Pillowcases

This has been a while coming, but here are some pictures of the fabric combos some of my kids came up with. Overall I'd call the pillowcases a success. I'm so glad I ran across that idea on a fellow FACS teacher's blog.

We've finished aprons in this class, well most of us have, and moved on to pajama pants.  Overall we're improving. 
Homecoming is also this week.  We've had dress up days all week.  I have to say pajama day is my favorite!  After making it through all the festivities and the dance Saturday night, we get to start making bread for our FCCLA Holiday Bread Sale.  Last year we sold a total 212 loaves of pumpkin, lemon, chocolate and sour cream streusel breads.  This year we're up to around 370. It will be a busy week next week!

Teaching Moments

I have not done very well at keeping up with this thus far this year.  So here's an update of what happening in the FACS realm at my school.

Foods class is finally cooking.  We've had some really good labs, and some not so good ones.  We're still working on time management.

Foodservice is learning some important lessons.  The first being how important flour is in cookies.  In case you're wondering, it's pretty important.  And here's a picture to prove it.

They did put some flour in, just not enough.  These were supposed to be for the hospitality room for our volleyball regionals.  This is exactly the reason I keep some cookies in the freezer most of the time.  

They've also learning that too much cooking spray on the pan can be almost as bad as not enough.  We're also working on learning to do things as a group and figuring out each other's personalities.

The girls in Adult Living are very excited to start on their Wedding Books.  They've been bugging me about it for weeks now, but we weren't quite ready for it.  Today we began and they're realizing just how much work  they have to put into these things.  Plus, I'm pretty sure they're in for a surprise when they find out we're still talking about more chapters and the wedding planning is done on the side - just like it is in real life.  It should be interesting.

Finally that brings me to Orientation.  We've started sewing.  The first week is horrible.  There are so many questions.  It doesn't seem to matter how well or how often I've explained something before we start sewing, I still have to explain it again later.  The second week goes much better and I have a nice stack of pillow cases to grade in the next week.  I'm pleased with most of them.  The kids picked out some really cool fabric combinations.  One of the best parts of making this project has been the moments when I'm busy with someone else and another student steps in to help someone who's waiting with a question.  They're teaching each other, which is great!  We're also finally developing relationships in my first section of the class.  This is the group that was so incredibly quiet with me at the beginning.  They're finally catching on to my sense of humor and getting a little more relaxed with me.  It makes sewing so much easier.  I also had one student out of each section thank me today for the extra help I gave them or for taking time to explain things to them.  It kinda made my day.  

Passing the Test

I actually wrote this back in September, but for some unknown reason didn't post it.  So here it is, better late than never I guess

I have a short devotional delivered to my school email every day.  The goal is that when I sit down to open my email after I get to school, I will start my day out with that devotional and hopefully keep it in mind as I teach my students throughout the day.  Some days it works, others it doesn’t.  This morning’s devotion was titled “Passing the Test.”  It was talking about character and integrity and making decisions that are pleasing to God.  It was a great message, one that I took to heart for myself, but I got something a little different out of it too. 

The story the author started out with was about a boy who was terrible at spelling making a bad decision to cheat on his spelling test.  The teacher was shocked as she saw what he was doing, but said nothing.  As he got up to turn in his test, he paused in front of the trash can and slowly started tearing up his test.  He had made the honest decision in the end to take a zero on the test instead of using someone else’s work.  As I was reading this several things went through my mind.  First, my heart went out to the student who struggled with his test.  I have lots of students who struggle, not all of them with school work.  The things that some of my kids have to deal with breaks my heart.  And what gets me even more are the poor decisions that so many of them make that make their situations worse.  Secondly, the cheating is something that I’m battling right now.  I wish that some of my students could be as honest as the kid in the devotion.  This too, goes back to poor decision making. 

In three of my classes, we’ve been talking about lifestyle choices, the consequences of those choices, and taking responsibility for our actions.  I realize that most of them that already make poor choices will probably not listen to me or take any of what I say to heart.  But if I can reach one.  Just one.  Then I will have made a difference.  Isn’t that why we teach anyway, to make a difference?  

September?

Is it really September already?  We have officially been in school for 4 weeks now.  That seems crazy!  And I'm already behind on blogging.

