This school year has been extremely stressful. Not only am I teaching a whole new curriculum that I've never taught (11th Grade World Literature), but my juniors actually care about school this year, so they are constantly coming in for assistance with their work. While I, of course, encourage that, it also means that I don't get any time during the school day. Every off period and even my lunch time is filled with kiddos asking for help.
I am also teaching a high risk 10th grade class, which means 10 of the 20 kids in that class have 0 credits, have failed every single class since entering high school, and are at a risk of dropping out of high school. The purpose of the class is to be small so I can work individually with these kids and hopefully get them involved and interested in school. Out of those 10 kids, only two are failing English right now, which is a huge success! This class, however, is also very stressful, as you can imagine. All eyes are on me to see if I can turn these kids around.
On top of all that, at least half of my students are going through a bunch of crap at home, and I often feel like I carry their burdens on my shoulders. I have kids who can't afford lunch, so I sometimes offer my snacks to them so they aren't hungry. I have kids who are addicted to drugs. Kids who come to school wasted. Kids who have children. Kids who come from divorced home. Kids who are in jail. Kids who are in car accidents. They have no idea how much I worry for them all the time.
Not that I look for words of encouragement from my students, but they have no idea what I put up with and go through on a daily basis. That's why the other day when a kid did praise me, I was almost brought to tears. My students, Ryan, was working beside me on his grammar while I tutored a freshman boy on his essay. This freshman was a bit slow, so it took extra patience to deal with him. His essay was atrocious, so it took over 30 minutes to edit and help this boy write a presentable paper to turn in. I had to repeat myself about 3 times for each thing I said, and I had to write word for word what this kid needed to do to improve his paper. It was like watching a car accident.
After this freshman left, Ryan looked at me and said, "Holy cow, Ms. Nichols. I had no idea what you put up with on a daily basis. You are my hero. I have a whole new respect for you right now. I don't know how you do it."
My reply: "Now you know why I'm cranky sometimes."
He said, "Now I know why you're cranky sometimes."
It meant a lot to hear those words, though. I told some ladies in my office, and one of them told me to make sure I documented it so when I was having a bad day, I could go back and look at it. That's what I'm doing right now. Thanks, Ryan, for your kind words.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
A Game of Mimics
As Holly and I headed to Vegas last month, Holly thought of a game to play during our trip. It was to mimic as many people as we could and document in on camera. As you'll see from our pictures, we had a blast doing this. Not only that, but it's not as easy as you might think. Some pictures were foiled because a few people figured out what we were doing. Some pictures are taken from the back, which, of course, were easier to take. Some, however, are directly in front of the person, and this proved to be challenging. Holly and I were having so much fun that Shan and Jeff soon joined in the fun. As you'll also notice, we also had fun mimicking objects. 
Our first attempt on the plane. The flash of the camera woke this dude up.
Our first attempt on the plane. The flash of the camera woke this dude up. 
If only I was bald!
This is by far our favorite picture. This was NOT easy to take.
This guy was also suspicious of what we were doing. He had been talking on his phone (like Holly), but he ended his call right as the picture was taken.
They are even dressed the same!
This is also one of my favorites, and this one was hard to take, too.
This girl was crying, so I kind of felt bad for sneaking up behind her and mimicking her.
He turned around right as I was leaving the scene. He felt my presence.
Shan even mimicked Jeff.
Then Jeff got involved.
Thank you, thank you very much.
This one cracks me up! I was beside this guy for about five minutes, and he kept changing positions. Without being obvious, I then would change positions to match. Holly was pretending to take pictures of the Coke store when really she was taking pictures of me and this man. So funny!
Even Nathan tried his hand.As you can tell, we had a blast in Vegas. I'll post more pictures of our trip, but I dare you to try this game if you're ever bored. It's fun, challenging and will for sure make you laugh!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Wedding Weekend
Lindsey and Ben were married this weekend. Ben is Collin's best friend from Kearney. We've known Ben since Collin and Ben were five, so he's almost like a part of the family. He was always hanging out at our house, so it was exciting when he moved to Denver a few years ago. Collin and Ben were able to continue their friendship while living in the same city. When Ben and Lindsey started dating, Lindsey and I became friends. She asked me to be a bridesmaid, and I was honored to be a part of their wedding. Here's a glimpse into their wedding weekend in Estes Park. 
The Bachelorette Party was Saturday evening. We went to Canvas and Cocktails: you can drink while you paint a picture directed by an artist who stands up front. From there we went to dinner at Kona Grill.
