9.22.08

I am at a loss for words. Mara Adams passed away this morning. I am not quite sure how I made it through the day at school, but I did. Mara was in class on Friday. Weak, but alert and gave us her half grin we can thrive on for days. Today was a somber day around school and I am sure there will be a roller coaster of emotions running through everyone as the days pass. I can't begin to think about removing her belongings from my classroom, but know the day will come. On her table today was a self portrait she had been working on for Open House. I couldn't move it. Mara and her family has touched so many lives. I am deeply saddened by the news and hope to find some strength in knowing she fought for as long as she could and as hard as anyone could possibly imagine.

9.21.08

On Tuesday night, four teachers ventured to Seattle to see Phantom of the Opera. Maggie and I recieved tickets from the Adam's family. Of course this meant we had to wear our Mara shirts and take photos! See below. (Maggie is on the left, she teaches K at our school and that's me on the right.)

Mara is constantly on our minds and in our thoughts. She is making it to class almost daily, but only for about an hour. She tires quickly, but I am thrilled each time she is able to be part of class. For updates check out her website: http://www.maraadams.com/. I adore my job and Mara has taught our class about compassion, perserverance, love, hope, being grateful for the little things in life, acceptance, etc...the list goes on and on. Thank you, Mara, for teaching us.

9.15.08 Life is Busy

Since school has started, I have found myself wanting more down time. Go figure! Quite the opposite has occured. Mornings are now filled with list making while driving to work,(Usually I can't remember my list by the time I get to school.), getting children settled in the classroom even if they have forgotten their lunch and refuse to eat school lunch, finding my planbook open with no plan and listening to 25 stories about what happened the night before....Still, I wouldn't change a thing!

In other news....Richard and I traveled to South Dakota this past weekend for my brother's wedding. It was a great event with great memories. (I am exhausted from the trip and excited that bedtime has arrived!) Aric and Janean looked fabulous and the ceremony went smoothly. We danced the night away at the reception and they opened gifts on Sunday. It was a BUSY weekend with barely enough time to catch our breath! I went back to school this morning feeling both energized (wanting to see my class) and exhausted (from the travel and a cold). Life is busy, but good.

9.3.08 First Day of School

Oh...my...goodness! I am one tuckered out teacher!

Today was the first day of school. I am teaching a split class; 14 second graders and 11 first graders. As usual, the school was bustling way too early! Families were in the door well before opening which makes it difficult for teachers (like me) who get new students enrolled minutes before school starts! Thankfully, I have a student teacher and she was able to prep the materials for us. I know, I know, I don't think I am old enough to have a student teacher, but I am! Anyway, today I had second graders all day and met for an hour with first grade parents. Rather hectic. My second graders were giddy with excitement ALL day long. They could not wipe the smiles off their faces. Adorable, really! My first graders came in and unpacked their supplies and if I would have let them, they would have stayed. Tonight I am exhausted and even after a long day, realize once again that I LOVE my job. It was great to be back in the "game" again!

A few of my favorite moments of the day were:

• Toothy grins as kids settle in their desk



• The joy of opening new boxes of crayons and kids coloring so carefully so they don't break



• Mara Adams feeling well enough today to find her first grade desk (http://www.maraadams.com/)



• Students from last year crashing into me with giant, everlasting hugs...ahhhh



• Max coming to visit, "just to see how my class is this year" (he is now in third grade)



• Coming home to a quiet house

8.17.08

No news is good news, right?! I don't have much to report. I have spent the last few days dog/house/cat sitting for some friends. It is nice to be away from the house, but hard at the same time. I have ONE week before school business officially starts. Way too soon. (Even though I am pretty excited deep down!)

Friday night we went to a Brandi Carlile concert at the Tractor Tavern in Ballard. We have not been there in a LONG time. In fact, the last time we were there it was for a Brandi concert. Good times.

Yesterday we went to a play called, "You're a good man Charlie Brown." My good friend Terry is in the play. It was great! Even though I found myself looking away so I didn't make eye contact with him. I don't know why. Maybe too many Easter bunnies and clowns in grocery stores as a kid. Who knows. Last night we went to another concert...this time in a park. Brandi Carlile was the headliner. Again, it was fun and we got to see friends that we have not seen in quite some time.

Today we went to Richard's company picnic. It turned out to be only 15 mintues away from where we are house sitting. We waded out in the water to cool us from the heat and humidity.

Summer Days Drifting Away

Summer is winding down. I have had an amazing few months and don't want it to end!

I am officially done with my Master's class. It was a long, sometimes difficult 22 months, but worth it. It will be strange to not have to go to class an entire weekend out of the month. I think I will get used to it pretty quickly. My cohort consisted of 24 teachers and I couldn't ask for a better group. We plan to meet up in the future and enjoy each other's company rather than academics. My group completed our thesis project and were able to turn it in early. We started working on this project in May and thanks to their hard work while I was in France, we were able to complete it in a timely manner. (If you call 3 months timely) So, on July 27th I graduated with my Master's degree in Education! I can now sign my name: April Jean Jackson, M.Ed. Pretty exciting, really.

Master's thesis project...DONE! This is us "acting" exhausted.

As part of our celebration we went to a cabin on a lake near Tacoma, WA. We spent two days out on the boat, relaxing on the dock, playing cards, eating, drinking, laughing, and just spending time with each other. It was SO fun and SO relaxing!

Terry and I in our Lesley University Tshirts we designed for our cohort.

The same weekend I graduated, I was also in a wedding. It was pretty tricky doing both, but thanks to a flexible instructor I was able to attend the wedding. Melissa (the bride) is a teacher and I was very honored to be a part of her big day.

So now what? Well, I have started my National Boards.
"The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards improves teaching and student learning. National Board Certified Teachers are highly accomplished educators who meet high and rigorous standards. Like board-certified doctors and accountants, teachers who achieve National Board Certification have met rigorous standards through intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment and peer review. NBPTS offers 25 certificates that cover a variety of subject areas and student developmental levels."
This process includes documenting evidence, video taping myself teach (yipes), writing, evaluating my teaching, submitting a portfolio of this evidence in March and finally taking a test in June. It will be another challenging year for me. This past week I attended a conference to help get started with the process. While it was overwhelming, I think it was informative and vital to getting started on the right foot.


I have a few weeks left of summer and don't have too much planned. We will be camping at the Kite Festival in Long Beach, WA in a few weeks. We also have a concert to attend next weekend. I have meetings at school starting the last week in August.

7.24.08

I am back from France! I had an AMAZING time with AMAZING people. Maggie and I had a fabulous time together....shopping, cooking, relaxing, chatting, etc. I feel so fortunate to have had such a great opportunity presented to me. Flattering, really.

I am currently working on my Master's project that is due this weekend. I will share more France details next week. However, I did want to post a few pictures from my trip. Hopefully, I will be able to get more out next week when life slows down!

Who says you can't get 7 people in a compact car? (It was a short ride)

'08 Road Trip to D Day Beaches (these are the folk I traveled with that day)

American Cemetary

German Cemetary

Honfleur, France (this is the town where we stayed) We spent a ton of time in the harbor. Great shops, food, and even street dances!

Monet's famous "lily pond" (and me!)