{solsc} 9/31 #sol17 This Time Next Week

Saturday is State Speech

Our season is ending

Next week

I won't have to be 

at school

at dawn

or

leave at sunset.

Next week

Kids won't want to practice

during my

"free time"

or 

after track

or during their study hall

but

my class

Next week

There will be

no more 

funny conversations

or serious ones

or prom ones.

There will be 

no more

snacking

noise

laughter

No More.

Ever.

{solsc} 4/31 #sol17 Celebrate

My favorite part of the week. Celebrations.

I've been celebrating my week for a long time, almost as long as I've written my blog.  It helps keep me positive and focused on the right things in my life. I keep track of them through the week on a post-it in my bullet journal. And Twitter. If something makes me smile during the school day, I often tweet it out.

Waiting for the bus

I've done quite a bit of tweeting this week (you know that if you follow me at @mrsday75). On Saturday, my Speech kids performed at district competition. They did great. We've sixteen events moving on to state next weekend. My favorite part of individual speech competition is giving my phone to the kids and telling them to take a selfie.  Then, as they perform and receive ratings, I can share out the results using our school hashtag. People follow along all day and congratulate the kids.

I turned in my Early Retirement papers this week. It still doesn't seem real---in my head I keep thinking, "Next year I'll..." and then remember, there won't be a next year in teaching or in speech (although I'll sub and volunteer with speech). Weird. But I'm looking forward to this new chapter.

Other good things this week:

• I received copies of Passenger and Wayfarer from Alexandra Bracken this week. She had tweeted out she would send copies to classrooms if teachers tweeted her, so I did.  I have several kids who will love this series
• Our girls basketball team played in the state tournament on Tuesday. They didn't win, but a smaller school from a few miles away did. They ended up runner-up. I loved how many of our kids went to their games and cheered them on. When you live in a small rural area, everyone is friends.
• Last practices with my speech kids. These last two weeks of rehearsal time is precious to me. I just love hanging out with these guys.
• A friend started a new food blog. This woman is a great cook and she decided to start a blog and share the recipes she trying. You can check her out at The Pinterest Foodie

Well, that's about it this week. Hope your week was wonderful!

{solsc} 3/31 #sol17 She Never Earned a One

She's a senior who worked hard, listened to her coach, and came to every rehearsal she signed up for.

She never received a coveted Division 1 at District Speech Contest to move on to state competition.

She never whined about it,
never complained,
never gave less than her best.



She never earned that one, but what she gained in four years is immeasurable.

As a freshman, she was quiet...really quiet. Sometimes I could hardly hear her speak. There were no facial expressions, no gestures. She couldn't look up at the audience. Her pieces were not very dynamic, to say the least.

But she tried. And she came back the next year. And tried Group Improvisation, an event so far outside her wheelhouse, I couldn't believe she came back for the second night. But she did.

And she got better.

As a junior, she tried again in both group and individual events, Again, she was quiet, but not as quiet. And more dynamic. She listened to what I had to say and tried to incorporate it into her pieces.

And she got better.

This is her last year in speech. With cheer and dance, she came to me and said she didn't think she would be involved in Large Group this year, but she had some ideas for Individual.

When she finished her Literary Program the night of her first rehearsal, I was blown away.
She looked me in the eye, read with confidence and enthusiasm. There were facial expressions and gestures. It was fluid, there was vocal variety. It was the best I had ever heard her.

I couldn't help but remember that shy, quiet freshman who stood before me for years ago. It reminded me why I coach speech. It's not the ratings. It's not the All-State nominations. It's building confidence in my students as they get ready to face the world.

She may never earned that one, but what she gained in four years is immeasurable.

Celebrating the First of the Lasts

Bittersweet.

I unlocked the door at 7:00am, knowing some would arrive before they needed to. It's contest day and excitement will get them moving much earlier than teenagers like on a foggy Saturday morning. I think back to all the other Saturday mornings I have done this, other bus rides, other students. This is my 10th year coaching Speech.