The Bachelorette Party was Saturday evening. We went to Canvas and Cocktails: you can drink while you paint a picture directed by an artist who stands up front. From there we went to dinner at Kona Grill.
The rehearsal dinner was Sunday evening in Estes Park at Mama Rose's. It was a fabulous evening full of great conversation, good Italian food, and yummy wine.
Lindsey and me
Collin and me
The rehearsal was Monday morning at Della Terra Chateau.It was a gorgeous place that I have saved away for a future date :)
Ben and Lindsey
Lindsey all dressed up and ready for pictures.
Dez and me after the ceremony.
Mom and dad came out from Nebraska.
Katie and me
Ben showing off his mad dance skills.
Ben and Lindsey
Lindsey all dressed up and ready for pictures.
Dez and me after the ceremony.
Mom and dad came out from Nebraska.
Katie and me
Ben showing off his mad dance skills. I have a ton more pictures from the weekend, but this gives you a nice picture of the fabulous weekend. The elk were out in Estes, so that was cool to see, too. We all stayed in cabins and were nice and cozy. Congrats, Ben and Lindsey! May God bless your marriage with many happy times and fun memories.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Lord of the Flies
Even though I was back from Vegas on Sunday, I had a sub yesterday because I was participating in Challenge Day at my school. Challenge Day is a whole different story, but it's a fabulous day where students come together to cross the lines of race, bullying, family issues, etc. There were a lot of tears involved, and it helped open my eyes to some of the issues my students are facing.
Because I had a sub on Friday, I arrived at the school early yesterday morning to finalize sub plans for the day. Since nothing ever goes right, with two minutes to spare before reporting to Challenge Day, I ran upstairs to pick up my sub plans off the copier. Someone was printing 100 pages, front and back, and it was going to be ten minutes or longer before my plans would print. And then the printer shut down altogether.
So....I literally ran through the school (it's a big school) and found another printer that was not busy. That one wouldn't work either, so now I was late for Challenge Day and I didn't have sub plans printed. I ran back to my room, put a sticky note on the computer that my sub plans were on the screen and headed off to CD.
Between 1st and 2nd hour, I ran to my room to check on my kids, to say hi, and to make sure the sub was doing OK. I ran into about five students along the way who told me my sub never showed up. Panic began to rise in my throat. When I arrived to my room, it was empty save a note on the board, written by one of my most trusted students: Dear Administration, I am extremely disappointed in your lack to find us a sub for the day. If you can't even do your job correctly, how can you manage to run a school? This was the biggest waste of time. I'm outta here. Ryan.
He's an idiot for leaving his name! I erased the board and called down to the office.
Me: Lisa, my sub never showed up today.
Lisa: Ummm, we've been notified. Did you know you were supposed to call in your own sub for today?
Me: WHAT?!?!?! No, I had no idea. I thought Jeni called in my sub for today. Oh my goodness, I am soooooooo sorry.
Lisa: A sub has now been called, who should be arriving in the next ten minutes or so.
The whole sub situation is also a different story for a different day, but it was completely my fault that the sub didn't show. I felt stupid. Anyway, the sub arrived and the rest of the day went without a hitch.
Upon arriving to school this morning, I heard the ENTIRE story, and it still makes my blood boil. I was so angry this morning after hearing what happened with my 1st hour class, I was shaking. It took everything in my body to control myself.
The kids sat for about 15 minutes waiting for the sub to arrive. Once they realized that no one was coming, they decided, as any normal kids would do, that they were going to have some fun. Mind you, these are 11th graders. These are kids who should know better. These are kids I trusted. They first started coloring (with my crayons) on the desks. I found a penis, some cuss words and many other drawings upon my return. They then decided to break all my crayons in half and throw them all over the floor. Then they started ripping up papers and scattering those all over the floor. Books were thrown all over. After about 15 more minutes of destroying my room, one girl decided she better call the office and notify someone.
Well, seeing as how these are logical kids, they knew that if administration came down after 30 minutes of being alone, and if administration saw the destruction of the room, they MIGHT get in trouble. They didn't want to get in trouble, so they had to stop this girl from calling someone for help. They disconnected the phone cord from the phone so that she couldn't make the call. They then tossed the cord from person to person playing keep away from the girl who was trying to help.
She then decided to go get a teacher. The other student shut the door and blocked her so she couldn't leave. They started pushing her away. They started bullying her. They started calling her names. They started throwing things at her. Somehow she managed to escape the room with five minutes left of class. She ran down the hall and got a teacher, who came into the room and settled everyone down. He called Lisa, who then called a sub.