The year is off to a really good start I think.  Over all, my class sizes are all up from last year.  My biggest class is 18 and the smallest is 5.  That's quite a turn around from 3 years ago when my smallest class was 2.  My FCCLA numbers look like they will be up this year too.  If everyone joins that has told me they're thinking about it, I may have 26.  That's double my numbers from the first year! 

Here are some other random short stories from the first month of school.

• The first few weeks in my Orientation to FACS class is notes and discussion based.  This can be a bit challenging when you have one hour of the class that won't talk to you.  I could barely even get a smile out of them!  This was a very tough crowd!  They've finally started loosening up a tad though and stopped looking at me like I'm an alien. 
• I have always felt that the first few topics in Orientation are a little on the boring side.  It's not my favorite part to teach, but I try to make it as interesting as possible.  I was told yesterday by one of my sections that they actually enjoyed this part.  Made my day.
• One of my students walked up beside me in the hallway today right after lunch and asked with a big smile on his face, "How's my favorite teacher today?"  I laughed and asked what he wanted.  "Nothing, I just thought I'd ask," he replied, still smiling.
• I have 4 and possibly 5 FCCLA girls interested in doing competitions this year! 

There's probably more stories I've forgotten, but those were some of the ones that really melted my heart.  It's hard to believe how much easier year 3 is so far.  I finally feel like I know what I'm doing.  I love my kids and therefore I love my job! 

Thoughts

It's been an amazing summer.  I've gotten to spend some wonderful quality time with the girls in Cape.  I've slept in.  I've discovered that I actually enjoy running.  (Crazy thought!)  And in that discovery, I've managed to lose 8 pounds so far! 

I've also had some thoughts about friendship.  And love.  Mainly relationships in general.

Anyway, on to friendship.  I have some great friends.  At times, I look at these people I've surrounded myself with and I think, "Wait a minute, how and why exactly are these people friends with me?"  I also think that maybe sometimes it's odd that I have so many different types of friends.  I have the friends that I've grown up with that are my own age.  They're distant now, physically but not emotionally.  Then there are my girls from college, also my own age.  And then you have the work friends.  Not to give the impression that we are only friends at work.  That is far from the truth.  I'm the baby of that group.  And then there are the friends that live close but are younger than me. 

For the longest time, age determined who you were friends with.  Mainly because of school.  I have a difficult time getting away from that mindset.  The people that are my own age are all experiencing different stages in life than me.  They're married and thinking of families.  While having a family is definitely on my mind, I'm a long way from that stage right now.  Then the friends that are older than me are all focused on their families.  So that leaves me with the ones younger than me, who are still in college and trying to find their way in the world.  And honestly that's where I feel I fit in.  While the rest of the world my age seems to have it all figured out, I still feel as though I'm stumbling around trying to find my way.  Sure I have a job, but I still live a relatively carefree lifestyle, much like a college student.  I have to admit, I enjoy it.  Do I want to get married?  Of course, but I'm rather enjoying myself right now.  The thing that bothers me about it is that I don't feel like people understand that.  It feels like I'm some sort of oddity because I'm so close with people younger than me.

It seems to me that, really, friendship knows not what age is.  Someone asked me once how you make a friend, and at the time I didn't have an answer.  I've decided though, that one cannot "make" a friend.  Friends blossom out of the circumstances life puts us in.  They are not made by us, but given to us by God.  We don't have to understand the whys of the friendship, only accept it as the gift that it is.  To me, true friendship knows no boundaries. 

To My Seniors

I have been very blessed this year with wonderful classes.  While I have great students who are not seniors, I want to take a post to focus on the seniors, even though they probably will never see it.  And mainly to say the things I would love to tell them as they leave my class tomorrow for the last time but won't be able to without crying. 

You are wonderful and caring individuals.  You are capable of great things.  The potential is there.  It's all in how you use what you have been given.  It has been a pleasure having you in class this year.  I have loved getting to know you and making memories with you.  I hope that in our time together you have learned something valuable to take with you as you leave, even if it has nothing to do with the subject matter.  Know that you will be missed, and please stay in touch!

