The Day I Learned to Hate #SnowDays...: Week 3

So this week has been crazy, not because a lot has been going on, but because not much has been going on. Thanks to our current stream of overhyped snow storms, this past week has really only been 2.5 days. First, a snow day on Monday and a 2-hour delay on Tuesday, both of which did not seem to bring the heavy snowfall we were expecting (though you do have to be extra pre-cautious when some of your students and staff have to travel over or around the mountain to get to school). And now to end our week, we now have a three-day weekend thanks to another snow day today (though I think this weekend we may actually get a snow storm, so if my kids get their wish we may have a four-day weekend).

So after this short week where I was only able to see my 8th graders for three classes and my Vet Science class once, I have come to a conclusion: I hate snow days. As a student I remember loving days off, late arrivals, and early dismissals due to weather conditions, no matter how I had to travel, but now as a teacher I hate them.

So current and past teachers I ask you - how do/did you ever get anything accomplished in class?!

Thanks to our most recent schedules I am about two days behind in my class schedule, and instead of picking up my next class Monday I may have to start mid-week, but that's assuming the incoming snow storm bypasses us and we're able to have class Monday. Now on the one hand, some people may look at it this way, I have an extra day to my weekend and some extra time to prepare, and that's true, my snowy weekend will be filled with lesson planning and pushing ahead.

Hopefully they think this is as cool as I do...

But picture this, you stay late at school Thursday night because you are super excited for the lesson you have planned the next day for your Vet Science class. You have all the materials ready, you've planned out your lesson, and you are getting excited just thinking about how your students will react when they figure out what's going on. Friday morning comes, you get the phone call at 5:30am, schools will be on a 2-hour delay. Slight panic, you look out your window then check your bell schedule. Wooosh, it'll be ok, based on that day's delay schedule you won't get to see your 8th graders which is a little sad but you get your Vet Science class first period of the day. So you're getting pumped, hoping they think it's as cool as you do and not corny. You take advantage of your extra time that morning, clean up the apartment, figure out your outfit for the day and get ready. But then it happens, you get the second phone call, school's canceled. And now you're bummed, and that's when it hits you and you leave your old student-mindset -  you hate snow days.

Now while I am bummed that I didn't get to see my students react to my (hopefully) awesome Vet Science lesson, I won't ruin the surprise for you and will instead wait to explain more about the lesson next week after my students get to experience it (whatever day that may be now). Though I will share a picture sneak peak of some of the materials I prepped for class.

So I again ask, current and past teachers - how do/did you ever get anything accomplished in class?!
The weather continues to throw off the schedule and as I look ahead to the many days Mrs. D. and/or I will be out of the classroom due to pre-service and/or FFA requirements I don't know how teachers are able to accomplish what they do. Looking ahead to every day I have to plan for a substitute to be watching my students, I'm anxious about what I'll be able to accomplish as I'll be restricted to certain types of media and a lack of shop utilization for those lessons. With all the extra responsibilities of an FFA Advisor, I'm not sure how any teacher, let alone ag. teachers, are able to accomplish much during the winter months (or whenever their location has extreme weather).

Now amidst all this snowy madness I still had quite a few highlights this week. First, my 8th graders continue to be the highlight of my mornings. They continue to let more of their personalities show, and their career interests range from agricultural to law enforcement! One of my favorite moments of the week was when I was questioning them and getting them to name the 8 career clusters within the agricultural industry (which according to National FFA are animal systems, plant systems, agribusiness, food products and processing, biotechnology, environmental systems, natural resources, and power, technical, and structure systems.)

The last system they had to guess was food products and processing, so I asked them what they do at least two or three times a day and one of my boys threw his hand excitedly in the air and shouted "learning!" It was that moment where I got that warm and fuzzy feeling and I told him I loved his answer and that I hoped they were learning more than that in a day. Now yes, they did figure out that I was referring to food but I loved his answer! I can't wait to see what my students come up with next week.

Looks like an Assignment Throne!

Now my 8th graders were already my favorites, but it was my senior shop boys who really surprised me this week. Of all the students I was most worried about reaching it was them; they tend to lead the behavior of the classes and are much more proficient in the shop than I'll be in a long time. But this week I think a core group of them finally accepted me. The past few weeks I have been using a box lid as my "turn-in" box; I hadn't had a chance to pick a tray up yet and it was functional. This week some of the boys were looking for projects to complete in the shop, so among some other things on the to-do list Mrs. D. asked them if they could build me a box; simple, three-sided with a lip at one end, just so it could hold assignments. Two of these boys willingly accepted and decided to build me a three-level box. Now while I appreciated their effort, the box was thrown together and while I was willing to accept the very un-pretty box, she thought they could do better.