In the meantime, an AP came down to cover the class until the sub could arrive. He saw Ryan's note on the board, much to my horror.
So, you see, I'm sure you can imagine why I was so angry this morning. I lectured these kids for ten minutes this morning on how disappointed I was in them. How I thought I could trust my students, but they failed me. How some of my most trusted kids, the kids who I had on the "ask these students for help if you need help" list, how they had lost all my trust. How embarrassed I was that they acted like the kids in Lord of the Flies. How I had to apologize to the AP for the way my students had acted. How I was mortified to find a note on the board yelling at administration for failing when in fact, it was MY fault that a sub didn't show up. I went on and on and on. I ripped them up one side and down the other. I finally said, "I don't even want to talk to you anymore, I am so disgusted with you. If there is EVER a time when I do not show up, or a sub does not show you, you better get your ass to that phone and make a call to the office. I am so disappointed that I can't even look at you right now. I'm going to sit at my desk, and you have the rest of the hour to work. Whatever you don't finish is homework."
I sat down, and not a single student said a peep for the rest of the hour.
Once the bell rang, I called Ryan over to talk about his nice little note. I told him he was one of my most trusted students and he had let me down. I once again explained that administration had nothing to do with the lack of a sub, and I asked him if he would ever write me a note such as he had. He said no, he would never have written a note to me like that. I said, "Then you have no right writing a note when you know nothing about the situation. You made yourself look like a fool, and you made me look like a fool. I had to personally apologize to the AP for your note. You THOUGHT you knew the facts, but you were 100 percent off from the actual truth, and I hope you apologize to Mr. B for what you had to say."
Mr. B ran into Ryan after school, and he had a similar talk with Ryan. Mr. B said, "As an athlete, you are a leader in this school. You let me down, and you let Ms. Nichols down."
Just thinking about this story and retelling it has made me angry again. I completely understand that if I was a student in that situation, I probably would have left the room to find a friend to hang out with. I don't blame them for not wanting to call someone. What I do blame them for is turning LOTF on me and treating the one girl who tried to help just like Piggy was treated.
I had to apoligize to Mr. B today for the way my students behaved. That was a very humbling situation.
Because I had a sub on Friday, I arrived at the school early yesterday morning to finalize sub plans for the day. Since nothing ever goes right, with two minutes to spare before reporting to Challenge Day, I ran upstairs to pick up my sub plans off the copier. Someone was printing 100 pages, front and back, and it was going to be ten minutes or longer before my plans would print. And then the printer shut down altogether.
So....I literally ran through the school (it's a big school) and found another printer that was not busy. That one wouldn't work either, so now I was late for Challenge Day and I didn't have sub plans printed. I ran back to my room, put a sticky note on the computer that my sub plans were on the screen and headed off to CD.
Between 1st and 2nd hour, I ran to my room to check on my kids, to say hi, and to make sure the sub was doing OK. I ran into about five students along the way who told me my sub never showed up. Panic began to rise in my throat. When I arrived to my room, it was empty save a note on the board, written by one of my most trusted students: Dear Administration, I am extremely disappointed in your lack to find us a sub for the day. If you can't even do your job correctly, how can you manage to run a school? This was the biggest waste of time. I'm outta here. Ryan.
He's an idiot for leaving his name! I erased the board and called down to the office.
Me: Lisa, my sub never showed up today.
Lisa: Ummm, we've been notified. Did you know you were supposed to call in your own sub for today?
Me: WHAT?!?!?! No, I had no idea. I thought Jeni called in my sub for today. Oh my goodness, I am soooooooo sorry.
Lisa: A sub has now been called, who should be arriving in the next ten minutes or so.
The whole sub situation is also a different story for a different day, but it was completely my fault that the sub didn't show. I felt stupid. Anyway, the sub arrived and the rest of the day went without a hitch.
Upon arriving to school this morning, I heard the ENTIRE story, and it still makes my blood boil. I was so angry this morning after hearing what happened with my 1st hour class, I was shaking. It took everything in my body to control myself.
The kids sat for about 15 minutes waiting for the sub to arrive. Once they realized that no one was coming, they decided, as any normal kids would do, that they were going to have some fun. Mind you, these are 11th graders. These are kids who should know better. These are kids I trusted. They first started coloring (with my crayons) on the desks. I found a penis, some cuss words and many other drawings upon my return. They then decided to break all my crayons in half and throw them all over the floor. Then they started ripping up papers and scattering those all over the floor. Books were thrown all over. After about 15 more minutes of destroying my room, one girl decided she better call the office and notify someone.