And my last.

Bittersweet.

We're only riding twenty miles today, to a school who has hosted many of the contests we've been to. It's a familiar place and I like that. I check in for the last District Contest. The first contest of our season. When I have time, I remember other performances, other tears and cheers. But not too much remembering--we have new memories to make.

Bittersweet

My kids this year are awesome. They are silly, creative, weird and family.  One of my favorite moments happened with two of my senior boys at their acting event. Their judge is a Hall of Fame Coach (Literally. Iowa Speech Coaches have a Hall of Fame), now judging so he can stay involved. His center was running ahead, so when the boys came in, he talked to the first. Got the crowd laughing. Asked them if their families were here, because otherwise they could wait a few minutes. "We're good," one of them said, "Our speech family is here."  

Bittersweet

Another room. Another moment. 

Rooms fill up quickly at speech contest. Especially the Group Improvisation room. Improv is fast and funny and everyone likes to sit in that room to watch. Chairs are at a premium. I was sitting beside a couple of my freshman when the boy young man next to me stood up. I turned and saw him offering his chair to a very old woman with a walker, waiting to see a grandchild perform. The young woman next to him gave her chair to the other woman. I was so proud of them (and told them so). 

Bittersweet.

There were nerves to calm. Happy tears. Silly moments. Amazing performances and lots of growth. All the things I write about every year. I will miss this. 

Bittersweet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This week's DISCOVER: Remembering is fun, but staying in the moment is important and gives me more memories to look back on.

Lighting a Fire...

The power of speech--not only for the student but the teacher also. The things I learn about my kids and the connections I make are priceless....

I didn't have much hope for him.
I listened to girlfriends and former girlfriends and teachers and former teachers.

In my head I thought, He's probably not going to do much. He'll probably barely get by. 

At least I didn't let the voice in my head come out of my mouth.

Because that voice was wrong.  Really wrong. I am ashamed of myself for even letting that little voice whisper.

This is a great kid with passions most people in the school don't know about. Well, now they do. Because I've been sharing part of his story with everyone since last Tuesday.

One of my favorite speeches for kids to give in class are demonstration speeches. I encourage them to

share with the class something they really love, something they are pretty good at. I have kids who think they aren't good at anything. I have kids who try to make a joke of the speech by tying shoes or something similar, but most of the kids share something important.

This year, as the class was talking about possible topics, H mentioned that he works with glass--makes necklaces and knick knacks. Really?  I thought. He was so excited about sharing this and his excitement was contagious. Kids kept asking him about it. He brought in some pieces he had made. So we figured out a way for H to bring in his equipment.

He got permission from the principal and the Industrial Tech teacher to bring his torch and propane to the shop and set up in there. Now this was scary for two reasons. A. The principal--what kid wants to voluntarily go there? B. The Industrial Tech teacher is also the head football coach. He's loud and intimidating. But H did it. And they both agreed.

On speech day he was really supposed to be finishing up some standardized testing, but I pushed that back a day. He was ready and excited and I wasn't going to crush his enthusiasm.  The whole class followed him down to the shop where he had his equipment set up.

He started in. We recorded his speech on an iPad, so I could just rewatch if I needed to.

I didn't though.

He was magnificent.

I can't begin to describe how proud I was or explain the tears that threatened to fall. He held his

audience in the palm of his hand. And that audience gained a new respect for him. The Industrial Tech teacher stood and watched with just the hint of a smile on his face. I think he learned a little bit

more about the kid too :)

Yesterday during inservice, I wrote him a little note about how proud I was of him and stuck it in his locker to find this morning.  To quote him, "Thanks for the note Mrs. Day. It made my day." 

The power of relationship building--not only for the student but the teacher also. 

Celebrating Balance

Head on over to Ruth Ayres Write and celebrate with us!

This week I'm celebrating FAILURE, of a sort...

