The 25th Hour ~karenjcardoza.com~

The week pretty much flew by thanks to having Tuesday off.  I did however, fall totally out of my routines though, most certainly because I stayed up so late that night. Going to bed at 2:00AM meant that I needed to get up at 6:00 instead of my 5:00 gym call.  (Of course, it was so worth it!  Btw,  you can check out the rest of Barack Obama’s Flickr set here.) I’m not sure why, but I continued to go to bed later than normal all week so I got up later too.

It looks like a busy weekend ahead as our friends Ernie and Kelly are here from San Diego and we’re going out to dinner tomorrow night then to the game on Sunday. I’ll be at the market bright and early tomorrow and will need to cook for the tailgate in the  afternoon before we head out. I like the fact that it’s a Sunday @ 1:00 game so it means that our 12 hour day will still allow me to get to bed at a decent hour.

I spent some time tonight making my shopping list and will be going to Shaws in the morning to pick up some items and should end up with $25 in cash back to use on my next shopping trip. I’ll let you know how I make out tomorrow.

While the last 48 hours have been all about the election and I was glued to it last night,  this evening was time to get my Patriots content updated. I really wanted to get a podcast done this week as it’s been WAY too long since my last show. So, if you’re here and follow me because of the Pats, the website has been updated and my latest podcast has been posted.

Right now, there’s a 3 way tie for the top spot with The Pats, Jets, and Bills all at 5-3.  Miami isn’t far behind at 4-4 either. We’re playing all three of our division rivals in a row so by the end of November, things could look much different.

Speaking of November, it’s going to fly by I’m sure!  It’s one of those “not enough hours” months. We looked at our calendars today for math class and I noticed that there are only 15 school days (for the kids) this month due to the election, holidays and parent/teacher conferences. It’s a busy month for me though with Assessment work and 3 Thanksgiving dinners to be involved with.

As of now, I’m about to check out my inbox, continue to smile about what took place last night, then roll over and try to catch up on some of the sleep I didn’t get last night when I was watching History in the making until 2:00AM

History! on 12seconds.tv

Today started off as a great day.. up right before my alarm at 5:00 to head to the gym and despite having to scrape the car, got there on time and had a great workout. The kids were behaving at school, we had a great lesson about the upcoming election, they voted, and we all left school excited.   We were working on some comprehension strategies while reading about it and they really “got it” which brought a big smile to my face.

Then, I attended a training after school about the new RI IEP (Individualized Education Plan) and all it entails. My bubble burst…. I’m getting  P‘d to death!  IEPs, ILPs (Individual Learning Plans), PLPs (Personal Literacy Plans), IEP Progress Notes, Alternate Assessment Porfolios, Report Cards… All that in addition to NECAP (New England Common Assessment Program) testing, Grade testing and the usual assessments that go along with the lessons taught.  Let’s not forget Lesson Plans too! When is there time to teach?

It’s really sad because I love my kids but honestly, the paperwork that’s required (all on my time of course) is ridiculous and doesn’t promise to get any lighter. In fact, every time they “improve” anything, it means yet another plan to fill out  and develop. It’s not just a matter of “filling out paperwork”. It means that I have develop these plans and align everything with the standards. Then, assess several times a year to report back to all of the Ps.

Tomorrow is Election Day so we don’t have school but I’ll be up to my eyeballs in developing my Alternate Assessment for this year. And just so I don’t dare try to assess the same areas as last year, they’re requiring all new goals every year (even if the student hasn’t mastered them…. duh) So, here I go, re-inventing the wheel yet again and trying to find activities to fit the goals.  This goes on all year.  So, just in case I’m a bit cranky, you’ll all know why.

Btw… Election results in my class:  Obama 17, McCain 1