Foodservice Meal

I know, I'm going post crazy here, but I've got so much to catch up on!  And I have to take a minute to brag on my class. 

We had our big final project today in Foodservice Occupations class.  The kids prepared a meal for the teachers and staff.  The menu consisted of lasagna, salad, homemade rolls, cupcakes, and drinks.  The kids also served the meal.  Counting the kids, we served about 36 people.  Everything tasted great and looked great too!  They did an awesome job of cooking, serving, and cleaning up.  I could not have asked for better help.  From ironing tablecloths to keeping the servers supplied with lasagna and cupcakes without being told, and doing an excellent, speedy job with clean up, I could not have been more proud.  I had more compliments today on my students than I can count.  I have been on cloud nine today!  I wish that I could take credit for all of it because of my stellar teaching skills (ha!), but I have to give the kids credit.  They've been great this year.  It makes teaching so much fun to have kids that are willing workers.  I have loved every minute of this class and will miss them tremendously next year! Thank you for being such a great class!

FCCLA End of the Year

If I hadn't been gone from school enough, the Thursday after we returned from California I took four of my FCCLA seniors to State Conference in Springfield.  One of them competed.  A first for her and for me.  Considering our inexperience I think she did pretty well.  The kids were great.  We had tons of fun.  Friday night after the keynote session we went back to the rooms.  This trip I shared a room with one of the girls.  Everyone ended up in my room watching movies on tv.  We decided to order pizza about 11:15.  It finally arrived at midnight.  The movie ended about 1 and the pizza was pretty well gone.  It was another late night, adding to my sleep deprivation I hadn't caught up on before.  Luckily in our down time earlier that afternoon the kids were nice enough to let me take a nap while they watched a movie.  Yes, I have kids that are nice enough to let me sleep and not do awful things to me.  Except for that one rude awakening when one kid jumped on the edge of the bed.  He shall remain nameless.  :)  Saturday morning we skipped the awards session and headed back to school because the girls had to get ready for prom.  I drove home, spent my 5 hours unpacking and resting, and drove back to school with Scott in tow to chaperone prom.  Prom was great fun with lots of good memories for the kids.  I let Scott drive home as I was pretty well out of it by midnight. 

Then on Tuesday we had our FCCLA Officer Installation Reception.  Seniors and outgoing officers were recognized.  I also had some four year members that received FCCLA blankets.  I am going to miss my seniors next year!  They have been a great help.  It's been a good year.  We donated food to the local food pantry.  The kids made about 40 baby hats that we donated to the local hospital.  And we donated books at state conference to be given to children that cannot afford books.  We pulled off our first annual bread sale fundraiser, too.  It took the entire club to do these things, but my seniors stepped up big time.  They were the main contributors to the baby hat project.  And one my boys was a huge help during bread week.  He was the only one to volunteer to stay after school and help me wash the 40 to 50 pans that we used every day to make our loaves of specialty breads.   These kids have participated in every activity we've done and taken interest in attending our meetings.  I could not have asked for a better club this year.

San Diego Parts 2-5

My goal when I titled the last post "San Diego Part 1" was that I would blog a little every day of our trip so I would get all of my memories down.  Well obviously that failed as we have been back from our trip for over 2 weeks now!  So here's how the rest of the trip went.  Beware!  It's quite lengthy!

Wed - Groceries & San Diego Zoo.  We piled in the vans Wednesday morning and took the kids to the grocery store down the road.  It is quite the experience to take 21 high school kids grocery shopping.  We went to the zoo in the afternoon.  It was amazing!  Of course I love zoos anyway, so this was right up my alley.   I spent the afternoon wandering around with 5 of my girls.  We had a pretty fun time.  We got back to the hotel with enough time to get ready for dinner at the hotel restaurant.  Dinner was very good and was quite comical.  Afterwards we watched some tv in the girls room on my floor.  Everyone on my floor was exhausted, so we went to bed early.  I slept much better the 2nd night and even got to sleep in a little the next morning until one of the boys knocks on my door before the alarm goes off asking for sugar which I did not have.  I had just gotten back to the bed and turned off the alarm when there's another knock at the door - a different boy asking for creamer, which I also did not have.  Not 5 minutes later as I'm getting ready to close the bathroom door to take a shower there's another knock at the door.  The first boy is back asking for the coffee that came with the room.  I had just gotten out of the shower and dressed when there's yet another knock at the door.  The second boy is back asking for salt and pepper, which I also did not have! 

