15 school days and counting....

It's been a while since I last blogged...SORRY....time just flies!

We are now moving into our career unit where we will be exploring the world of your interests/skills, career choices, college/post-secondary options, & real world living. This week and next week we'll be taking a look at what it costs to live on your own....talk about REALITY CHECK! I hope that you get a practical look at why it's important to stay in school, get as much education as you can, and choose a career that you are passionate about. The "real world" is tough enough if you do all of these things, let alone if you take a tougher path!

I hope you all had a relaxing Thanksgiving break. Only 15 more school days left until our winter holiday vacation :-) WE CAN MAKE IT!

I enjoyed spending time with my family and shopping for Christmas over Thanksgiving break. Here are a few pictures of me with my niece and nephew, Maddy and Patrick:

FOR THE BIRDS...

The Eagles' game last night, that is! Enjoyed watching the Eagles/Giants game last night with my best friend Amy's family. Shout out to my pals Bryan and Katie (pictured below): I CHEERED AS HARD AS I COULD FOR YOU AFTER YOU BOTH FELL ASLEEP...BUT WE LOST :-(

GOOD TIMES WITH FRIENDS BEATS WINNING A GAME ANY DAY THOUGH....so thanks my friends for hosting the party!

Coach Smith, my high school basketball coach, kept saying "it's only a game Jen" every time his Giants did something great. GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR COACH...where was that frame of mind when I played basketball for you??? MUST COME WITH AGE :-) As does memory loss....remember, I'm on your side for baseball season!





Bryan, me, & Katie all geared up for the game!




My friend Tom, the "bookie", made up slips of paper that we each picked from a hat (these were mine). Each slip of paper was worth 25 cents from everyone if that play happened! We each also put $1 in at the beginning of each quarter of the game and whoever had that quarter's score won...that's how I left $17 richer!
NOTE TO TOM: NEXT TIME REMEMBER, 4-0 STAYS OUT OF THE FIRE :-)



I arrived home around 12:30 a.m. & got to bed around 1:00....working on 4.5 hours of sleep is not good! And to top it all off, Mr. McNeill showed up bright-eyed and all smiles this morning in my classroom. We bet on the game and of course, I lost! LOOK AT THIS HIDEOUS SWEATSHIRT HE MADE ME WEAR & TOLD EVERYBODY ABOUT...I MEAN REALLY...I WAS AFRAID TO EAT LUNCH AND SPILL SOMETHING ON THIS ANTIQUE:

I attached that blue sign I'm holding to the shirt.
It read:
U-G-L-Y
THIS SHIRT AIN'T GOT NO ALIBI
IT'S UGLY
HEY, HEY IT'S UGLY :-)
and that it was!!!

I BELIEVE IN YOU...

One of my friends sent me this YouTube clip. WATCH IT & know I BELIEVE IN YOU! Many times I know that you think I'm being "mean" or that I "don't like you"...NOT TRUE! The most frustrating part of being a teacher is seeing students make poor choices and waste their potential. Each of you has what it takes to succeed....I believe that with my whole heart! I will continue to push you to maximize your potential and refuse to allow you to accept anything less than the best for yourself. BELIEVE IT :-)

Here's the clip:

5th grader Dalton Sherman inspires Dallas teachers

Parent-Teacher Conferences...

THANK YOU to all parents who took the time to visit our school the past 2 days for conferences. I enjoyed meeting with parents and discussing what we can do to make school even better for you! We are truly a team that, like any team, needs to work together to win. As a team, we accomplish many victories along the path of your high school education. This team is made up of students, parents, teachers, administrators, counselors, school staff, coaches, and even your friends. Working together is the easiest way to accomplish these victories. Our championship victory comes the day our students walk across the stage to receive their high school diploma! On graduation night each year, as a school family, we are on top of the world and realize that all of the struggles are worth it. Nothing is better than seeing you in your cap & gown! THAT IS OUR GOAL! You see this every day at the front of our classroom for a reason:



SO KEEP AFTER THAT CHAMPIONSHIP! You must practice (do your homework, study outside of the school day, manage your time wisely, make smart decisions). THE CHAMPIONSHIP (DIPLOMA) IS ON THE LINE...IT'S WITHIN YOUR REACH...all you have to do is GO FOR IT WITH ALL YOU HAVE & I GUARANTEE SUCCESS! We're here to help...let us :-)

Thanks again PARENTS...keep in touch!

VOTING FOR A PRESIDENT...IN KEYBOARDING & CAREERS!

Mrs. Becker tallying the votes!