Well some of their classmates agreed. A different group of boys picked it up the next period, looked it over and said "we can do better," and better they did. I now have a three-level, open-topped box, sanded and clear-coated drying in the shop to use next week to start collecting assignments. The students took a lot of pride in making it, continuing to fix it when something wasn't to their liking (some of them are perfectionists), and asking if it met my liking. This gave me a chance to talk to them in the shop and get to know them better, learning what they're doing after graduation and even catch them dancing and singing while cleaning up when they thought Mrs. D. and I weren't watching.


This week, even though it's been short, I've really been able to see the sweet side of my normally, loud and tough "shop" boys, from the dancing and pride in their work I mentioned earlier, to a moment I witnessed in the hallway in between classes. The teachers stand in the hallways during class changes, and one day as I was watching some of my boys walking down the hall towards ag. class, one of the younger special needs students was walking farther away down the hall holding his aide's hand. Suddenly he let go of her hand and rushed ahead to grab my student's hand and walk with down the hall. Now some students may not have reacted positively to this sudden grabbing and this situation could have gone downhill fast. Instead, my student acted wonderfully, not even batting an eye as he held onto the younger boy's hand, continuing to walk down the hall with him until the aide caught up and took the boy to their original destination.

This may not mean anything. But both Mrs. D. and I saw it and to us it was one brief moment of sweetness, and as she put it - "sometimes they can be real sweethearts." So as I go into the next twelve weeks of student teaching at this place I have grown attached to, with students I willingly claim as mine, I'm remembering this - even during those moments in class when they can be knuckleheads, acting up and sometimes just getting under your skin, these students are not just great kids, they're my great kids.

Looking forward to the next twelve weeks, more classes to teach, and hopefully less snow!

Exactly what my students were probably saying... Should have listened to them.

Snow Days, Weight Days, & Beefstick Days, Oh My! (Week 2 Cont...)

Sounds like our students

In addition to getting used to my teaching schedule this week I also learned that A-days, B-days, and 9^th period Club days are not the only things that affect my students and their schedule. We also have snow days, “weight days,” and beefstick days. Snow days seem really obvious at how they affect your schedule, but it’s not just the time difference; the students also act different. The teachers joke that you can predict the weather based on how rowdy the students get, and sure enough, today about the time that the students upped their rowdiness level was about the time our weather forecast upgraded from a “weather advisory alert” to a “winter storm warning.”

Don't wanna mess with the Dawgs

The weather is only one factor, the next is “weight days.” Many of the students in my ag. classes are athletes, predominantly wrestlers. Since we are in prime wrestling season, my students moods and behaviors shift based on their “weight days” where they make sure that they are within their weight range to compete. So for instance some days these past weeks some of my boys have been grumpy because they have to shed weight before a competition; other days they are stuffing their faces because a meet has been rescheduled due to weather.

The Coveted Beefstick Cabinet

This brings me to the next kind of days – beefstick days, or really beefstick week. One of the fundraisers for the FFA chapter is the sale of beefsticks in the ag. class. We can sell before and after school everyday, but because of school nutrition requirements we can only sell during the school day for one week per month, hence beefstick days. Students are very motivated by food, and even when they have to pay for it, they will work (a little) harder if they can buy a beefstick.

This is just some of the fun things I’m becoming a part of here at Tri Valley, including attending my first FFA meeting this afternoon. While I may be from the largest chapter, I’ve never attended an FFA meeting with over 20 students and thanks to Tri Valley’s 9^th period club schedule, every Friday we hold FFA meetings in the auditorium with at least 50 students. Today after moving through our agenda, introducing myself and advertising some of the FFA activities coming up over the next few weeks we watched part of Nick Vujicic’s keynote address from this past fall’s National FFA Convention. Even watching it on youTube, after seeing it in person I still enjoy his message and hope that the students are pulling something of it too. Hopefully, his message of accepting others and loving yourself and pushing yourself further to accomplish great things can be a message to theme my semester with Tri Valley.

