The Agony is OVER!!!

I figured I might as well acknowledge my Mets misery right now before I actually see any of you this week! I wasn't even home from my weekend getaway before the first phone call came from a "friend" harassing me about the Mets being DONE for the year, and I'm sure there's more harassing to come :( It's ok...I can take it...in fact, I'm used to it being a Mets fan! Three points I'll make and then be done: (1) the Mets don't deserve to be in the playoffs the way they've played in the month of September---even though the rest of their season was pretty darn good, (2) my heart thanks them because I won't have the agony of playoff stress, and (3) THERE'S ALWAYS NEXT YEAR...a favorite saying of a diehard Mets fan!
P.S. Baseball is not over for me until the World Series ends. I will now root for the Phillies and whoever is playing the Yankees...of course wearing my Mets shirt and actually RELAXING on the sofa :)

Morgantown, WV

3 of you guessed it...Nik, Sabrina, and Alex---I owe you!
I spent my weekend in Morgantown, WV home of West Virginia University! My mom, aunt, and I meet my cousin, Carolyn, and her 6 year old daughter, Heather, twice a year in Morgantown. Carolyn and her husband, Rob, are graduates of WVU and lived there for many years, before moving to Knoxville, TN so Morgantown is now a middle point for us to meet for what we call "girls' weekends"! Check out the crazy wigs we discovered in a WVU bookstore:

I Gotta Get Out of Here!

WOW! The Mets are looking PATHETIC. This week seems to have tired me out and I'm leaving town this weekend to revive myself. Try to guess what town I'll be in by the hints below. Post your guesses and I'll give the winners a souvenir from there on Monday :) Have a good weekend and don't forget NEXT WEEK IS SPIRIT WEEK!!! Monday-black & white day, Tuesday-Hawaiian day, Wednesday-mix & match, Thursday-sports team, Friday-cherry (red) & white...pep rally!

HINTS FOR MY WEEKEND LOCATION:
1 - south of Pennsylvania
2 - the town has a big university (school colors = blue & gold, mascot = mountaineers)
3 - John Denver sang "Take Me Home Country Roads"

Guess My Career!

Today, with the help of our career counselor Mrs. Becker, my students competed against Mrs. Getz's students in a game we call "Guess My Career". A student from one side would pick a card and on that card would be the title of a career, gross monthly salary, description, education and skills needed, etc. The student could then choose whether to act it out like charades or draw it like Pictionary and their classmates had to try to guess that career. Afterwards, the student had to choose three facts that were listed on the card about that career and tell the rest of the class so that we could become more knowledgeable about a variety of careers. Like the Mets these days, I'm sad to report that my classes suffered the most defeats and Mrs. Getz came away with the overall best record for the day. THAT'S OK....WE'LL GET 'EM NEXT TIME GUYS!

Why We Love Chad Foster...

Logan from 1st period: "I like Chad's book TEENAGERS PREPARING FOR THE REAL WORLD because it gives out great advice for my future and he tells it in a really cool way."



Miss Youmans: "I met Chad Foster this summer at a conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. I've used his book TEENAGERS PREPARING FOR THE REAL WORLD in the past with juniors and now with our freshmen. As a teacher, I enjoy reading and discussing the book with students because they seem to 'get' what he's saying. Chad Foster's honesty and straightforward ability to connect to young people is what I admire most about his work!"

E-A-G-L-E-S --- EAGLES!

Today, the Eagles lowered my blood pressure by crushing the Lions 56-21! FINALLY...they started looking like the Eagles I know and love :) with the exception of their uniforms, that is! I couldn't find them on tv at game time because they were wearing blue and yellow throwback uniforms from 75 years ago...sure was weird cheering for the team in blue and yellow...but hey, they played better this week in those colors than they have the past 2 weeks wearing green! I vote for them keeping the new uniforms if this is how they'll play. Here's Jevon Kearse & David Akers sporting the colors:

GO METS!

Friday night the Mets won after a lengthy rain delay. Saturday, they were on tv playing in Florida at 4:00, so of course, I was glued to the sofa cheering for them to get back on track. They looked pretty good and came away with another win. Sunday they weakened my heart yet again by going extra innings...but they won 7-6 in the 11th inning! WHEW! So that makes 3 in a row for my Mets (I hate to even say it and jinx them)....they are now 2.5 games ahead of the Phillies with 7 more games before playoffs. We'll see what this week brings.

Check out my niece Maddy "coaching" Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca and then posing with Mets manager Willie Randolph and me last weekend when they were in a slump and not playing well! Maddy seems to have blue and orange running through her blood...the Mets seem to be the one thing on tv that she can't take her eyes off! Can't say I blame her :)

High School Football

Well it started out Friday night with my alma mater, North Penn High School in Blossburg, losing big time for the second week in a row. The Panthers have been really good the past few years, so it's tough to accept defeat there....especially in our small town where school activities are the heart and soul of the community. I'm sure they'll bounce back!

I didn't make it up to our high school game because the Mets game didn't end until after 7:00...but I did listen for a bit on the radio. I have to believe that only good things are destined for Millionaire football...KEEP THE FAITH BOYS AND DON'T GIVE UP! I haven't had many of these young men in class since they were freshmen, but I enjoy seeing and chatting with them in the hallway. While they may not be "winning" as far as victories go, they are respectful and looking sharp, dressed up wearing ties on game days. While watching the replay of the game Sunday morning on tv I was so impressed and proud when I saw some of our players after the game congratulating the opposing coach (Coach Curry got his 400th victory against us in this game). THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT! You have proven that it's not just about putting up numbers on a scoreboard. Rather, sports teach our students how to work together, be a contributing member, and respect the game. While winning is nice, it truly isn't everything and if that's not a life lesson, I don't know what is!

WHAT'S GOING ON???

Many of you have poked fun at my 2 favorite teams the past couple of days....can't say that I blame you. I am beginning to wonder what's happening! The Mets have lost 5 straight and the Phillies are now only 1.5 games from catching up to us...not good heading into playoffs. Then there's the Eagles. The offense is just not looking like they gel these days...not sure what's going on there! I'll end with a favorite Mets quote from their Amazing Year in 1969...."YA GOTTA BELIEVE"!!!

Let's go....

Future Puzzles

One of the first activities we did in Keyboarding & Careers this year was to create a class puzzle. Each student was given a puzzle piece and had to write on it things about his/her future (career, salary, education needed for that career, why they chose that career, typical work schedule, marital/child status, dream house and car). Together, as a class, they then created a puzzle that best represented their class. The students did a great job and had fun coming up with their class "shape". Mr. Robbins, blue house principal, and Mr. Wentzel, gold house principal, chose their favorite puzzle. Mr. Wentzel liked period four's puzzle "The Diamond" because he said it sent a positive message that the students felt they were "unbreakable". Mr. Robbins, however, liked period five's puzzle "The Puzzle" because the students felt they each had to contribute to the puzzle, thus emphasizing teamwork. GREAT JOB ON THIS ACTIVITY GUYS & GALS....YOU'VE BEEN AWESOME TO WORK WITH SO FAR THIS YEAR :)

Period 1 "The Cannons"

"We are all cannons because we do cool things."

Period 2 "The Fun Freshmen"

"We put the fresh in freshmen."

Period 4 "The Diamonds"

"Like a diamond, we're unbreakable."

Period 5 "The Puzzle Piece"

"We are the missing piece of the puzzle."

Period 7 "The Wheelchair"

"Without an education we are handicapped"

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! My pal Mr. Z, assistant principal at Curtin Middle School, has told me how easy and fun this is to do. We'll see if he's right :) I'll try my best to keep things up-to-date...so check back often.