Well, seeing as how these are logical kids, they knew that if administration came down after 30 minutes of being alone, and if administration saw the destruction of the room, they MIGHT get in trouble. They didn't want to get in trouble, so they had to stop this girl from calling someone for help. They disconnected the phone cord from the phone so that she couldn't make the call. They then tossed the cord from person to person playing keep away from the girl who was trying to help.
She then decided to go get a teacher. The other student shut the door and blocked her so she couldn't leave. They started pushing her away. They started bullying her. They started calling her names. They started throwing things at her. Somehow she managed to escape the room with five minutes left of class. She ran down the hall and got a teacher, who came into the room and settled everyone down. He called Lisa, who then called a sub.
In the meantime, an AP came down to cover the class until the sub could arrive. He saw Ryan's note on the board, much to my horror.
So, you see, I'm sure you can imagine why I was so angry this morning. I lectured these kids for ten minutes this morning on how disappointed I was in them. How I thought I could trust my students, but they failed me. How some of my most trusted kids, the kids who I had on the "ask these students for help if you need help" list, how they had lost all my trust. How embarrassed I was that they acted like the kids in Lord of the Flies. How I had to apologize to the AP for the way my students had acted. How I was mortified to find a note on the board yelling at administration for failing when in fact, it was MY fault that a sub didn't show up. I went on and on and on. I ripped them up one side and down the other. I finally said, "I don't even want to talk to you anymore, I am so disgusted with you. If there is EVER a time when I do not show up, or a sub does not show you, you better get your ass to that phone and make a call to the office. I am so disappointed that I can't even look at you right now. I'm going to sit at my desk, and you have the rest of the hour to work. Whatever you don't finish is homework."
I sat down, and not a single student said a peep for the rest of the hour.
Once the bell rang, I called Ryan over to talk about his nice little note. I told him he was one of my most trusted students and he had let me down. I once again explained that administration had nothing to do with the lack of a sub, and I asked him if he would ever write me a note such as he had. He said no, he would never have written a note to me like that. I said, "Then you have no right writing a note when you know nothing about the situation. You made yourself look like a fool, and you made me look like a fool. I had to personally apologize to the AP for your note. You THOUGHT you knew the facts, but you were 100 percent off from the actual truth, and I hope you apologize to Mr. B for what you had to say."
Mr. B ran into Ryan after school, and he had a similar talk with Ryan. Mr. B said, "As an athlete, you are a leader in this school. You let me down, and you let Ms. Nichols down."
Just thinking about this story and retelling it has made me angry again. I completely understand that if I was a student in that situation, I probably would have left the room to find a friend to hang out with. I don't blame them for not wanting to call someone. What I do blame them for is turning LOTF on me and treating the one girl who tried to help just like Piggy was treated.
I had to apoligize to Mr. B today for the way my students behaved. That was a very humbling situation.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Because I Know You Care
Some things from my life lately:
I had the most fabulous birthday, and I will post pictures soon. Since I wasn't able to have a 21st birthday like most people do (because of 9/11), I made it up by throwing myself a Nerdy, Dirty, and Flirty themed party. It was by far the best birthday I have ever had, and most of my favorite people were there to celebrate with me. I am now officially 30, which I guess feels the same as 29, but still....I'm 30.
I am going to Vegas (again) this weekend with Shan, Jeff, Holly, Vali and Nate. Jeff's birthday is next week (I won't mention his age), so a few of us are going to celebrate his birthday. I still need to post pictures from my last trip there in July.
I saw The Zac Brown Band this past weekend at Red Rocks. Again, pictures to come. It was a decent show all around, and while I have a few complaints from the evening, I can honestly tell you that Zac Brown has the best voice I have ever heard, he's a cutie, and I fell in love with him. I decided to do some research last night to find out how I might help him fall in love with me, and I discovered (to my horror) that he's married with three girls. Sigh. Story of my life.
I adore my apartment. I definitely miss Shan, Jeff, Case and Siahna, but I really enjoy coming home from work, stripping down to my PJ's and doing whatever I do (ie: cooking, baking, watching TV, surfing the web, etc). I love the quietness. I also love having all my stuff out of storage and enjoying what I have.
Shan and crew usually have me over for dinner about once a week, which I look forward to. Case always wants to play because he misses his aunt Dido. The other night, he got teary eyed as I left the place and asked me to spend the night in his bed. He's just too cute.