• I didn't finish the March blogging challenge
• I didn't write a celebration last week
• I didn't clean my house until yesterday
• I didn't walk every day
• I didn't do a lot of things I probably should have

But really. I'm celebrating balance, which of course is my OLW for 2015. 

I'm celebrating the student I wrote about yesterday. The balance between technology and "old school" is a delicate one. You have to meet students where they are. Once I got him off his computer and just got him to think about his writing, he soared. 

I'm celebrating myself. Learning the difference between the "I really have to have this done tomorrow" and "This isn't a priority and I can do it later".  I'm celebrating myself making time for family and friends and not using school work as an excuse for not getting together and enjoying their company.

I'm celebrating Chloe. Who makes me walk and get outside and enjoy moments of breathing as we head into the last few weeks of school.

I'm celebrating my speech kids, who gave me an amazing day at All-State speech on Monday. A day full of celebrating what we do and how far we have come. And silly reasons to laugh.





I'm celebrating grandkids
and a husband
and friends
all those people who need more me.
Who have gently nudged me into this balancing act.

And I want to share this link to the Huffington Post. Because it reminded me of the BALANCE I need in my life. I love the combination of photos and writing and how they celebrate life.  I think I'm going to try this. Once a week. A picture and some writing. And it might go along with Christy's 30 day challenge (which I haven't started yet, but I'm going to)

And what are you celebrating this week?

{#sol15} 16/31 All-State!

Join us at Two Writing Teachers

for the March Slice of Life challenge.

Share your stories!

This year, as a senior, he decided to try a new event, something he hasn't done before. He wrote an Expository Address about 3D Printing.

"Mrs. Day,  I was horrible. It's the worst I've done. I stumbled over words like crazy. I just know it's a two."

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad. You're awfully hard on yourself."

" Really. It was not good."

An hour later, he received one ratings from every one of his judges.

This is her second year in speech. Her second year doing Reviewing. This year she chooses to review a Korean pop album. The twist was, she didn't like the album. It was a negative review. No one ever does negative reviews.

"Mrs. Day,  I was horrible. It's the worst I've done. I stumbled over words like crazy. I just know it's a two."

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad. You're awfully hard on yourself."

" Really. It was not good."

An hour later, she received one ratings from every one of her judges.

Today we found out that both of these kids were chosen for All-State!

An honor reserved for a select few. 

We are so proud of them.

{#sol15} 15/31 What You Learn...

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for the March Slice of Life challenge.

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To My Speech Kids,

First, I want to say, congrats to all of you, no matter the rating you received yesterday. I know it was tough for a few of you, the ratings were not what you hoped. But you smiled and congratulated those who received ones and kept your disappointment in check.

I was pretty disappointed for some of you---and very happy for some of you (and I hope I am even happier for one or more of you on Monday), but it all got me thinking about the things you get from speech that don't show up in the ratings.

1.  First, you get a "family". I watched all of you throughout the day-- laughing, joking, picking on each other, having fun, all while waiting for the almighty ratings. But whether the chips were up or down, you were there for each other. And isn't that what family does--supports each other through the good times and bad?

     

2. You learn how to work hard for what you want.  It's not easy getting those ones (or even those twos). You spend hours looking for the right material, you spend free moments practicing on your own, you practice with friends when you can't practice with me, hours and hours of practice.

3. You learn how to handle disappointment when things don't go the way you want them to. It might seem like the end of the world for a few minutes, but you take a few moments to feel sorry for yourself or to be angry at the judge and the rest of the world, but then, you move on. So many of you said to me, "Next year...." and that's when I knew you were going to be OK.

4. You learn to win gracefully. As happy as you are when you get that one rating, you know just as well how it feels to receive a two. And if your best friend is standing beside you and received that two, well, you keep your happiness in check, at least for a little while.

5. You learn patience. Those ratings take forever! So do bus rides. And waiting for All-State nominations:)

6. You make friends with new people. 

7. You make friends with "old" people. No, not me, sillies. Some of you would not be friends if not for speech. I like seeing you appreciate the uniqueness of each other.

