School year has begun

I'm all settled into my new "new" room and feel pretty important to have a separate office. Of course, it's only because my desk wouldn't fit in my classroom :). We had open house/meet your teacher night last night. I had several of my families stop in. The building was very busy. That is a good omen for the coming year. Today we have professional development and tomorrow the kiddos arrive for the first official day. Part of my day today will be CPR training. I haven't been certified in several years and I have a student with a seizure disorder, so I need to be certified. Hopefully I will never have to put practice into reality.
Also yesterday I got to have coffee with an old teaching buddy who was in town. She lives near Branson now, for 12 years or so. I tried to fit in a visit between meetings and open house and also got to watch Charley while we were having coffee. He was a perfect gentleman, but he put my arm to sleep while he napped. I felt young, all the others at the table were retired.
The rain hasn't affected us personally, but we know plenty of people with serious water in their basements. Highway 92 east of town has been closed for days and the way the pictures look, some serious reconstruction may need to happen on the road. I don't know how this will affect the start of school. There are other routes, but buses will certainly have to backtrack a bunch.

Lynne or Laura

Can you tell me how to move things in my blog so you can see the title? Be detailed, please.

Another opportunity

I got called to the office again today, and again, just as I was walking out the door. It seems since the president signed a bill giving some education money back, our district can hire some teachers. Our fifth grade teachers won't have to have 31 students in their class, but they will get to have my room. I have two days before school starts to move (again, sigh) and this time to a teacher's lounge, not a classroom. I will need to be creative! Plus side is I'll be close to my best school friend again. And, BTW, it is dry at school, although parts of Oskaloosa are pretty soggy. I heard Ames has a boil water order, I bet we will too in a day or two since the water treatment plant is sure to be under if all that water comes downstream. Never a dull moment.

end of summer as I know it

I still have pictures to publish but they are on the MACbook and when they updated, they put blogspot on a list of firewalled items ( no social networks are allowed on school computers during school hours so kids can't be off task) so I will have to figure out how to transfer so I can post them here.

I have spent several hours at school trying to do what I can ahead. Got to babysit with Charley several times as well. He changes every time I see him, has learned many new things. It sure is fun to watch him talk to the toys! Only one more band concert for the season as well, then I can start babysitting Thursday nights.

Sweetcorn Serenade went well. Last year and this we have had the Celebration Iowa Jazz band and Singers perform. We used to know them as the State Fair Jazz band and Singers. It brings a good crowd as does the rest of the celebration (corn, pork burgers, vendors, kids' games, crafts, etc)The night ends with our band concert - our biggest audience of the year but also the noisiest, I'm not really here for the music audience. MUSCO lighting donated new lighting for the park and the bandstand, state of the art LED lights. Now I don't have to have a secret stash of light bulbs for when the teenagers steal the light bulbs just before the concert!

Nothing else happening here.