Week 2: Ms. F Teaches: “She can’t be from the city…”

So this week has been another crazy schedule. My students enjoyed a three-day weekend while I had my first in-service day of finalizing lesson plans, assignments and making copies of FFA trip forms, while the other teachers completed first aid and CPR training. After getting to know some of my coworkers better and an insightful fortune cookie (“The beginning is always the hardest…”), I was ready to start my first week of teaching when the quarter changed on Wednesday, or so I thought.

Meet Cocoa, one of my youngest furry friends

Tuesday was the last day of the previous quarter so the day was a flurry of finalizing grades, students scrambling to finish assignments and students checking their schedules to figure out their new classes. It was also the last day I’d have with some of the seniors I’d grown to like, as they would be leaving to attend the vo-tech school for the rest of the spring. Thankfully, I was able to get one more helpful task out of some of the boys as they helped clean out the rabbit cages. They weren’t too happy to spend their last day in ag. doing that dirty job, but the rabbits and I greatly appreciated it.

So finally Wednesday was here, and while I was nervous I was excited to start teaching my 4^th period Vet Science class, and then the announcement came 2^nd period… “we would be having an early dismissal due to the snow.” So my first day with my vet science students was pushed back until Friday. I had put my classroom management posters up in class that morning to prepare for class, so of course since there was something new in class some of our ag. boys decided to welcome me… by pranking me and flipping my posters upside down. We all had a good laugh and they proceeded to try and distract themselves from their work by continually asking “what’s a parking lot,” but they’d just have to wait and see until Ms. F was teaching their class.

Finally, Thursday, my first day of teaching even with our two hour delay. I was starting with my 1^st period 8^th Grade Ag. Rotation and we were starting off with agricultural careers. While I still need to work on my timing of activities, after teaching my class of 10 students two days in a row now I think they’re gonna be a great class to start each day off. Every Friday our classes are shorter since we switch to a 9 period club schedule, so between that and our snow days, I’m still getting used to Tri Valley’s schedule. Today (Friday) was finally my first day with my Vet Science class and while I think I have a rowdy bunch of boys I know that they’re all good kids and I have a good bunch of students who are really interested in veterinary medicine and “zoological animals” (one of my student’s phrases).

I’m really excited to start teaching more classes this week, and excited to get to know my students better and let them get to know me. So that brings me to the title of this week’s blog: Ms. F Teaches: “She can’t be from the city…” One of the first activities I did in both my 8^th Grade and Vet Science classes was have students fill out index cards with some information about themselves and then we played “2 Truths and a Lie” so I could learn names and get to know them and I made sure that I always went last. I would change up my statements but I always kept my two statements agricultural related and my last one was always “I grew up in a city.” This has been pretty fun the past two days because all of my students 8^th-12^th grade (except for my FFA members who I got to know in the summer/fall) all believed that my lie must be about the city because “there’s no way she grew up in the city.” I won’t be able to use this game much longer since many of my students overlap in classes, but I am looking forward to seeing how my urban background can play a part in reaching my rural students and I’m hoping it’s going to make for some exciting learning experiences for all of us throughout this spring.

I can’t wait to keep diving right in and hopefully not too much more snow (though we’re already getting more) will mess with my teaching schedule over these next 13 (already two weeks down?!) weeks.

Cool it Weather Oprah...

To hear about some more things I’ve learned this week, including my first Tri Valley FFA meeting, check out my next blog!

Scoping out the Anatomy Class

This past Friday I got to end my first week by observing the 7^th period anatomy class taught by one of the biology teachers. It was my first real venture to the second level of the school so some of my 11^th and 12^th grade ag. students looked a little surprised to see me show up in their anatomy class. The class had been learning about hair anatomy and how different species have unique hair follicle characteristics. During this class they were completing a hair anatomy microscopy lab. Before they started the lab activity, the teacher reviewed the hair anatomy info from the day before, covering key terminology including integument, morphology, cortex, medulla, and cuticle. After checking comprehension with questions it was time to start the lab!

Once the students reviewed the directions on the worksheet they began the lab. They moved around five different stations in the back of the classroom, analyzing different hair samples with the microscopes to determine species identification, drawing their microscopic observations and recording descriptions of the samples utilizing key terminology. The animal species they were trying to distinguish between were sheep, cat, dog, horse, rabbit and human. The students appeared to enjoy the class and be interested in the lab and showing what they know. As I’d walk around the room, I’d ask the students what they thought their microscope station showed and why, and the students would explain to me how different characteristics of the hair samples helped them identify the species (or guess since they weren’t reviewing until the next class period).