While visiting our classroom today, our freshman guidance counselors also conducted elections in the spirit of today's presidential election. Each student was asked to cast an anonymous vote by paper ballot & write WHY they felt that person was the best candidate. I am SO PROUD that regardless of which candidate students chose, the great majority had a valid reason for supporting that person. I urge each and every one of my students to register to vote when they are 18, vote in EVERY election, and to research each candidate's stance and voting record prior to going to the polls. As Americans, we are blessed to live in the United States of America where we have the freedom to vote; the least we can do is research each candidate to see which is the most closely aligned to our values and beliefs. We SHOULD NOT vote for a candidate just because they are a Republican or a Democrat, but because we feel they would do the best job for us!

A VERY important issue was brought to light during second period. We had one student who chose not to vote because he felt he didn't know enough about either candidate to cast a vote one way or another. That's honorable and I explained ABSTAINING from voting. At the end of class, Mrs. Becker announced that we had a 16-16 tie and that neither candidate could be declared a winner for second period. We discussed how this proves EVERY VOTE MATTERS & that once you choose to abstain from voting, you give up your right to do so and cannot go back to vote after the polls close just because you didn't like the results.

GREAT LESSONS LEARNED TODAY! HERE ARE THE RESULTS:

Period 1 = 23-9 OBAMA
Period 2 = 16-16 TIED
Period 3 = 20-9 OBAMA
Period 4 = 13-5 OBAMA
Period 5 = 13-7 OBAMA
Period 6 = 10-6 OBAMA
Period 7 = 23-8 OBAMA
--------------------------------
OVERALL = 118-60 OBAMA

TROLL FOR PRESIDENT DOLLS GIVEN AS PRIZES!

STAY TUNED TO ELECTION RESULTS TONIGHT & TOMORROW TO SEE HOW CLOSELY ALIGNED OUR FRESHMAN KEYBOARDING STUDENTS ARE WITH THE REST OF THE COUNTRY!

FRESHMAN GUIDANCE COUNSELORS VISIT OUR CLASS

Yesterday and today our freshman school counselors were in all of our Keyboarding & Careers classes. Yesterday they discussed the importance of passing 9th grade. THIS YEAR COUNTS & WILL APPEAR ON YOUR HIGH SCHOOL TRANSCRIPT FOREVER! It is a sad and proven statistic that if someone fails ninth grade, they are highly likely to drop out. With the end of the first marking period, it is a great time to reflect and ask yourself "am I doing all I can to pass ninth grade with 7 credits?"

Today Mrs. Becker & Mr. Roe were in again. This time they showed us some great websites for students to use to get live homework help, to research various things, to download books on tape, or to just find current events going on right here in Williamsport. Check them out:

www.lycolibrary.org

www.know-zone.org

PERFECT ATTENDANCE & GRADES

The first marking period is over! We're officially 1/4 of the way done with the school year. On Friday, I gave each student their grades and awarded some prizes.

GRADES:

2nd period had the best overall average as a class at 91.1%. They barely beat out 6th period who had 91.0%! I'm VERY PROUD to report that 103 out of 108 students received a C average or higher this marking period :-)

PERFECT ATTENDANCE:

The best class with perfect attendance was 6th period with 41.6% of the students having perfect attendance. 4th period, however, had the highest number of students with perfect attendance (7). Below are pictures of the students who had perfect attendance this marking period. THANK YOU TO THESE STUDENTS FOR BEING IN SCHOOL EVERY DAY!

CONGRATS MR. ABELS & ALL PHILLIES FANS!

It pains this Mets fan's heart to say CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PHILLIES ON BECOMING WORLD SERIES CHAMPS last night! However, I am happy for my good friend Mr. Abels who is a HUGE fan and hasn't seen his team win since he was 3 years old. His smile was so big today that he could barely fit through a door :-) In the true spirit of friendship, I gave him a little victory gift:

BE WARNED....
next year, the Mets WILL make it to October & win it all;
although, I've been saying that since 1986 & it hasn't worked yet☺

My Godparents & Me

HERE IT IS....A PICTURE OF ME WITH MY GODPARENTS, UNCLE BILL & CAROL! I was not even a month old in this picture. AM I ADORABLE OR WHAT??? Cracks me up because you can see a picture in the background of the Blessed Virgin Mary at my grandparent's house :-) That's those "old school" Catholics for you...pictures & statues of saints all over the place!

Hope you enjoy the flashback Godmom Carol!

A Shout-out to my GODMOTHER...

I just spoke with my mom who told me my Godmother, Carol, who lives in Rochester, NY called her to wish her a happy birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM...Oct. 26). Apparently, the only thing Godmother Carol thinks is missing on my blog is her picture! I didn't even know you checked this out :-)

Hope this shout-out makes you smile....I can hear your laugh!!! I'll add a picture of you and I from back in the day soon! TAKE CARE ;-)

PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES

I am so excited that WAHS is finally having parent-teacher conferences! I've said since I arrived here 12 years ago, "why don't we meet with parents when teenagers are the ones who need the MOST guidance?"!

