Showing posts with label Orem. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Orem. Show all posts

Thursday, April 23, 2009

The best part about my job


This teenager (she gets upset if you call her a kid). I walked into the classroom one day a few weeks ago and she walked right up to me and poked me in the stomach. She smiled at me and said, "I like babies, especially Kayla (her way of saying Kaitlyn)." This sweet girl always makes me laugh or smile, even if nothing else seems to be going well that day.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Seriously, folks

My mom has been complaining that I haven't updated my blog, but I like to look at the picture of Kaity whenever I get on, which is why I haven't updated. Also, nothing really good has happened lately, which means that if I blog it will just be to unload on you all. Oh well, here goes:

1. My job - I am burned out. I have been since January when I started doing 2-3 days a week of solo time (time without an aide) in my classroom. One of the aides was sick, then her daughter was sick, then we let her go because whether or not you're sick you can't just miss five solid weeks of work. Then it took two and a half weeks to get approval to replace her, since the district's hiring freeze includes replacement positions. Also, my other aide is pregnant, so she misses at least one day a week. I know that it's rough to be pregnant and work full time, but still. Only six weeks of school left, and next week is spring break!

2. My car - driving back from Idaho over Christmas I noticed that it was being sort of funny when we were in 5th gear. I just thought it was the fact that we'd had an extremely cold spell and the car had been sitting outside in the elements getting cold for the week and a half we were in California. It kept getting worse. We thought that we should probably get the engine flushed and the fuel injections system cleaned (we've never done it and I've had the car for six years). We did that and it didn't help a whole lot. We took the car to a mechanic thinking maybe the clutch needed replacing - he said it was fine. Last Saturday we were driving up to my parent's house for conference and couldn't get the car to accellerate. It took 15 minutes to get the car over the 50 mph mark and up to 65 so we could drive on the freeway. Understandably, we asked my dad about it when we got home. (Although a computer programmer, my dad used to work on cars and motorcycles with his brother in high school, so he knows a fair bit about them). He said it's definitely the clutch. After 70,000 miles, apparently, they get pretty used and need replacing. 1,000 dollars later, our car is working fine. We did not take it to the mechanic who said it was fine, by the way. And thank you so much to mom for lending me her car and carpooling to work so that Jared and I could get around town. Thanks Paul & Renee for an excellent, trustworthy mechanic recommendation.

3. Michigan State - Dang it, why couldn't you have pulled off a miracle and won! If you had done so, I would have won the Elder's Quorum bracket competition and, therefore, bragging rights that a sister who knows nothing about the teams and just picked names randomly beat all the brethren who put so much thought and planning into their brackets.

I should probably put together a nice, touching post about how I liked conference this year. I did, and it will probably put me in a better mood...look forward to that.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

From a Silverwolf to a Jaguar

Some of you know that I have been looking for a different job closer to home. With gas prices climbing, the 45 minute commute to Riverton each day is just not feasible any more. Jared and I talked it over, and even though it would be hard to start again at a new school, we feel that Alpine District is the place for me next year. After interviewing at several different schools throughout the district, I was offered a teaching position at Orem Jr. High School. You can view pictures of the school on their website. I have loved working at Riverton and I will miss my friends and the supportive administration that I have found there. I will especially dearly miss my students. I hope that I will be able to return next Spring to see Kali, Nic, Camille, and Jalissa graduate. I will also miss my stubborn little sophomore, Brandi. Josh, Treasure, and Scott will also be missed, but I would be missing them next year anyway as they are graduating and will be going on to South Valley next year. I am excited, though, to start at a new school. It will be interesting getting to know a new faculty and staff, as well as getting used to the new demographic of Jr. High students. More info will follow, but right now I'm just very excited to have a job in a great district and a great school that is only 10-15 minutes away from home.