I have been working a lot. Yes, I have my regular 40 hour a week job, but I've also been working Saturdays at Enterprise, and I've been working volleyball games and gymnastic meets at the school on week nights. I often don't get home until 8 or 9 pm (about two nights a week), but I enjoy watching my students play their sports.
All summer, my bulletin board was covered with plane tickets, concert tickets and wedding invitations. It has now dwindled down to just one wedding invitation left for the year, and I am actually in the wedding. Ben and Lindsey get married next weekend. I am a bridesmaid and Collin is a groomsman, and it should be a really good time.
I think that's all for now. From this post I have realized that I have a lot of pictures to post. Once I'm back from Vegas, I'll work on sharing those with you.
For now, God bless!
I had the most fabulous birthday, and I will post pictures soon. Since I wasn't able to have a 21st birthday like most people do (because of 9/11), I made it up by throwing myself a Nerdy, Dirty, and Flirty themed party. It was by far the best birthday I have ever had, and most of my favorite people were there to celebrate with me. I am now officially 30, which I guess feels the same as 29, but still....I'm 30.
I am going to Vegas (again) this weekend with Shan, Jeff, Holly, Vali and Nate. Jeff's birthday is next week (I won't mention his age), so a few of us are going to celebrate his birthday. I still need to post pictures from my last trip there in July.
I saw The Zac Brown Band this past weekend at Red Rocks. Again, pictures to come. It was a decent show all around, and while I have a few complaints from the evening, I can honestly tell you that Zac Brown has the best voice I have ever heard, he's a cutie, and I fell in love with him. I decided to do some research last night to find out how I might help him fall in love with me, and I discovered (to my horror) that he's married with three girls. Sigh. Story of my life.
I adore my apartment. I definitely miss Shan, Jeff, Case and Siahna, but I really enjoy coming home from work, stripping down to my PJ's and doing whatever I do (ie: cooking, baking, watching TV, surfing the web, etc). I love the quietness. I also love having all my stuff out of storage and enjoying what I have.
Shan and crew usually have me over for dinner about once a week, which I look forward to. Case always wants to play because he misses his aunt Dido. The other night, he got teary eyed as I left the place and asked me to spend the night in his bed. He's just too cute.
I have been working a lot. Yes, I have my regular 40 hour a week job, but I've also been working Saturdays at Enterprise, and I've been working volleyball games and gymnastic meets at the school on week nights. I often don't get home until 8 or 9 pm (about two nights a week), but I enjoy watching my students play their sports.
All summer, my bulletin board was covered with plane tickets, concert tickets and wedding invitations. It has now dwindled down to just one wedding invitation left for the year, and I am actually in the wedding. Ben and Lindsey get married next weekend. I am a bridesmaid and Collin is a groomsman, and it should be a really good time.
I think that's all for now. From this post I have realized that I have a lot of pictures to post. Once I'm back from Vegas, I'll work on sharing those with you.
For now, God bless!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
A Story of Ingenuity
Sometimes you just have to be creative. And when you're poor like me, you REALLY have to be creative.
Zucchini Chocolate Muffins
Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread (my favorite, which came from Abby)
I have been baking and getting ready for company this weekend. Rather than go out to eat when everyone is here, I decided to show off my baking skills and make some breakfast items. I've made:
Zucchini Walnut Muffins
Zucchini Chocolate MuffinsZucchini Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread (my favorite, which came from Abby)Lemon Pound Cake Muffins
Peanut Butter Banana Bread w Chocolate Chips
Cinnamon Swirl Bread
It's all in my freezer, and I am looking forward to eating all this delicious food (I also made 6 peach pies the other day). While making these recipes, I THOUGHT I had all the ingredients, but I discovered while making the PB Banana Bread that I was out of chocolate chips. I was in the middle of mixing when I figured this out. I had already been to the store, and I wasn't about to go again, so this is where my creativity played a role.
I walked through my house and found every piece of chocolate I could find. I unwrapped about 10 pieces of Dark Chocolate Kisses, chopped them up and used that for my chocolate. Am I good or what?
While making my Peanut Asian Chicken Salad tonight, I realized that I didn't have canned peanuts, as per the recipe. Again, I wasn't about to go to the store in the middle of cooking dinner, so I started looking through my cupboards. I found a bag of trail mix, which yes, is full of peanuts. I rummaged through the bag of raisins, M&Ms, cashews and peanuts until I had enough peanuts to chop. Ingenuity at its best! While I will admit the peanuts kind of tasted like raisins, it was already in my cupboard, so I'm OK with that! :)
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
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