Throughout the lab I talked to the teacher, we discussed how much she enjoys teaching at Tri Valley, how she still remembers her own student teaching experience and while teaching is still stressful it’s better once you’re in your own classroom. We discussed classroom layout and compared how the classroom is organized and how she would change it to better accommodate lab activities.

Say hello to Blackie

We talked about how much she enjoys teaching biology and anatomy at the high school, and how her own love of science led her along the path from “discovering dinosaurs” in the woods near her home to now using that “dinosaur” in her classroom. (The “dinosaur” is actually the real remains of a Shetland pony from her childhood. Her father helped her assemble it as a child and now, twenty years later, he resides in the back of her classroom. Pretty cool!)

Overall, it was an enjoyable experience, with the teacher inviting me to come back and call on her whenever I needed. I’ve also noticed an appreciation of art throughout the school, as there are murals in some of the classes, including the ag. shop and in the anatomy class. Most of them are images related to the subject (like the FFA emblem in the ag. shop) or inspirational messages like this one in the anatomy class.

"COURAGE is knowing what not to FEAR"

Look at what pennants are right next to each other!

Higher education and careers are also emphasized throughout the school, with many posters advertising career and college opportunities. Many of the classrooms also have college posters and/or pennants hung up on their walls. Behind “Blackie,” the Shetland pony skeleton, the back wall in the anatomy classroom is covered with university pennants, including two that are very important to me.

Getting to know the biology/anatomy teacher was really helpful and I can’t wait to see what other wonderful staff I get to know over the next 14 weeks.

Being the New Kid on the Block: Week 1

Maybe that's why there's a "donut rule"...

This has been an interesting first week to say the least. Monday was my first school cancellation due to icy rain, but that couldn’t stop the advisors’ trip to the Farm Show and Mid-winter FFA Convention. Next, Tuesday brought my first two-hour delay and also my official initiation as the “new kid on the block.” At Tri Valley there is an unofficial rule that a each new staff member must bring in enough donuts/treats for the rest of the school staff. Lucky for me, Mrs. Dingman had warned me about this rule that morning as a new secretary had been caught with it, so when I was bombarded at lunch in the faculty lunchroom, I was already prepared to know that she voted me exempt from the “donut rule” since I was only temporary (and a poor college student).

After narrowly escaping the “donut rule” now came the hard part – learning names. Wednesday through Friday has become a blur of trying to learn the names of both my coworkers and students; (un)fortunately the names I’ve picked up so far tend to be (good) students I interacted with earlier in the year, or students who need some help focusing on their work in the classroom. Though the students’ reactions are quite funny the first time they hear me say their names.

It's official now...

Most of this week has been spent observing Mrs. Dingman teach, learning names, some of her “unwritten rules” and generally how the students typically interact with each other in the classroom. The current grading quarter ends this upcoming Tuesday, so the majority of the students in her classes right now I will have once I start teaching next week, though the section of 8^th graders will rotate and some of the upperclassmen will attend the vo-tech school instead of our agriculture classes.

In addition to learning names, this week has also been learning the general layout of the school; now I can find my way around the building without getting (too) lost. With my new ID badge and internet account I am officially part of the school staff, complete with my first faculty meeting Thursday afternoon and my first experience jamming and un-jamming the copier. Overall, the week is wrapping up nicely, slowly becoming acclimated and pushing through assignments and planning for upcoming lessons. To finish off my first week I will be observing one of the biology teachers Friday afternoon and getting ready for my first in-service day this Monday while my students enjoy another three-day weekend.

Week 1 down, 14 to go!

Mid-Winter Convention, Come Icy Rain or Shine

Attending the PA State Farm Show has been a tradition for me for the past nine years; it’s how I mark my birthday each year. Usually this involves a multi-day trip chaperoning Saul livestock kids, but this year was a little different. While I did manage to visit the Farm Show Sunday to catch up with Saul and watch my kids show their market lambs (4 sale lambs and a Master Showman!), the big difference was knowing that I would be chaperoning a new bus full of Tri Valley students that Monday to attend the Mid-winter FFA Convention. At least that’s how Monday was supposed to go.

