Good News/Worrisome News

It's Tuesday……I am falling behind on my blogging. I do love my job, but I may love summer a tad bit more!

Today, I bring you good news and some worrisome news.

I am one that likes things to run smoothly….today, I became frustrated…enrollment forms are not coming in for the summer as expected. When forms went home for Phase 1, we had waiting lists within 48 hours.  Currently, we barely have enough to fill 1 site…let alone 3. One of the administrators emailed me and said, "I don't want to worry you are scare you but the enrollment forms have been coming in slowly." 

My goodness golly...I am worried and I am scared

…..Staff is already lined up.

…..Field trips are in the process of being finalized.

……Menus are being planned.

……Curriculum is being written.

…… Supplies has been purchased.

…..but then I realized that it’s just a bump in the road…need to stay optimistic….we will fill all the slots!

And for the good news....

On a happier note, the Carpe Diem Academy office is moving!

For about the past 3 weeks, my office has become known as an “offage”….part office and part storage. Need a picture book? Come to the offage! Need a clip-board? Come to the offage! Need a carpet square? Come to the offage! Need a broom? Come to the offage! Need a bag of jelly beans, or Clorox, or a boom-box, or paint, or 2,000 pencils? Come to the offage! However, you only have until the end of this week…..because the supplies will be placed in the academy storage room – this will also give the staff more room to prep lessons and find resources rather than having to step on supplies to find supplies!.....and I will be moving to a new office….

All for now!

Carpe Diem!

-Amy

We are all connected...

So….in the beginning, my original post was about changing the world. Last week, a connection was made and it reminded me how everything and everyone in the world truly is connected.

For my entire life, I was surrounded by PC’s. I always referred to Apples as “the fake computer”…. I associated apples with apple martinis. There was just something about those large iridescent lumps that would sit in the computer lab….and then you could start purchasing colored ones……...they just didn’t seem as sophisticated as a PC….

Even as life progressed, and the iPhone was the hot item, I would still try to persuade cell phone seekers to purchase a Droid.

But then the transformation happened. I started using an iPad…..and then after numerous issues with my Droid…I converted to an iPhone……..shortly after, my work computer arrived....another Apple product. While the academy was up and running, you would see the nice Mac sitting in the corner of my desk while I worked on my PC……I wasn’t ready for the full conversion! Once the academy ended, I would spend a little time (2-3 minutes) on the Mac and the remaining time on the PC 

That little bit of time increased to the majority of the time…..and then……

……..one Sunday afternoon, I found myself walking out of the store with a MacBook in my hand….I was now a complete Apple!

Following this conversion, I was told I had to name my laptop….….seemed strange….but soon enough, it was named….stop by sometime and I will introduce you to Peon Opal!

Last week, that connection was made….a staff member stopped by my office with a quote…”The ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Steve Jobs

Everything and everyone is connected….even if it’s just by a little….. 

Everything and everyone is crazy…….even if it’s just a little bit crazy….

Have you figured out the bigger connection?? ……We are all connected….we are all crazy…..so that must mean we can all be that change in the world!!!!

To Plan.....or not...

So….it just dawned on me…..today is Monday…..I said I would blog on Mondays. The plan was to spend some time over the weekend to write a reflection about my experiences…..I have reflected in the past…..but I wanted to sit back and really think about it all!

Well….that was the plan…..

I like to plan and I like to keep my plans…..so I am slightly disappointed in myself.

I like to plan for the short term…

……I like to plan as to what time I am going to wake up…..

……I like to plan how many times I can hit snooze before I really have to wake up

……I like to plan what flip-flops (I mean closed toed shoes!) I am going to wear tomorrow…….

I like to plan for the long term……

…..like what the heck am I going to be doing in two years…..scary!

Sometimes when we plan, life passes by too quickly, but if we don’t plan than life is a chaotic mess. However, in order to see success, one must plan.

 10 days ago was the final day of Phase 1 of the Academy. Today, we were meeting with the summer staff. Planning has already begun…..I mean we are only 62 days away!!!

Did you ever wonder if you didn't plan if things would have turned out differently....or if you did plan how things would have turned out? I mean what if I stop planning for the summer?  

Hmmm....on second thought, I think I better....or the long term planning I mentioned  above will turn into short term planning!

Carpe Diem!

Amy

Guest Blogger

Tonight's post comes from Christina B.......

Apples, sugar, cinnamon, crust, flour, peppermint, cherries, oranges, cotton candy, and applesauce. Bake all of that at 50^oF for 10 minutes. Any idea what you get? No? Let’s try again. How about apples, cinnamon, flour, butter, seeds, crackers, crust, water, and salt, baked at 5^oF for 3 hours? Ok last one; flour, cinnamon, seeds, apples, butter, and noodles, baked at 3^oF for 10 minutes?

All three of these were recipes for apple pie of course! Last week in my kindergarten classroom, we learned all about apples. My students got to taste test different colored apples, we graphed our favorite one, and we learned about apple seeds. Then, we made our own apple pies (out of construction paper, tissue paper, glitter, and cinnamon) and wrote our own recipes! I was very excited to teach this unit, and when I realized my students were just as interested as I was, I knew it was going to be a wonderful week.

At the start of this program I never would have thought about using glitter in my classroom, terrified of the mess we would have made. I wouldn’t have wanted to do a unit too involved with my students either, since they could barely sit and listen to a story. In the beginning, anytime my students were writing they were up out of their seats, asking how to spell words, and frustrated that they couldn’t do the work.