Thurs - Beach Day.  I finally managed to get ready and we left for Coronado Island to go to the beach there.  The scenery on the island was beautiful.  They had some really cool little shops down town, and we saw the Hotel Del Coronado. 

Hotel Del Coronado

The beach on Coronado Island. 

The Pacific Ocean is freezing, and it didn't help that the entire time we were in San Diego the temperatures didn't get out of the 60s.  So while it was too cold for my liking to go swimming I did walk in the waves a bit. 
Thursday afternoon the kids were on their own.  I walked down to the boardwalk with a couple of the girls and we did some shopping.  We then went to get manicures and pedicures.  So relaxing!!  Thursday night we separated for dinner.  The other 2 chaperones took some of the kids to a seafood restaurant while I took the non-seafood eaters to Luigi's at the Beach.  The food was ok, but check out the size of this pizza slice! 

The Giant Slice at Luigi's.  That's a normal size Chinet paper plate!

Thursday night found the kids on my floor in my room playing truth or dare.  We stayed up way too late, but it was lots of fun. 

Fri - San Diego Zoo Safari Park.  The park was nice.  It rained most of the time we were there that morning.  There were lots of complaints, but the group I was with had fun and enjoyed wandering around and seeing the animals.  Friday afternoon we got to experience a thunderstorm.  I spend the time curled up on my couch under a blanket reading.  At least until the kids started visiting again.  Two of them put on a song and dance show for us.  Friday night we drove to Old Town and ate at Cafe Coyote - a Mexican restaurant that was highly recommended.  The food was excellent!  And we had a very attractive waiter!  Two of my boys ordered fried ice cream and surprised me with it for my birthday.  And the entire group sang to me.  Friday night found the kids on my floor back in my room.  This time we played charades until the wee hours of the morning. 

Sat - Sea World.  Our last day in San Diego was very nice.  The weather finally cooperated with us all day.  The park was amazing!  I loved Sea World!  We spent most of the day at the park.  We were on our own for dinner that night and I took a small group to Dave & Buster's.  Unfortunately the wait was too long for us to eat there, but the kids got to play some games anyway.  We then found a gas station that took me and one of my boys to figure out how to pump the gas.  Once back at the hotel, some of us at pizza rolls in my room.  We then went out to the beach for a bonfire and smores.  A few of the kids came back to my room.  We had to leave for the airport at 4:00 am Sunday morning, so the plan was to just stay up all night.  I started out with about 7 kids and ended up with 3.  One by one they couldn't make it so they went back to their rooms.  Of the 3 that stayed with me only 1 didn't fall asleep at some point during the night.  I managed to make it the entire night.   That was my first all-nighter too.  Somehow I managed to make it through college without going an entire night without sleep.  There is a very good reason why that happened!  I do not do well without sleep!

Sunday - Departure & My Birthday!  I got birthday wishes at midnight Illinois time and San Diego time.  At the bonfire the night before a couple of the kids went to the hotel and got me a strawberry drink.  Sunday was rough to say the least.  Over the last 3 days I had approximately 11 hours of sleep.  Our flight to Dallas left without issue.  We had a little turbulence as we got close to Dallas as there were storms in the area.  I got some really cool cloud pictures though!  Our 40 minute layover in Dallas ended up being about 3 hours with other delays due to the storms!  The flight to St. Louis was terrible!  And the landing was even worse!  Everyone made it home safe and sound though. 

The clouds on our flight to Dallas from San Diego Sunday morning. 

We had a great time on the trip!  I won't say it was without a few issues, but overall the kids were great!  I would definitely go again!  Oh and I had an unwelcome souvenir that stowed away in my suitcase.  I brought a mouse home from San Diego!  Luckily he was caught pretty quickly!