Instead of chaperoning a full bus load of Tri Valley FFA members I spent my Monday morning first preparing for a two hour delay, and then finding out that because of the rain coating our area’s roads with ice that I would be experiencing my first official “snow day.” While my school and many others faced school cancellations there was one common theme amongst my cooperating teacher and other FFA Advisors across the area – come rain or shine they will celebrate their students’ achievements at Mid-winter. So while the majority of my students enjoyed their day off, Mrs. Dingman and I loaded up in her car and headed south towards the Farm Show Complex. Tri Valley had one first year student receiving their own FFA jacket thanks to the state alumni association’s jacket campaign, and while she couldn’t make it due to the weather, we were able to pick up her jacket for her and bring it back. We were also there to recognize two of our seniors receive their Keystone FFA Degrees, and while only one of them was able to make it, it was really cool to watch her walk across stage and help take dozens of pictures for her obviously very proud parents.

Attending this year’s Mid-winter Convention was very similar to each of the past year’s I’ve attended as a chaperone, except it felt more official this year; now that I’m officially the chapter advisor (in-training) those are “my kids” and I felt different to be down on the arena floor and watch as the hundreds of students went across stage. Watching the students receive their Keystones or zip up their first personal jacket was a little nostalgic, reminding me how much I love my own blue corduroy hanging in my closet.

This Farm Show was also extra special to me because I got to bring all three of my groups of “kids” together – as I got to celebrate my hometown kids showing over the weekend and then congratulating them as they earned their Keystones, and then was able to introduce some of students from Governor’s School to my Tri Valley FFA member so that they already know each other before running into each other at FFA conferences this spring. I’m really proud of all of my “kids” and can’t wait to enjoy their interactions together at future FFA events. Hopefully, by mixing my three groups together I can help them form some friendships across the state. At the very least I have multiple chapters I’ll be cheering for at this year’s state convention.

Here’s to a successful Farm Show (complete with milk shake) and the beginning of the next fifteen weeks, feeling like an official “big kid.”

2015: A Year of Milestones

A new year is now here, and looking back over the end of this past year I’ve realized how many great experiences I had in 2014 and how 2015 is/will be a year of milestones for me.

Meet Debi

Looking back at 2014: Finally a driver’s license! No longer am I the eternal passenger in the car thanks to my new PA license and my new partner in crime (credit-card maxing) Debi (my lovely Hyundai Santa Fe).

Seoul Sunset

2014 marks my first and second times traveling abroad. Getting to travel to Trinidad & Tobago for a week and then a month to the Republic of Korea over the summer exposed me to the big global world of agriculture and agricultural education and in more ways than one has helped make this great big world feel a little smaller.

2014 also helped me continue to increase my agricultural education network, so I can now say that I have at least one agricultural educator I can call a friend from Connecticut down to Florida and Washington to Texas.

Looking forward to this upcoming year: 2015 marks the 10-year anniversary since I first became involved in agriculture. I know that at first this statement may sound strange, but for this city girl this spring marks ten years since I interviewed for an enrollment slot at WB Saul High School, which is where my agricultural journey began.

My 2nd Farm Show & 1st time showing
with my Duroc market gilt Sausage Linx

2015 also marks my 24^th birthday officially making me the old lady in my student teaching cohort, at six years older than my oldest student and ten years older than my youngest student (aah!). My birthday each year is not complete until a visit to the Pennsylvania State Farm Show and this year's 99^th Farm Show marks nine years since I first heard of and attended the Farm Show with Saul and I’ve been hooked and attending every year since. If I leave the state, the Farm Show will be right at the top of the list for what I’ll miss most about PA.

That brings me to the biggest milestone (so far) of 2015 – the semester I finally student teach (again aaahhh!!)! This semester I will be spending 15 weeks at Tri Valley Jr./Sr. High School where I will be teaching eight different classes to 8^th through 12^th grade. Student teaching is going to be a new adventure for me, culminating my past six years of college education to get into the classroom.

Students weeding a strawberry field in a
middle school Ag class in Florida in December

These next 15 weeks are going to be the most exciting and most terrifying semester so far, but looking past this semester 2015 also marks a lot more. It marks me becoming the first person in my immediate family to earn my graduate degree (sometime this year). It also marks a year of moving – first moving to Hegins, PA, my small town home during student teaching, and after May – who knows! I’m looking forward to getting my first teaching job this spring and spending my summer moving to my new home, wherever that may be!
(PA? NY? Down south? Florida is looking pretty nice right now)!

Here’s to a year full of challenges, milestones, and a lot of mileage and gas.

"Follow your arrow wherever it points..."