If you want to meet with me, please call or e-mail me to set up an appointment. You're also welcome to "walk-in" and try to meet with teachers. Remember though, that many of us see over 100 students a day so it's quite possible that if you don't schedule a time, we may be booked and busy with other parents. PLEASE BEAR WITH US AS THIS IS OUR FIRST ATTEMPT AT CONFERENCES...LEAVE TEACHERS A MESSAGE IF WE'RE BUSY AND I'M CERTAIN YOU'LL HEAR BACK FROM US!

Here's the scoop on conference dates/times:

THURSDAY, NOV. 6:
8:00 A.M.-8:00 P.M. (lunch break 11:00-12:00, dinner break 4:00-5:00)

FRIDAY, NOV. 7:
8:00 A.M.-11:00 A.M. (lunch 11:00-12:00)

I know many teachers are willing to be flexible with meeting times that will work best for parents. JUST CONTACT THE TEACHER & SET SOMETHING UP!

I LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING MANY PARENTS NEXT WEEK :-)

BROTHERS & SISTERS...

Did you enjoy yesterday's assembly? I thought the Step Afrika group was very energetic and sent a good message considering all of the performers were college graduates who stressed the importance of teamwork, self-discipline, and community service in all we do throughout life.

GOOD LUCK to our WAHS students who will be opening Step Afrika's show tonight at the Community Arts Center downtown. I won't be able to make it, but know you'll represent us well :-)

END OF THE MARKING PERIOD...

Where does the time go? I've not blogged in a month and it's already the end of the marking period! We're a quarter of the way through the school year...time flies!

So we've moved through learning all the keys on the keyboard and are doing timings all this week to test speed and accuracy. Do you think you're quicker at typing after 9 weeks of class? I hope so! I see much progress in most of you.

I'll post final class averages for the marking period soon....wonder which class will have the highest average? Prizes for highest average and best attendance! Stay tuned for grades...

OPEN HOUSE IS TUESDAY, OCT. 7!

Don't forget this Tuesday, Oct. 7 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. is our PTSO's Open House. Students are encouraged to bring their parents (or parents can come alone) to meet teachers & visit classrooms.

Hope to see many of you! Let's see if your parents can type with the keys covered :-) Wonder how fast they type?

COME VISIT US!!!

SPIRIT WEEK!!!

What a great week at school! Each day we had a different theme that many students and staff seemed to enjoy participating in. Mr. Holloway, red house secretary, and I dressed in matching colors on Thursday, even though Monday was "twin day"...and we didn't even plan it!

Thursday night we had the first bonfire in my 12 years at WAHS! I was surprised at how many students, parents, and teachers turned out. What an awesome celebration of school spirit. How about Mazz jumping on Mr. Weaver's shoulders to lead the crowd in "Let's go Millionaires....burn Comets burn"!!! So good to see so many of you taking pride in our great school!

Friday's pep rally was one to remember. For the first time, our pep rally took place in the auditorium. The sound quality was much better in the auditorium. The band sounded great! The cheerleaders are looking superb and all of the sports teams represent us well. Could you believe Mr. Elliott dancing in the sumo wrestler outfit? And wasn't he surprised when Mr. Choate came out to wrestle him instead of Mrs. Fox??? Great laughs!

Friday night's football game was icing on the cake with our second win of the season! The team is starting to come together and work as a unit...NICE VICTORY GUYS!

GREAT JOB MILLIONAIRES ON THIS WEEK'S SCHOOL SPIRIT!

EAGLES...BIG "D"

How about that Eagles' defense? Hoping our offense comes around and that Westbrook isn't injured too bad. Watched the game with some friends yesterday and loved winning even more since my friend Tommy is a big Steelers fan! Winning is always more fun when you can rub it in a bit :)

I believe that "W" was for my friend Bryan! GET WELL SOON BUDDY :)

LAST WEEK AT SHEA STADIUM...

Well the Mets are once again giving me a stroke in September! I'm hoping that they'll keep it together this week for their last regular season games at Shea. We've got 7 games left of regular season and are currently one and a half games out of first place. GO METS...LOSE PHILLIES :) I'm sure it'll be a stressed filled October for me!

Horticulture @ WAHS

Mrs. Carman-Harris always amazes me with how much work and dedication she puts into her Horticulture program at our school. She not only teaches great info to students about landscaping, floral design, greenhouse management and the environment, but she also stresses the importance of a strong work ethic. Believe me, she practices what she preaches!

