Yankee Stadium

A sad day yesterday. Although I am not a Yankee fan I am a sports history buff and I have to admit to getting a little sentimental yesterday when I was watching quite possibly the last game in Yankee Stadium. "The House That Ruth Built" gone. All the names associated with the Stadium...Yogi, Joe D, Mantle, Loe Gehrig, Ruth, Billy Martin, Reggie Jackson, Steinbrenner and the list goes on. It is like we are getting rid of the American "Roman Coliseum". It is terrible but I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. This is my tribute to a true American icon!

Chiefs

I am on my last nerve with the KC Chiefs! They are brutal! I do realize that we are on our third string quaterback and we are young, but come on, it is the NFL! LJ is not performing as he has in the past and I don't see him turning it around. The were some glimpses of the old LJ but not enough to get excited about. Tony G has been playing well but one man does not make a team. I don't know if I am going to be able to watch them play the rest of the season. It is frustrating. KC PICK IT UP AND START PLAYING LIKE AND NFL TEAM!

A Chicago Series?

Will it be the Sox and Cubs in the World Series? I know, it is too early to tell for the Cubs (and maybe the Sox!). You may say, especially if you are a Cub fan, that "too early for the Cubs?", we have already clinched! You are right but you do know the history of the Cubs. The Sox are within five games of clinching and I really hope they pull it off. Wouldn't it be something if we had two Chicago teams in the Series? I want to see it happen in the worst way. What a Series it would be! I will not be there. The main reason is is that I think it will be totally psycho in the Windy City! Cub fans and Sox fans coming together? Come on!

As she teaches...

As Ms. Hermesmeyer teaches her lesson to the freshman I find myself thinking about all the ways to teach with a Smartboard. The possibilities are pretty much endless. Kids interacting with the board, each other, and with you as the teacher. How much better can it get? Could Smartboards eventually teach a class by themselves? Probably. Does human interaction and imagination make learning on the Smartboard more exciting and beneficial? Definitely! We, as teachers, have to make sure we are stretching the Smartboard technology to the limits so that better products can be created. New projects and ideas on the Smartboard are what the Smartboard is all about! I hope I have the opportunity to work with a Smartboard on a continuous basis. I am sure it would increase my teaching success on many levels.

Giving Up The Reigns

Tomorrow my student teacher starts teaching all my classes. I think she will do an excellent job but I always struggle with giving up the routine and control in my classroom. I work hard to establish a routine and relationship between myself and my students. This year I will have to do it twice because I have two student teachers scheduled. My current student teacher is reminding of the small things. All the things I take for granted as a veteran teacher are coming back to me as I watch her live and learn. She is a quick learner and seems to adapt well.

Sports Fan Update

Let's start with the good news. My White Sox are still clinging to a small lead in the AL Central. Hopefully we can hang on. Some more good news is that my Notre Dame Fighting Irish are now 2-0 with a defeat of the Michigan Wolverines! They really put it to 'um!

Now for the bad...My Chiefs are really stinking it up! We got beat by the Raiders today! That is embarrassing. I don't know how they are deciding who to play at the quarterback position but it almost looks like they are flipping a coin!

I guess two for three isn't bad.

Smartboard

I got to use Mr. Page's Smartboard today! What an amazing tool. The technology involved in this thing is totally amazing! The kids really got into it (almost as much as I did!). In my opinion every classroom should have one. It is teaching at a whole new level.

--
==================================================================
This mobile text message is brought to you by AT&T

Favorite Quotes - PowerPoint

Uploaded on authorSTREAM by careysha

Football

Football is upon us! My son's season starts this weekend. College football started last weekend and the NFL starts tomorrow night. Today was the first day that if felt like football season around here. It was around 65 degrees or so and drizzling around practice time. My son is playing the line. He is in 5th grade and weighs 109 pounds. He is not fat but is built pretty big. He loves football and I think that he really understands the game, but what do I know. My school didn't have football. We were too small. He loves to talk about it and has really been bonding with the team. Quite a few of them have nicknames already. So far I have heard the names "Grizz" and "Mount Mosely"...pretty cool for 5th and 6th graders!

Like they say "ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?"

Midwest Weather

Currently it is 87 degrees in my room and 91 outside. It feels like we are in an oven. Dismissal time today has been moved up to 2:00 pm. It sure is hard for students to concentrate when the temperature and humidity are up like they are today. The students did well today even with the heat the way it was. My son has football practice tonight. Welcome to football son!

On the other hand, tomorrow's high is supposed to be 72 degrees! What a difference a day makes! This Midwest weather is crazy! Hopefully this cooler weather will energize us all. Keep cool!

Rolling with Technology

Since we have established a routine in school it is about time to bust out the technology and put our 2008 brains to work! I have started by creating a social network for all the teachers at Payson Seymour. I hope all of the teachers take advantage of this. I think it will become a great asset. The 7th grade gmail accounts are almost set up and I have sent the first email of the school year to my current 8th and 9th graders. Is there any end to what you can do with technology? The Smartboards for the math teachers are in! I can't wait to get my hands on this interesting technology! Mr. Page will be very useful in filling us in on the capabilities of this futuristic textbook. May we all profit from the advantages of technology and have patience when technology doesn't always work the way we want it to.