Today, while my students were making apple pies and writing their own recipes my room was quiet. Well, as quiet as a room with kindergarteners can be. My students waited nicely in line to sprinkle glitter and cinnamon on their apple pies. My students worked hard on their recipes, and tried their best to sound out words on their own. My students seemed completely different than they were when we started this program, but then I realized that it wasn’t my students that had changed, it was me.

This program has taught me more than I ever thought it could. I went in pretty confident with my classroom management skills, ready to take on a new classroom of students. I soon realized that classroom management is not exactly universal. What worked with my third graders during student teaching did not always work with my new kindergarteners. I adapted quickly, took advice from Amy and Dr. Roberts, and soon my students were learning and playing in a controlled and fun manner. I’m so thankful I have the opportunity to work with this amazing program, and I can’t wait until we start up in the fall. I shed a few tears on our last day of Carpe Diem, but they were tears of joy. My kids have grown up a lot in the past few weeks, and I couldn’t be more proud.

What tremendous progress Christina has made with her students! I can't imagine the leaps she will make with her students next year! 

Now.....didn't those recipes sound delicious?? I think I will go try them out!

Carpe Diem!

-Amy

Post or Sleep?

Realized I almost forgot to blog tonight. As summer quickly approaches I have decided to blog once a week during the summer months. I will blog On Mondays....unless there is something that I have to share! So....stay tuned!!

Day ??

As you can see from the title, I lost track of what day we are on....sorry!

Yesterday, was our final day with the students and today was our final staff meeting for the year.....

.....I looked back on what I wrote on Day 1 of the academy....tonight I thought I would add a little commentary to what I wrote...new comments are in blue....

Well.....the day has finally arrived!!!! Day 1 of the Carpe Diem Academy has come to an end (We now say Phase 1 of the Carpe Diem Academy has come to an end....strange). I am not exactly sure what to write....a plethora of thoughts are running through my mind....however....the one thing that sticks out the most is how wonderful the staff did (I still agree!)!! Their excitement is seen through their planning and their endless energy....they will have first hand in changing the world and we can't thank them enough!

The academy is new for all of us...we will make adjustments as we go (....and we certainly made adjustments!)....it's how we grow (.....and we certainly grew!).

Where I was, the students had a great time dancing with the dancers from Spotlight Studio! Their laughs and smiles were contagious! They are certainly looking forward to tomorrow's visit from JumpBunch.(The students loved both Spotlight and JumpBunch!)

My brain is full(it's slowly emptying out).....my feet hurt....I need a shower....I will write more tomorrow....

Looking back can sometimes be difficult to do. Today, I passed up an opportunity of a lifetime..to present at a teacher workshop in Jordan.....and I am already looking back on the decision I made. However, one opportunity of a lifetime at a time....I need to focus on the academy....

Carpe Diem!


-Amy

Last Day of Phase 1

Today....May 3rd....The last day of Phase 1.....as I wrote the date, I realized 3 months ago, I was saying good-bye to my first-graders....and now, today, I was saying good-bye to 150 children......saying good-bye is hard to do......and I know it was difficult for the staff, as well.....

.........The staff has built a rapport with their students. They have come to know each of their students. They have come to know their strengths and they have come to know their weaknesses. They have come to know how to engage them in 3 hours of extended learning.

........Great accomplishments have been made in the past 5 weeks.....the staff has grown, the students have grown, the Carpe Diem Academy as a whole has grown.....all in 5 short weeks....I can't wait to see what next year will bring....but I don't want to rush time....so for right now I will only imagine!

Carpe Diem!

-Amy

Guest Blogger

Tonight's entry comes from Jocelyn S.

Working at Carpe Diem Academy has been such a wonderful learning experience for me.  I am an Ambassador and when I give tours to prospective students, I always stress that Mercyhurst University is a hands-on environment.  I tell those interested in education that one of the main reasons I chose this school was because students are placed in the field right away.  However, this experience has taught me more than any of my practicums have – and I was just a floater(1)!  I brought it up at a meeting before, and it has become sort of a joke between Dr. Roberts and me, but I went from students running away from me(2) and yelling down the hallway during bathroom breaks, to a calm, quiet line of students (well, more of a cluster, but definitely a quiet cluster).  I have learned fun songs that get students moving and I have worked with students from different backgrounds than I have worked with previously.  It felt good to pass out healthy snacks and dinners to students.  It was nice to see that these students want to learn and are capable of learning anything.  I am so glad that I was part of the program this year and I am looking forward to the fall!

1. Jocelyn (nor any of the floaters) were "just a floater".  The title, "floater" doesn't seem of high importance but it certainly was! We really don't recall how we came up with the term....originally the position was called "Clinical Support Teacher". However, if you recall Hanna's post, it was a little...ok....very chaotic in the beginning and I don't think we could get the words "Clinical Support Teacher" out of our mouths....so floater is what we went with. However, the floaters were very important...assisting classroom teachers as needed, taking students to the lavatory, delivering meals to the classroom, and the list could go on!

2. After reading this entry, I don't want you to think of Jocelyn as a mean teacher! In fact, from what I have observed as she has worked with students, I don't think she has a mean bone in her body! The students were not technically running away from Jocelyn. She is a  very nice person! The running away had to do with the students having high energy and they were eager to expel some of that energy!

As I read each of the guest blogs, I have come to the conclusion that you are saving quite a bit of money by not having to download/purchase books... Who needs books when you have great stories like these to read!......perhaps I need to set up a donation link to the academy! All that money you are saving needs to go somewhere!

Carpe Diem!

  -- Amy