Here's a picture of a few of our Horticulture students at a community function in Newberry on Saturday, Sept. 13. WAY TO REPRESENT 'PORT HORT :)

CLASS MOTTOS

Each of my classes were given an assignment: using squares or rectangles, each student was to record some information, making predictions about their future lives. Then, upon finishing, the class as a whole was to use the squares or rectangles to create a symbol that represented their class and come up with a "class motto". I must say, each time I do this activity the students seem to get more and more creative! GREAT JOB EVERYONE ON THIS PROJECT & THANKS FOR A GREAT START TO THIS SCHOOL YEAR!!!

PERIOD 1: "SNAKE...BECAUSE WE SLITHER OUR WAY TO SUCCESS!"


PERIOD 2: "PEACE...BECAUSE WE PASS PEACE ON TO OTHERS!"


PERIOD 3: "LOLLIPOP...BECAUSE WE'RE POPPIN'!"


PERIOD 4: "LETTER B...BECAUSE WE'RE THE BOSSES OF ALL BOSSES!"


PERIOD 6: "BOMB...BECAUSE WE ARE DA'BOMB!"


PERIOD 7: "EYES...BECAUSE WE ARE FACING OUR FUTURES!"

The rest of weekend sports...

The rest of the weekend in sports was up and down:

WE ARE...PENN STATE: Penn State looked pretty darn good Saturday. Joe Pa has to be happy! TN didn't play this weekend! WVU (West VA) lost to Eastern Carolina...how did that happen?

E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!: WOW! Did they look good today or what? I watched the first quarter and then had to get outside to enjoy the beautiful day...but popped back in every now and again to check them out. What I saw made me hopeful for a great season!

METS: UGHHHH....being a Mets fan IS NOT easy..especially in September :-) But faithful we are! The Mets lost the first 2 of 3 games to the Phillies this weekend. As of right now, we're up by 1 in the 3rd inning...but will we hold the lead? WHO KNOWS! If we get swept by the Phillies, we will be tied with them for first place and Mr. Abels won't let me live it down! WA-HOOO...Delgado just slammed a homerun...we're up by 2 now :-) See me in the morning for the outcome!

FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

Even though we lost Friday night, nothing beats Friday night football (except maybe baseball in October...more on that later)! I enjoyed seeing many of you at the game, on and off the field. Our new scoreboard looks great doesn't it? The sunset view from our stadium always mesmerizes me! As always, the band had a great pre-game show and the cheerleaders looked good pumping up our fans, who were looking full of 'PORT PRIDE....who says our school spirit isn't alive and well? As for the football team...KEEP TRYING GUYS! You can't let one game get you down...and remember to hold your heads high and play with integrity :-) A few photos from the game:

CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU!!!

Hey everyone! I hope your summer was tons of fun and that you're ready for a good school year. I'VE MISSED YOU!!!

ANTIOCH PICNIC
I did see some of you at Antioch Church's annual block party a few weeks ago. A group of CTE teachers decided to get together and help out. What a super event to get neighbors outside & mingling! I hope to make it every year. Here are a few pictures of the event:



IT'S A BOY!!!
I welcomed a new nephew into the world on Aug. 9! HOW EXCITING! Patrick William seems happy & healthy, as is his "big" sister, Maddy. I'm enjoying spoiling both of them :) Check out their first meeting in the hospital...IT IS TOO CUTE:


ROCKY TOP
I spent a great deal of time visiting my cousin and her family/friends in Knoxville, TN throughout the summer. In fact, I was there so much that I've still got my "southern" slang Y'ALL :) I really feel that city is my "second home" and thank all of my new friends there for their hospitality (and as always, I valued my time with my family there)! I got to see my god-daughter in her new classroom...YES...they started school already, on Aug. 11th to be exact! Here's Heather walking in to school & at her second grade seat in Mrs. Tipton's class (A.L. Lotts Elementary, Knoxville, TN):


LITTLE LEAGUE, METS, SMOKIES
I arrived back in Williamsport Monday night and was able to catch a Little League game on Tuesday (Japan vs. Latin America...GREAT GAME). It is always such a great event for our community and the world...teaching us that you can have many differences and not even speak the same language, yet appreciate each other and a game that teaches so much more than just baseball! I LOVE BASEBALL!

Speaking of baseball....have you seen my Mets??? I hate to say it and jinx us, but they're looking PRETTY GOOD! While I've not seen them play (except on TV) since the end of May, Heather and I took in a minor league game of the Tennessee Smokies in July...it was her first baseball game, she loved it, and even knows "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" already! Check out these all-star players we saw there:



HURRY BACK...
Well, today was your teachers' official first day back at school! While summer vacation is great and appreciated, it's always cool to come back and see everyone. We're working hard to make this year a good one....all we need is you :) So get back here & tell me all your summer stories. STOP IN & SEE ME....STILL IN G202! CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOUR SMILING FACES NEXT WEDNESDAY (FRESHMEN ONLY TUESDAY).