.  I LOVED my K experience.  Elementary teachers who have never taught K just don't get it.  You are training the families simultaneously and dealing in first impressions all the way around.  I know they love her!

Knee is doing very well...I am biking more carefully now...

I cherish your prayers!  Blessings to you both and War Eagle!