Have a Holly Jolly New Year!! hmm?
Hello dear ones!
Caught up a bit on your journals, but only your entries since Dec. 21. For now I can't really get ambitious and read EVERYTHING I've missed this fall. So... if any of you changed jobs or vacationed in New Zealand or gave birth to triplets, please let me know.
I had a beautiful Christmas here in NJ with my family, hanging out with my parents and Casey and Adam, and singing at Christmas Eve midnight Mass with my mom. After an early New Year's par-tay tonight, I'll rise at 4 AM so I can catch my flight back to Albuquerque. Hopefully the roads will be clear enough when I get there to allow me to drive the three hours back to Dulce tomorrow afternoon. Albuquerque hasn't encountered this much snow for 50 years; thanks a lot, El Nin~o! School is scheduled to begin Tuesday, but might be delayed if the teachers can't get back.
And speaking of school, the end of term went splendidly in the first half of December. My students' grades improved since the first term; a couple of kids improved by one or two letter grades in all major subject areas. Woo-hoo! I showed them their report cards before we went on break, and got a couple of spontaneous hugs. They were so proud of themselves, I could have cried.
The school Christmas program was on Dec. 14. I had written and rehearsed a short play with ten young actors, and they did as well as I had hoped. Microphones would have helped, but to the kids' credit, they (most performing for the first time) stood their ground in front of a big crowd and said their lines and (mostly) remembered their blocking. Another item on the program was "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer," played from CD while dressed-up teachers lip-synched and danced around like fools. The star of that number was a camel puppet to whom I had affixed some paper antlers, and I may or may not have caused my makeshift reindeer to run over an elderly teacher in slow-mo... and then dance on her body... and her face... and do some high-kicks. The program ended with all of the students present (around 50) singing Christmas carols, while a friend of mine accompanied on keyboard and I attempted to direct. Kneeling on the floor in front of them all, watching them take their cues from me and sing their hearts out... that was quite an experience. I hope this won't be the last time I get to do something like that.
The following day, Dec. 15, was the last day of school before our break began, and also (very likely) the most unforgettable birthday I've had to date. We took the kids on a field trip, first thing in the morning, to a radio station in Chama, so they could sing Christmas carols live on the air. I was sitting on the bus, watching my kids and enjoying the view out the windows, when the principal leaned over and grinned at me for a solid minute. Shoot! He knew it was my birthday, even though I'd successfully kept it quiet so far. Darn his record-keeping! So we arrive in Chama and cram 50 kids into a tiny radio station on a quaint corner of mainstreet. It's so crowded in there (and thankfully warm) that you can't take a baby step without brushing against at least two other people. Santa's there, too, conversing with the DJ on the air. The DJ is thrilled to see all the cute kiddies, and invites them ALL to introduce themselves on the air. Some are shy and barely get out more than their names; others seize the moment and gleefully proclaim things like, "ROCK ON, NEW MEXICO!!!" Hee hee, warm fuzzies. Then I make my way into Santa's corner and lead the kids in a few rousing carols, including "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," to which Santa himself adds some well-timed interjections at the ends of lines. Then the principal whispers to the DJ, and he announces that our final song will be one EVERYBODY knows -- Happy Birthday! Fifty grinning kiddos, crammed into a tiny soundbooth, watching me as closely as they had during the Christmas program the night before, singing to me on the air in a tiny, charming town in northern New Mexico... how did I ever get to that point in my life? And how on Earth did I deserve it?
And then I came home for break. And almost didn't make it. The plan was to drive my car to Albuquerque, where I would drop off a fellow teacher -- Katie -- at the train station, and then catch my flight at the airport. Ten minutes out of Dulce, a tire blew. We were riding on the rim, on a mountain road, with no shoulder, and luckily no traffic either. So Katie and I stopped in the middle of the road and set about changing the tire; I had a doughnut tire in my trunk. Well, really, she was trying to change it while I ran up a snowy hillside looking for something heavy to place behind the car if it decided to start rolling. By the time I tired of yanking at rocks that were clearly still attached to the mountain, a semi-truck driver had stopped to assist, and my doughnut tire enabled us find a good spot to get off the road before the doughnut, too, blew. Then some more wonderful people leapt to our rescue; a couple of friends in Dulce had my car towed and my tire replaced, while our principal drove Katie and me to Albuquerque. Unbelievably, I made my flight. I took my seat on the plane feeling stunned, wondering how many notebook pages it would take for me to list the blessings I had received only in the past week.
May your blessings also be numerous and incredible this weekend and throughout the new year! Happy 2007 to you all. Hopefully our internet access at the school won't be so sporadic this next term; I'm hoping some improvements were made over the holidays. But let's just say, whether you hear from me or not, be assured that I haven't forgotten you. I love and miss you all.