San Diego Part 1

We made it to California in one piece. All 21 students and 3 chaperones. The 2012 senior trip has begun. Yesterday was eventful but calm. That's a strange combination but truthful. It was the first time flying for many of us. The weird thing is that I was very calm through the whole thing. I was not the slightest bit nervous about flying. I actually enjoyed it. The airport in Dallas is huge compared to St. Louis! We made it to our connecting flight without any problems. Almost anyway. We all piled on the tram that would take us to our next terminal. The doors closed very quickly before all 21 of us made it of the car, so we had to wait on one to catch up with us. Then once we landed in San Diego, the other teacher and I went to get the vans. Since I had the directions, I got to lead. We made it back to the airport to pick up the kids and the other chaperone without much problem. But our ten minute drive to the hotel turned in to a tour of San Diego. Which is great, but not what I wanted to be doing at 12:30 at night! We finally made it, and I gave the kids some great memories of me driving a twelve passenger van. I think it was about 3 this morning when I finally got to sleep after finding the hotel, getting the kids situated in their rooms, and getting unpacked. However for all of the worrying I skipped for our trip out here, I made up for it by seeing every hour on the clock last night. Now that we're landed I start worrying! I shouldn't because nine of them are just down the hall from me and the other teacher took care of the other 3 rooms, but I worried all night long. Today we're off to do some grocery shopping and go to the zoo. Hopefully my 4 hours of sleep will be enough along with the adrenaline to get me through the day. This trip will definitely be one they will never forget.

Catching Up

It's hard to believe how fast this school year is flying by!  I counted up the other day (for planning purposes, I'm actually not in a countdown for the end of the year this year.  I'm enjoying it!) and I have 33 days left with my seniors (not counting the days we're gone on senior trip and FCCLA state convention).  We then have one week of regular classes, two days of semester exams, then the last day of school!  It's crazy!  So here's a catch up on what's been going on.

The 2nd Annual NCHS Iron Chef Soup Cookoff went great!  We had cheeseburger soup, bacon potato soup, steak soup, meatball soup, and French onion soup.  First place went to the green kitchen with their steak soup.  Second was the blue kitchen with bacon potato, and third was the brown kitchen with their French onion.  It was a very close competition this year, and the judges definitely had their work cut out for them. 

The FCCLA hosted their first dance (while I've been at the school anyway). The FCCLA Winter Formal was held on February 18th. Winter Nights was our theme. Decorations looked like this:

 

 

The majority of my club stayed after school to help decorate.  And I had several help tear down afterwards too.  I would definitely call it a success.  It wasn't anything fancy, but I think all the kids had fun.  I guess we'll do it again next year.

We also celebrated Mardi Gras in my Foodservice Occupations class by making crepes.  The kids had a lot of fun trying to flip their crepes, and some of them got really good at it.  Of course the best part was eating the results. 

I also get to go on the senior trip as a chaperone this year.  We're headed to San Diego, CA in April.  We get four full days there to visit the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, Sea World and the beach.  Flying across the country with 21 seniors should definitely be an experience!

FCCLA Moments

Today I took 14 students to an FCCLA conference for our section. We had several "moments" today. 
First thing this morning as we're pulling out onto a road we nearly had a collision with a van.  I did not see the near accident as I was listening to one of my students, but from the looks on their faces it was quite close.  What a fun way to start the morning!  Thankfully no contact was made!

FCCLA is a professional organization and as such members are expected to dress up for meetings.  I must say, my kids clean up quite well.  I was very proud today. 

I had 2 students running for offices.  Both of them gave great election speeches and won their offices!  I can't wait to see what next year holds for both of them and for our own chapter. 

One of my seniors decided to try a competition this year.  She chose the fashion display competition.  She was very nervous, but she received a silver medal and gets to move on to state competition.  She has a very good eye for design and putting colors and clothes together.  Her display looked awesome and I can't wait to see how she improves it for state!

It was a very fun day today.   It's so nice to have students that are well behaved and don't complain (much).  Because of that I get to relax and actually have fun with them.  It's unfortunate that most of them are seniors this year.  I'm really going to miss them next year! 

Tomorrow should be another fun day.  Our 2nd Annual NCHS Iron Chef Soup Cook-off is tomorrow.  I'm sure the judges are anxiously awaiting tomorrow's competition.  More details later!