8. You learn to be brave and try new things. I know how scared some of your were yesterday. But you put your big kid pants on and did what you needed to do. And sometimes, that's better than any rating.

9. You gain an extra parent/adult in your life--I am here forever. You are now and will always be one of my kids. 

So, no matter what happened yesterday, what you get from speech is better than any rating, although it might not seem so at the time. Talk to the alumni, they'll tell you the same thing!  

Love,

Mrs. Day

{#sol15} 14/31 Celebrating Craziness, Performances and Love

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Today is my last speech competition of the year. It's 6:00am as I write this, sipping coffee, news playing quietly in the background.  I'm not going to lie to you. I'd rather be in bed.  Preferably at my son's where my husband and Chloe are sleeping. I'd wake up later. Have cuddles and cocoa with the grandkids while we talk about school.

Instead, I will board a school bus at 7:15 and ride for an hour and a half to our contest site. Kids will laugh and giggle the whole way. The early performers will run through their pieces quietly, while the nerves begin to tickle the brain. I'll probably doze a bit, snapping awake as I wonder if I forgot something.

And here's where the celebration comes in....

As each of my kids performs, I'll be there, proudly waiting to give them a hug or a high five, reminding them how far they have come since they began performing. 

It will be bittersweet as I listen to my seniors perform for the last time. I'm so proud of the people that they have become and I know in a small way, speech has helped shape them. I'll look at freshmen and wonder if I'll still be teaching when they are seniors and have this feeling about them.

I'll laugh at the silliness of the day and watch as they meet up with friends from other schools or make new friends. I'll encourage the underclassmen to get out of the gym and go watch some events they might want to try next year.

As we head home, my brain will be tired, but I'll start planning our celebration banquet. I'll jot down ideas for the silly awards I always give (this may be the first year there will be no "Late for the Bus" award), make a list of what I need to order and answer the eternal question, "When will learn if anyone is going to All-State?"

7:00pm and I'll be home again. I'll snuggle in blanket, drink a well-deserved glass of wine and smile as I celebrate another year of craziness, performances and love.

{#sol15} 13/31 Checking My List

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I am crazed.
I race around my room like a chicken with its head cut off.
Are the ballots ready to go?
Crate packed.
Don't forget the adaptors,
      the extension cord,
           the projector,
                the clicker.
Remember to take yearbook pics.
Email A's mom with schedule.

And, oh, yea. Rehearse the kids!

But I needn't worry. I step out into the hall and breathe as I look around. It is my favorite night of speech, really. The night before contest. My juniors and seniors take charge. Everywhere I look (and in some places I can't see) kids are rehearsing with each other. It's loud and crazy.  They laugh over silly things and talk about what they hope for tomorrow. They critique smartly and make their friends try it again.

After school today this scene will be repeated. Tomorrow morning we board the bus for our last long day.

And just like that. Our season will be over.

{#sol15} 7/31 Celebrating the Weekend

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Someone said to me yesterday, the first Friday of the month, that they only saw one high school student wear their #CadetNation shirt. Our district, one that is widespread and in different buildings, tries to create community by designating the first Friday of the month by all of wearing shirts that share our story. 

And she was right. They didn't. 

BUT many of the spent the last weekend in February cheering our six wrestlers who were competing for state titles

THEN the next week, they cheered our girls basketball team as they worked their way to another state tournament. 

THEN Monday night, many of them drove two hours away to cheer our boys basketball team as they tried to make the state tournament.

THEN they spent this week celebrating and cheering on our girls basketball team as they played in the state tournament. They drove three hours away to fill our sections, they rode pep busses, they watched the live stream.

And in the midst of all that, many found time to wish my speech kids good luck as they participated in District speech last Saturday.

So, I guess I'm OK that they didn't wear the shirt.

Speaking of my speech kids....

