School's Out for Summer!

Last week was the official end of the school year here in Odessa, and thus the official end of my first year of teaching. I can't believe how quickly it flew by! There are so many things I want to say, and I may (when I get the time) do a nice long wrap-up post. For now, here's a quick overview of what's to come in the next few weeks/months in this teacher's life.

Starting tomorrow I will be spending two weeks in Lubbock, TX working toward my Level 2 Kodaly certification. I've been desperately trying to finish up and organize everything for my year-long homework that I have to turn in soon. Plus, I'm having to pack to live in a dorm for these two weeks. Ugh - I thought my dorm-days were long gone. Other than the dorm thing, and, of course, the whole leaving-the-hubby-and-puppy-for-two-weeks thing, I'm really looking forward to this. I learned so much last summer and I can't wait to start soaking things in again now that I have a year of teaching under my belt.

Not long after Kodaly ends, Brandon and I are picking up and moving to our first house just outside of Denton, TX! He will be starting his doctorate in music at UNT and I will be getting to know a whole new school full of kiddos at Burks Elementary in McKinney. It was hard to say goodbye to my kids and all my teacher friends here in Odessa last week, but I am so excited to get things started at Burks! I'm sure there will be many more posts about it as the new school year gets closer. Until then . . . "stay tuned"!

Donors Choose

I am so very excited! I just got word that my project was just approved and posted online at DonorsChoose.org!

Here's the scoop. At this nonprofit website, public school teachers (like me!) submit projects for materials or experiences their students need to learn. These ideas become a reality when concerned individuals choose projects to fund. Donors who complete project funding or give more than $100 receive photos and personal thank-you notes from the students they helped. It's easy - and very rewarding. Anyone can donate!

The great news is that my project, Help Us Hear the Sounds of Music, is now posted at DonorsChoose.org! Check it out at:
http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=252946&utm_source=teachers&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TeacherMarketing


I am asking for two portable boomboxes for myself and my co-teacher to use in our classroom. Right now, all we have is our classroom computer and a rather old and unpredictable mp3 player (the speaker system for it barely "speaks").

Hopefully, if we are funded soon enough, my students will be able to see the benefits of this project before our school year ends! Take a look. Also, please consider supporting me and my students by forwarding or linking this message to others who may be interested in improving education.

EDITED TO ADD: My project was fully funded before hardly anyone had the chance to see it! Wow! Thanks to Patty and Steve for being so generous - my kiddos are so excited! And thanks to everyone else who read about our project, even if you couldn't donate. Hopefully, we will have more projects like this in the future!

ONE MORE EDIT: Our CD players are here! My kids are LOVING them and it makes our lessons sooooo much easier! We have been dancing, singing, and practicing for our 2nd and 4th grade program with them! Thanks again!

Missing Lubbock?? Really??

Lubbock may not be the prettiest place in the world. In fact, it took me quite a while when I first moved there to really start to appreciate the uniqueness (and tree-less-ness) of the landscape. It's a little dizzying and depressing to be thrown into such a brown, flat, open environment when you have been used to green, trees, and hills all of your life. However, that first spring at Tech I discovered that colorful things really can exist out there! Texas Tech and its amazing grounds crew plants beautiful tulips all over campus every spring. I was thrilled to see my favorite flower blooming everywhere I looked! That first year, it made me yearn for the tulips planted every year around Denny Chimes on Alabama's campus. The following year, I greatly anticipated the blooms at Tech.

This year, I'm no longer in Lubbock. And I actually find myself missing it a little! I would so love to take a sunny afternoon walk around campus (with my camera in tow) to capture a little of the spring beauties that should be in full bloom by now. Instead, I will be content with my yet-to-bloom tulips in the pot on my balcony and hope that they will be half as gorgeous as this . . .

Kudos to my kiddos!