Be safe, have fun, Happy New Year!
Caught up a bit on your journals, but only your entries since Dec. 21. For now I can't really get ambitious and read EVERYTHING I've missed this fall. So... if any of you changed jobs or vacationed in New Zealand or gave birth to triplets, please let me know.
I had a beautiful Christmas here in NJ with my family, hanging out with my parents and Casey and Adam, and singing at Christmas Eve midnight Mass with my mom. After an early New Year's par-tay tonight, I'll rise at 4 AM so I can catch my flight back to Albuquerque. Hopefully the roads will be clear enough when I get there to allow me to drive the three hours back to Dulce tomorrow afternoon. Albuquerque hasn't encountered this much snow for 50 years; thanks a lot, El Nin~o! School is scheduled to begin Tuesday, but might be delayed if the teachers can't get back.
And speaking of school, the end of term went splendidly in the first half of December. My students' grades improved since the first term; a couple of kids improved by one or two letter grades in all major subject areas. Woo-hoo! I showed them their report cards before we went on break, and got a couple of spontaneous hugs. They were so proud of themselves, I could have cried.
The school Christmas program was on Dec. 14. I had written and rehearsed a short play with ten young actors, and they did as well as I had hoped. Microphones would have helped, but to the kids' credit, they (most performing for the first time) stood their ground in front of a big crowd and said their lines and (mostly) remembered their blocking. Another item on the program was "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer," played from CD while dressed-up teachers lip-synched and danced around like fools. The star of that number was a camel puppet to whom I had affixed some paper antlers, and I may or may not have caused my makeshift reindeer to run over an elderly teacher in slow-mo... and then dance on her body... and her face... and do some high-kicks. The program ended with all of the students present (around 50) singing Christmas carols, while a friend of mine accompanied on keyboard and I attempted to direct. Kneeling on the floor in front of them all, watching them take their cues from me and sing their hearts out... that was quite an experience. I hope this won't be the last time I get to do something like that.
The following day, Dec. 15, was the last day of school before our break began, and also (very likely) the most unforgettable birthday I've had to date. We took the kids on a field trip, first thing in the morning, to a radio station in Chama, so they could sing Christmas carols live on the air. I was sitting on the bus, watching my kids and enjoying the view out the windows, when the principal leaned over and grinned at me for a solid minute. Shoot! He knew it was my birthday, even though I'd successfully kept it quiet so far. Darn his record-keeping! So we arrive in Chama and cram 50 kids into a tiny radio station on a quaint corner of mainstreet. It's so crowded in there (and thankfully warm) that you can't take a baby step without brushing against at least two other people. Santa's there, too, conversing with the DJ on the air. The DJ is thrilled to see all the cute kiddies, and invites them ALL to introduce themselves on the air. Some are shy and barely get out more than their names; others seize the moment and gleefully proclaim things like, "ROCK ON, NEW MEXICO!!!" Hee hee, warm fuzzies. Then I make my way into Santa's corner and lead the kids in a few rousing carols, including "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," to which Santa himself adds some well-timed interjections at the ends of lines. Then the principal whispers to the DJ, and he announces that our final song will be one EVERYBODY knows -- Happy Birthday! Fifty grinning kiddos, crammed into a tiny soundbooth, watching me as closely as they had during the Christmas program the night before, singing to me on the air in a tiny, charming town in northern New Mexico... how did I ever get to that point in my life? And how on Earth did I deserve it?
And then I came home for break. And almost didn't make it. The plan was to drive my car to Albuquerque, where I would drop off a fellow teacher -- Katie -- at the train station, and then catch my flight at the airport. Ten minutes out of Dulce, a tire blew. We were riding on the rim, on a mountain road, with no shoulder, and luckily no traffic either. So Katie and I stopped in the middle of the road and set about changing the tire; I had a doughnut tire in my trunk. Well, really, she was trying to change it while I ran up a snowy hillside looking for something heavy to place behind the car if it decided to start rolling. By the time I tired of yanking at rocks that were clearly still attached to the mountain, a semi-truck driver had stopped to assist, and my doughnut tire enabled us find a good spot to get off the road before the doughnut, too, blew. Then some more wonderful people leapt to our rescue; a couple of friends in Dulce had my car towed and my tire replaced, while our principal drove Katie and me to Albuquerque. Unbelievably, I made my flight. I took my seat on the plane feeling stunned, wondering how many notebook pages it would take for me to list the blessings I had received only in the past week.
May your blessings also be numerous and incredible this weekend and throughout the new year! Happy 2007 to you all. Hopefully our internet access at the school won't be so sporadic this next term; I'm hoping some improvements were made over the holidays. But let's just say, whether you hear from me or not, be assured that I haven't forgotten you. I love and miss you all.
Be safe, have fun, Happy New Year!