Year #4

So I can't believe that I have started my forth year as a teacher. I feel like I graduated college just a year or two ago. Looking back to my first year, I never thought I could make it this far. I'm not sure if I like this idea that life goes faster as you get older. The first week went ok. The first day was incredibly long and I was completely beat by the end. The next two days slowly got better. I had my first walk-through yesterday already! That was a little nerve racking just because I am not comfortable with the curriculum yet. But I think it went well. I've been fairly impressed with my kids so far. They are coming in with a lot of prior knowledge and are well behaved, at least so far (they usually are the first week). I can't help but laugh at some of my little 14 year old boys who are just in that awkward developmental stage. I have some girls who look like their 12 and others who look 17. I am looking forward to getting to know them better as the semester continues.

I'm getting ready to go for another hike. After being stuck inside all week, I'm craving the outdoors. I really enjoyed getting to sleep in this morning after having to be up by 5:30 everyday. For those who know me well, you can imagine the struggle. To all my teacher friends in TX, good luck this week as you start a new year!!!

Cold

So I am sitting here in my sweats because it is definitely 53 degrees outside! It's like winter in TX. There has been a steady drizzling rain since Thursday night. I went to my first day of in-service yesterday in a sweater. I've yet to turn my heat on, but it's tempting. Crazy stuff!

School has started. I get most of my kids on Tuesday - freshman orientation. The official start is Wednesday. I'm not ready just yet, but I'm sure I will be come Tuesday. Everyone has been very helpful. This being my third time to be the new person (out of 4 years), I've learned not to stress. Everything will fall into place.

It's August

With August comes a new start to the school year. I found out what my teaching schedule is today. The first semester I will be teaching 3 block classes of Math 1 (I teach the whole course in 1 semester). It will be a class primarily of freshman. I will see them everyday for 80 minutes to 115 minutes depending on the day. Most classes have around 30 students in them. That's a lot of freshman in one room for a long period of time!!! Hopefully I will adjust and all will go well. Then, second semester I will teach two Math 2 block classes. They both meet in the morning, which means I get done teaching for the day at 11 am.! That's going to be nice. I will definitely need the extra time for planning. I don't totally have my own room; I'm not sure anyone does. I will meet in the same room for all 3 classes the first semester. I meet in two different rooms second semester, but they are two doors down from one another. All the teachers have a desk in the teacher office where we can keep all of our stuff. So, as of August 20th, school will be in session.

I'm officially a Coloradoan. I have changed my plates and got a new license. I have mixed emotions losing my Texan identity off my car.

The rents were in town this week. We did a lot of exploring and just hung out. It's always good to see the "old folks." Some of our pictures are below:

Teaching Stuff

So this past week I went to a training on the new curriculum that I will be teaching. It's totally different than what I have gotten used to teaching in Texas in lots of ways. I like it b/c it is very student centered and has lots of activities that students can do to find meaning and engage in learning. I don't like it b/c it does not allow the students to master basic mechanical skills needed to solve math problems. I think it's going to take an awful lot of planning time on my part, but I am hoping my fellow colleagues will be nice and guide me through this first year. I only have about 2 weeks left this summer. It has definitely flown by and I feel like summer has just begun. Although I enjoy having time off from work, I am looking forward to the fall and winter. I can't wait to experience 4 seasons. I think that the fall here is going to be gorgeous and the winter, well, I like to ski. We have been close to record breaking heat b/c of the consecutive days over 90 degrees. I laugh at that. I thought it was normal to be in the 90's everyday. But, all is well here and I am loving it. I was just thinking the other day about how this is probably the easiest move I have ever made. I attribute this to the fact that I already had a network of friends when I got here through my church. So I haven't had to put much effort into meeting people so far.

Well that's it for me right now. Talk to you soon!

Sunday

So I finally got to do what I have wanted to do for a very long time. On Sunday morning, I hiked up a mountain, found a really big rock, and sat and read my Bible. It is so peaceful being able to sit atop a mountain, and get still and quiet in God's beautiful creation. The church here does not meet on Sunday mornings, but instead on Sunday evenings. It's a way to try to cater to the culture here and give people who normally don't go to church on Sunday mornings another alternative. So this past Sunday morning I got to have church with just me and God. I hope to do this quite often.

Pictures

The view from my balcony

Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods - Balanced Rock

Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods - Siamese Twins

Top of Pikes Peak

Top of Pikes Peak

Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain - Mills Lake

Hiking through snow in July!

Rocky Mountain National Park

More Snow!

Rocky Mountain - Odessa Lake

Hello! I have made it to Colorado. I am all moved in, and for the most part, all unpacked. I've had a lot of fun so far. Jennifer was here for a week to help me get unpacked. We went hiking a lot of the days that she was here. I am loving the mountains. We went to Eldorado Canyon, Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak, and Rocky Mountain National Park. My friends Jana and James were here this past weekend and we went back to Rocky Mountain National Park. We first hiked to Andrews Glacier and then the next day, well... We were thinking we would go on a 5 hour loop, but it definitely turned into 7.5 hours! We were beat by the end. But, everything was really pretty. We hiked through snow on both days. Snow in July! I've uploaded a few pictures that you can check out. I miss my Texas friends, but I am enjoying it up here so far.