Today was our first day back from spring break. In the past, for me, it's pretty much the most depressing Monday of the year. Today, however, rocked! It was so great just to be around my kids again! And they were excited to see me and tell me all about everything they did over the break. They're so cute like that! Seriously, I'm convinced that if you ever want to feel important, special, loved, wanted, beautiful, or anything good - be a teacher! It's the best self-esteem booster ever!

My day hit a high point this afternoon when I got to Cavazos. You see, just before spring break, our students took the reading portion of the TAKS test (our state standardized test). Now, for those of you keeping up, remember I've been tutoring 3rd grade readers this year, so this test really had me holding my breath. Our scores came back over spring break and were given out to the kids and teachers today. 8 out of my 9 students passed the test!! And one even had a commended score!! Woohoo!! I nearly cried when our reading interventionist found me to tell me my kids scores. I cannot even begin to express how proud I am of those children! They've worked so hard and have come so far this year! Even the one kid that will re-take the test is very close to passing - and we will get there! Kudos to all my kiddos! I can't wait to see what these last two months of school will bring! :D

The Slave Shepherd

Here's a nice green story for today. This is from my pastor, Andy Wood, at Turning Point Community Church in Lubbock, TX (don't let the Texas part fool you though, he's a true Alabamian!). If you have time, take a look at some of his other LifeVesting stories, or read about the name LifeVesting. It's a pretty cool concept.

Happy St. Patty's Day!
-Melanie

The Slave Shepherd

Posted using ShareThis

(Picture is of my sister, Anna, with her baby Alpine goat, Nuttah)

My Mission

It really stinks to be home sick - especially when it's such a beautiful day. But, being stuck on the couch all day does give one ample time to reflect on the week.

On Tuesday I attended my last session of the First Year Teacher Academy here in our district. All of the induction year teachers in our district have been meeting periodically through out the school year and going through a wonderful book called The Heart of Teaching by Ginger Tucker. Tuesday's session was actually led by Ginger Tucker herself. It was fantastic. By the end of the day, the majority of women in the room (myself included) were teary-eyed and filled with purpose as we each stood and read our freshly drafted vision and mission statements, and told why we decided to become a teacher. It's a powerful and awesome thing to realize the amount of influence we, as teachers, have on the lives of the children we see. I wish every teacher (new and old) could experience what we did on Tuesday. We would all be better teachers and better people for it.

Here is my vision and my mission as an elementary music educator.

My vision is to foster a love of music and a love of learning in the children that I teach.

My mission is to provide a safe, positive learning environment where my students can have a joyful music making experience as individuals and as a community, and to equip my students with the tools and experiences needed to continue to love, listen, and participate in music throughout their school careers and into their adult lives.

Spring Has Sprung! (well, almost)

"It's a wonderful world in which we live. If you ever doubt that, purchase a pack of seeds. Give them soil, moisture, and sunlight, and then stand back as nature delivers an inspiring performance." - Rebecca Bull Reed and Ellen Ruoff Riley, Southern Living March 2009

Amen and amen! Right after Christmas we planted about 25 tulip bulbs in a couple of large planters on our balcony (oh how I long for a backyard!). We now have 25 sprouts that are about 5 inches high. They are growing so fast, I would almost swear you could watch them get taller just by staring at them for a few minutes! What a little miracle! Brandon laughs at me, but I'm so excited about them (you should have seen me when the first little nubs started coming out of the ground!). It's just an amazing thing.

It's feeling more and more like spring around here. Seems like I'm not the only one enjoying these high 80's temperatures we've had this week. In addition to my sprouting tulips, my pansies in a pot are looking better and better. My students are reaping the benefits too. I haven't seen this many teachers giving extra recesses in months - we even took our music class outside to be in the sunshine this afternoon! Of course, I've lived out here long enough to know that this beautiful weather is probably not here to stay yet (in the two springs I've spent in west Texas, I've already had one white Easter - though sadly, no white Christmas). Sure is nice while it's here though. And just think - only two more weeks until Spring Break! Hooray!

Tulips!