Chicken & Dumplings and "Mom"

In my food service class today I made chicken & dumplings as a demonstration in my chicken unit.  Out of 13 kids I had 3 that had never tasted this dish before.  Granted one had an excuse, she's a foreign exchange student.  But seriously, the other two?!  I believe I have them hooked now.  This class period happens to be right before lunch for my seniors, so lunch was in my room today.  It was silent for a good 2-3 minutes in my room with all of them in there - something that rarely happens, except when they eat.  One of my girls even took care of the dishes for me.  "You cooked.  I'll do the dishes."  It was very sweet.  It was also a very fun day.  It was like getting the whole family together (a family that gets along of course) for a meal.  We talked and laughed and generally enjoyed each other's company. 

In other news, I was paid a very high compliment today.  One of my students looked at me very seriously and said, "Ms. Miller, you should have kids."  I looked back at him rather dumbfounded and replied, "I should?"  "Yes," he says.  "You'd be a really good mom.  You have rules and can be strict, but you also know how to have fun."  I nearly cried.  Things like that don't typically come out of this student's mouth.  I quickly recovered from my shock and gave him a heartfelt thank you.  Some day I'll tell my kids that they should be thankful to have me for a mom.  I'll probably wish I had that recorded so there was proof that someone thought I was fun once!

It's been a good day!  :)

Cookies, Punch Cubes, & Chickens

It’s an odd title, I know, but it hits all the highlights.  Last week our school hosted the annual boys’ basketball tournament for our conference.  Every year we have a hospitality room that has earned quite the reputation.  This year, my food service class is helping prepare food.  Our biggest contribution has been cookies.  For the first night, we had two large platters of cookies.  Every single one of them was eaten the first night and we had so many positive comments.  I was very proud of my kids.  They worked hard on their cookies - having fun at the same time of course!  (I’ve decided that at least for this year, it is impossible to do anything in my room without having fun.)  I have such willing workers.  They’re always ready to cook and some even offered to come last night to help serve.  I am truly blessed with good students this year.  By the end of the week we had served 12 batches of cookies, roughly 36 dozen.

I have a student this year, who has figured out my weakness.  (One of them anyway.)  For one of our Christmas parties, he brought in punch cubes – a kind that happens to be my favorite.  He has now created a monster.  We’ve already had a “punch party” since we’ve been back from Christmas.  I’m sure that there are more such days in our future as a class!

At semester break, I always get new students.  My food service class went from 6 to 13!  All have been in a foods related class with me before so they know the drill as far as clean up and procedures.  But just to be sure I reviewed all my expectations at the beginning of the semester which was met with several looks of “Yes, we know already.  Can we just cook now?”  What’s even better is not that they just know my expectations, they follow them – specifically.  I’m EXTREMELY picky about cleanliness and keeping the kitchens spotless after labs.  And it’s rubbed off on the kids.  They take pride in how clean everything looks and any dirty dishes or leftover messes from when other people come in to use a sink or counter space are met with disgust.  For example – today was the first lab day for my orientation classes.  It’s always an experience when the kids cook for the first time.  But I didn’t realize just how much my upperclassmen had spoiled me.  There were SO many questions over things that I know I covered in class.  Then when it came to clean up – oh my goodness!  As I’m grading 2^nd hour on their kitchens after the bell rang, my food service kids are coming in for class and are seeing what I’m grading.  They were shocked at how messy things were and frankly so was I.  I believe a serious talk will be taking place tomorrow.  Even in my disappointment in the previous hour, my kids still managed to make me smile.  I’ve managed to make them all as OCD as I am about cleanliness J. 

Today was chicken day!  Yesterday I demonstrated how to cut up a chicken.  And I managed to get a few good comments out of it too.  “Oh that’s gross!”  It’s strange, but it makes me smile inside.  Today was their turn and I am so proud!  I didn’t have hardly any disgusted comments.  As they are working on their birds, I’m walking around helping them find the right spots to cut, having them feel bones and joints and such.  They were really excited about getting to do this and really got into cutting up their chickens – so much so that they all named their birds before they started.  I have pictures that I plan to print out to give to the kids.  “Harry,” “Carlos,” “Maria,” “Gregory,” and “Steven” were all great sports today and will make some very tasty fried chicken next week.  I think the whole school probably heard about the chickens at some point today.