They performed fantastically last Saturday. And of the 36 events that we entered at districts, 22 of them are moving on to State competition next Saturday. I was so proud of them.  But not as proud as I was Friday after school, when everyone wants to practice and I am trying to get things ready. They just practice and help each other. I'll be slicing about this next Friday.

Speech season is exhausting for me. And as much as I look forward to the start of it and enjoy doing it, by this time of year, I am ready for it to be done. But before it is, a special shout out to my husband. I can't thank him enough for doing the simple thing of making dinner. Most days he is the cook of the family. It's awesome to come home and find something in the crock pot or a note on the fridge about what's for supper. He's been a life saver.

{#sol15} 2/31 Saturday Morning Musings

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I settle into my seat and the humming of the tires on the road lull me into a semi-conscious state. As I listen to the buzzing of teenage voices behind me, the music an undercurrent of
the anticipation,
the anxiety,
the nerves of the day,
I am transported back to another early Saturday morning with the same soundtrack.

It's all the same.

Except, of course,

That now I am the coach,

Not the teenager.

I remember vividly these early morning rides. The feeling in the pit of my stomach. Was it excitement or nerves? Probably a combination of both, and if you used it to fuel you, great things happened. But if that feeling controlled your mind, well, let's hope that didn't happen.

I remember the waiting for performances and then waiting for results. I remember the friends who stood behind me, ready to congratulate me or support me, whatever the situation required.

In forty years, nothing has really changed. Except now, not only do I have to take care of MY 

Anticipation,

Anxiety,

Nerves,

I also have to take care of their

Anticipation,
Nerves,
Anxiety.

Back on the bus with my speech kids, it's a good place to be.

Celebrating Speech and the Alumni

I started a poem on the bus to contest today, thinking it would be my celebration. It was cozy and warm and full of love for my speech kids.

We had a great day. Good performances. Half of the groups are moving on to state competition.

Great day.

As always, I posted pictures on our Facebook page

When we first started the Facebook page, it was private and only the current students could join it. Once they graduated, I would delete them.

And then I quit that. I decided to leave graduates part of the group because, really, they are still part of us. They are our foundation. And I like that they will post comments supporting those who are still there even if they don't know who some of them are.

And tonight, as I was sitting here telling my husband what a great day we had and how much I love my speech kids. And how proud of them I am. And all the great moments we had. I received this Facebook message from an alumni

I cried. 

Honestly, as I write this, I still am.

Because as teachers, we always want to know that we made a difference. That we mattered. 

And this message from alumni proves that, somehow, I did. I mattered.

How can I not celebrate that?

22/31 Celebrating

Ruth Ayres has created a wonderful spot for sharing moments from your week. She even has  a page to give you all the details you need to know about sharing your own celebrations. So head  on over and see what everyone else is celebrating. 

1. Time with grandkids.
One of things I enjoy the most is time with our grandkids---along---without their parents.  Don't get me wrong, I love their parents, but it's way more fun without them.  We get to enjoy the kids, learn what they like, see their silliness, start their silliness, get lots of cuddle time. And with six grandkids, I like when we just have a couple at a time. Again, just better.

This week my husband and I had the 8 year old twins of our oldest son staying with us.  They were on spring break and mom and dad had no one to watch them.  Semi-retired grandpa to the rescue! Having two young kids in the house definitely changed up our old people routine a bit, but it was fun!

2. Time with mom
We dropped the kids and Chloe off at my sons and headed to a local casino/resort where we will spend a couple of nights with my mom.  Because of speech season and weather, it's been awhile since we've been together, so this will be fun. My son and his family will come out this afternoon to visit with "Grandma Pat" and swim, so it will be a mini family reunion, of sorts.

3. Excellence Rewarded
Also this week, I found out that one of my speech students was selected as an All-State performer. That's exciting news for our team. Thousands of kids across the state perform at Individual districts each year. To be chosen by at least two of your state judges as an outstanding performer is amazing. The kids look forward to a day off from school to go down to the All-State festival and watch their teammate and a few hundred others perform.  I like that they see excellence in action. My kids come back excited to start back up again.

