I cannot tell you how glad I am that contests are over. (Or, really, how glad I am not to have to drive to them anymore--I could tell my poor car was unhappy.) I really enjoy working with the kids but it's pretty draining, especially because I sort of feel like I have to entertain Mrs. S. It's just the two of us now. When you see the same person ( Read more... )

My rash of crazy busy Saturdays has come to an end. Phew. I think it would be one thing if I just did the contests and went home, but that's not how it goes. That could be part of what has cranked up the anxiety, just knowing that there's the expectation that we're going to hang out afterward. I like Mrs. S, I do, I enjoy spending some time with ( Read more... )

Of the three contests I'm doing this year, this one was probably the one I was most concerned about, purely because it's at a school that, prior to last year, I'd never even heard of. I'd taught at the other two schools so I at least know where I'm going and what to expect to some degree. This school was a total crapshoot ( Read more... )

There's a reason I couldn't get to this until now, but at least I'm getting to it finally! (That reason, of course, is the Super Bowl and otherwise not having enough hours in a day ( Read more... )

Welcome to round two. This one took me to a school I haven't been in for 18 years, yet I was just there last year. This was Mr. C's home school; he lived nearby for many years and his kids went to school there. When he died last year, his funeral was held at the adjacent church. Like the other school, reminders of him remain ( Read more... )

We are back to in-person solo contests this year, at least with one instructor. The public school contest I've done decided to cancel again this year, but Mrs. S is soldiering on. However, given various constraints, she is doing two separate contests at her two main schools. As I found out, she's actually picked up a third, but I don't know if she' ( Read more... )

I checked my phone when I left work today, and I had a text about my phone--two weeks until it's kaput--but that was it. When I arrived home, however, I had a missed call and a voicemail. I'd guessed correctly; it was Mrs. S calling about solo contest. I knew it had to be coming up soon, and I knew it would be different, given that Mr. M recently ( Read more... )

Now for the other activity that took up a lot of my time last week ( Read more... )

I have a long day ahead of me, so it’s better that I get this out of the way early. Mrs. S had a conference call last night with Mr. M and me. We were given access to her online classroom, essentially, except Mr. M wasn’t able to access it. I’m guessing it’s in part because he already had his own account on the same platform for his school. The ( Read more... )

I've been meaning to reach out to Mrs. S about solo contest. I haven't talked to her since last year and I've wondered how she's been doing, how teaching has been going, what that's been like, etc. Private schools in the area have been in person in many cases, and some places have been doing band, whether in person or via Zoom. While I'm wary ( Read more... )