School is going well. I haven't had any major difficulties this year so far, and God willing the rest of the school year will go as well.

Yorkie-cat is as fat and sassy as ever. He has, however, developed the bad habit of leaning against me when he wants my attention, instead of just meowing.

Health-wise I'm okay, I guess. My diabetes is under control (yay) and now that I know why my foot has been hurting (plantar faciitis), and know what I need to do to make it better, it is getting better.

And as for the meme...

What Your Socks Say About You

You Are: - Quite mysterious - Known as beautiful - Always polite - Simply magnificent

Our school district had three weeks of extra long days to make up our snow and mud days. Basically, the Board decided rather than take days from our spring break, they'd just add an hour a day to each school day for a while and make up the missing days that way. So instead of the students getting through at 3:30 (our normal dismissal time), they were released at 4:30, and teachers were to stay till 5:00 (after arriving by 8:00). That wasn't too bad, but when you add on the after school programs, well, the busses left school at 7:00 pm.

Howsomever, we finally had our last extra long day, and next Monday we get to go back to the normal schedule--just in time for the state math exams. Then two weeks after that we have the AZELLA test for our English Language Learners. Sometimes I get the impression I'm not teaching, I'm testing, we have so many of these assessments to administer. I'm hopeful that at least a decent percentage of my current ELL students will test out proficient, and not have to have the 4 (!) hours of English instruction the state is requiring. Seems that if somewhere in their schooling, when they were collecting demographics, a parent indicated (proudly, I'm sure) that they spoke Navajo at home, when in essence the main language is actually English, and the Navajo is used primarily to speak with the grandparents. Whatever the case, even though the student may not really know Navajo, he's been labled English Language Learner, and thus must pass this particular assessment. For a native speaker, the test is simple enough, and I think many of them would just blow it off in the past. Now, however, they realize that if they want to graduate with their classmates, they're going to have to pass that assessment. I hope so, at least.

On the writing front, I've been lax. What with the extra long days, and the fun of exploring the internet, I've done a ton of researching, but not much composing. Now that I'll be back on normal schedule, I'll see if I can start the composing part again.

Healthwise, I'm doing better. Thanks to the Lantus, my morning blood sugar readings are now under 100 (mostly 90s, though this morning I had a 74--a bit *too* low, so I had oatmeal for breakfast) instead of the low and mid 200s a couple weeks back. Also, and I think this is just me finally getting serious about my caloric intake again, I've lost 8 pounds in the last 2 weeks. So go me! My short term goal is another 10-15 pounds by the end of school, and then just try and keep that off over the summer (which seems to be when I tend to gain weight the most easily). Eventually, I would like to drop another 70 or even 80 pounds, but that is a ways off. I figure it took me 15 years to put it all on, so taking a few to get it off is acceptable.

On Monday I have an appointment to see the dietician my endo wants me to see. She's the one who showed me how to administer my Lantus, and she wanted to see me again to check up on me and my sugars and progress. So I'll have good things to report, it seems.

Yorkie, my cat, is enjoying the warmer weather we've been having. He'll happily lay in the spot of sunshine all day, and when I peek in on him, he'll roll around in pleasure, then go back to his snooze. He's an all-indoor cat, though I let him out on the balcony for some fresh air every day, and seems to be pretty happy and healthy. I need to take him for an annual checkup, but that will have to wait till school's out for the summer, I think. If he starts being weird, of course, I would take the time immediately, but as I said, he seems happy and healthy. Just fat, like his caregiver. :D

So that's my weekly update. I hope all who read this have a lovely weekend.

The icon is because today feels like spring!

So Monday I had my evaluation of my teaching. I also had a very bad cold and could hardly talk. I managed to get the lesson done (it was during my second hour class, so I was finished by 10:15), and then I took leave for the rest of the day. Then I stayed home on Tuesday because I couldn't talk at all. I did make it to work yesterday, although I wasn't in full voice, and today I seem to be back almost to normal. I still don't have all my usual volume, but it's getting there...it's getting there.

Anyway, to the evaluation. We were rated on four specifics: Interaction with the students, Establishing a culture of learning*, Engaging students in learning, and Providing Feedback to students.** I received "proficient" on all four areas (out of four possible choices: unacceptable, basic, proficient, distinguished), so I did good. Better than Basic, which is the bare minimum expected, and yet not any distinguished ratings, which was a bit of a blow, but hey I was sick. ;-)

So this all means I will be offered a contract for next year, without needing any second evaluation beforehand. This is a good thing. I appreciate knowing that I will almost certainly have a job next school year. (I say 'almost' because I've learned that life can throw curves your way.)

In other news, I had a scare with my cat, Yorkie, yesterday morning. He wasn't eating, he did have a bit of water, and he hadn't used his litterbox overnight. He just sat looking at me and making this pitiful "mwooowww" sound, and his tail drooped. I was afraid he was having a second incident of UTB*** and was all set to run him to the vet when I got home after work yesterday. But when I got home, he was all purry and happy again. So obviously it wasn't a major issue. Maybe he got into something he shouldn't have and was temporarily discommoded. At any rate, I'm happy because he's happy. I didn't want him to be ill!

Also another reason for me to be in good mood--our weather has been gorgeous! Highs this week in the low 50s Fahrenheit, lots of sun, and I'm able to walk home in sunshine rather than after dark. AND this Sunday is my birthday. :D

*"Establishing a culture of learning" basically means you have control of your classroom: the students know the classroom rules and procedures, they stay on task, and they (and I) have a positive attitude toward learning.

**Actually there are about 25 different areas they could consider; these 4 are what the powers-that-be decided were Most Important for us to do well. That way they don't have a 50 minute post evaluation to go through, too.

***Urinary Tract Blockage--he almost died from it about 4 years back, and has been on a special diet ever since to prevent it from happening again.