4. Parents and Administration
I won't be able to go with my team to All-State because I will be in New Hampshire visiting a competency based education school (more on that later in the week). A parent, who is also a staff member, volunteered to chaperone the kids down to the festival. I am so grateful for her and the others who stepped up. I'm grateful that the administration team in our district works together and supports all staff and students, not just the ones in their building.  This means my kids won't have to miss out on this great opportunity.

And, that's it for this week.  What did you celebrate?

3/31 You Didn't Tell Us It Was That Good

Join the fun of the March Slice of Life Challenge at Two Writing Teachers

In they walk. 

The alumni and the seniors, plus a couple of tag along freshmen.

A look of disbelief on their faces.

And with them, a freshmen girl I know has just performed.

"What?" I ask, afraid a catastrophe has struck.  Did she go over time and get disqualified? 

No, couldn't be. She was well within the time limits.

Did she blank and forget what she was saying? 

No. She got to take her script.

"That was amazing!" I don't remember who said it, but the others all agreed and began with their own superlatives. 

"I feel so stupid now" 

"I can't believe she did that."

"Is the other one that good?" (Another freshman girl was sick and couldn't perform on Saturday).

"Yes. It's that good too," I respond.

"It was even inspiring. I just did a dumb book review because I liked the book." This from a senior who has performed in Reviewing since she was a freshman and is VERY good at it."

They shake their heads over and over in amazement.

The freshman girl just stands there, smiling,  basking in the praise. I look at her and say, "They don't do this for everyone. It must have gone really well."

She nods.

"I don't know why you are all so surprised. I told you she was good."

Yea, but we didn't know you meant THAT good."

Celebrating a Little Late (But Celebrating, Nonetheless)

My friend Ruth Ayres has created a wonderful spot for sharing moments from your week. She even has  a page to give you all the details you need to know about sharing your own celebrations. So head  on over and see what everyone else is celebrating. 

 Reasons I'm late to the Celebration Link Up:

1. Stomach flu since Tuesday afternoon ( I didn't slice either). 

2. State Contest Week for speech

3. A rough day at contest

4. Tired

5. Grading

6. Procrastination

7. Couldn't find the celebrations

And then I started to think

And they were there

Those celebrations were hiding out, waiting for me to be ready to appreciate them.....

This week I wrote letters of recommendations for several of my senior speech kids. And this gave me a couple of things to celebrate. The first, kids who asked me back in the fall to write theirs.  So nice to write letters when there really is no deadline. And the second, well, first I have to be honest.

As many high school teachers will tell, I keep copies of all the letters I write. And every year, when a kid asks me to write a letter, I think about what former student they are most like. I use that letter as a template for the new one.  Of course, I add personal info about the student, personal connections, etc, but the form tends to be the same.  And with each letter I wrote, I began thinking about these students and our years together. Each and every one of them holds a special place in my heart. It was fun looking back at the growth they have had.

Friday, I wrote a letter for a student who is so unique, that there was no letter to fall back on. I had to start from scratch. And no letter will do her justice. I wanted to send video of her dancing with abandon during a "Don't Be Boring" Friday in Drama class. I wanted to send the brochure she wrote in Creative Writing about her ideal school. I wanted them to listen to her tell stories. And the whole time I wrote, I heard this song in my head:

As I said before, Saturday was a rough day at contest. I felt like I had failed the kids. It was hard for me to be positive when I got home, hard to find positives. But again, there were there

• singing boys on the bus ride down
• parents who drive down to see their kid perform for 5 or 10 minutes
• students supporting each other
• great attitudes
• The "let's move on to individual" attitude
• Seeing growth from one year to the next
• A student who will be a leader next year, although he doesn't know it now

So, you see, even when it seems like you had a crappy week and there was nothing to celebrate, there really is. You just have to peel away the crap and look.

Aloha!