Four Blogs into One

If you wanted to walk a week in my shoes, you would be going to school, going to meetings, meetings, and more meetings, running ridiculous distances 4 days a week, and cramming grad school work in before passing out at night. September was a whirlwind, more so than the summer, but despite all the craziness that is my schedule, I managed to fit in some play time! Get ready to read 4 blogs in 1! 

Here's a school update:

I started my 3rd year teaching at Christie Elementary. I was going to be teaching all content area this year, but our school was blessed with a new principal that thought that wouldn't be very practical for the students or for the teacher! I am thrilled to be teaching writing and math again! Texas is rolling out New Math TEKS for grades 3-5, so I feel like I changed grade levels! I am teaching my students things that I learned in 8th grade! 

On top of teaching, I have taken on roles such as: team leader, math content lead, Student Achievement Committee head, Campus Improvement Team, Math Vertical Team facilitator, Pine Cove Point Person, and am filling in on the PLC task force. All of these things are the reason I have meetings 4 days out of the week every week since school has started on top of regular staff meetings. Some of the meetings have been during the school day, and I have already had to write 3 days worth of sub plans! I practically feel like an administrator, but at the same time I have lessons to plan, lessons to prepare for, and papers to grade! (not to mention the grad school work at home) I feel like I am doing a great job at the administration stuff, but I am worried my teaching isn't to the best of my ability. There are only so many hours in the day! 

We have a new principal and she is fabulous. I feel 100% comfortable going to her with any issues or concerns I may have and she handles everything with so much poise. I look forward to learning more from her throughout the year and when I move into my practicum for grad school. 

Grad School Update:

Luckily I am only taking one class at a time this semester, and this class is the most interesting class I have taken thus far and is pretty easy to keep up with. God must have known I needed a break somewhere during this DEVOLSON time (Dark Evil Vortex Of Late September, October, November). It is called, "Race, Gender, and Class Issues in Education." Instead of writing a lot of papers, it is a lot of discussions, and quizzes over the text book. I have also had to read 2 books in the class, and they have only fed my liberalism. There are only 2 weeks left of this class and then I start my next one. Hoping it will be structured the same, and if not, at least have deadlines on Sunday night so I can work on papers over the weekend. 

Marathon training:

Rachel and I have been diligent with our training for the most part. It has been hot outside ever since we started the training program August 11. We wake up really early to know out our long runs, but have to suffer through our weekday runs. Up until recently we have been doing a lot of training, but never surpassed the half-marathon distance of 13.1. For the past 2 weeks we have had to run 14 miles, and then 15 miles. It is really starting to hit me now how far 26.2 miles is... It's too late to turn back, and there are days I regret ever signing up for this, and then days where I feel strong and can't wait to cross this major accomplishment off my bucket list. If I can stay injury free and stick to the training, it will all be worth it. 

Playtime:

I really took advantage of my last week of summer sleeping in, and seeing friends, I also spent a lot of time going over to my mom's house that was being renovated and that was always fun for me. When September came, I had a plan for every weekend. One weekend i floated the Comal River with some friends. That was a fun road trip with even more fun activities. I can't believe I never did that in college. That should definitely be a summer tradition from here on out. My brother came into town for a visit and it was great to see him for the first time since her graduated. Addison Oktoberfest is my favorite thing ever in September! The following weekend marked  my 5th year in a row going. And finally, this past weekend, I went down to Austin for a Wedding. 

I work hard, but I play harder, or relax hard depending on my mood... This weekend it was nice to sleep and catch up/get ahead with work stuff. I look forward to knocking out another crazy month!