My Week

What a crazy week I had - crazy in the good sense of the word!

School Highlights:

Monday:

I asked politely, and with a please thrown in, for a grade 8 student to pick up the book he kicked halfway across the room. He looked at me and said, "you can't tell me what to do." My dream response involved some expletives, but thankfully I held my tongue and used the calm, silent treatment and stern look to get him to pick up the book!!! The supply teacher was not helpful so I went to our SERT ( special ed resource teacher) for help! I eventually got an apology with an added, "I didn't know I was kicking a book. I just knew something was in my way." Ah, teenagers!!:)

Wednesday:

I attended an "Education For All" conference at our local Board of Education office. The keynote speaker, John Draper, is a friend and former employer. He was amazing! Check out his website! As a person with a physical disability, he has wise, funny and valuable insights into how we can build inclusive communities in our schools!

Thursday:

My sweet "D" sneezed in the presence of my co-worker, Kim. Kim wasn't paying attention to the sneeze so sweet "D" yells, "Kim....God Bless You." (What "D" really meant, "Kim, you need to say to me, God Bless You.") Immediately, Kim responded, "Oh sorry "D"....God Bless You!" Apparently "D" gave her a dirty look which said, "how dare you forget to say God Bless You when I sneeze!!"

Friday:

The students were "wanky"...maybe it was the rain! The grade 2 boy I work with in the morning, "T" was off -the -charts- hyper, mixed with a defiant attitude. At one point in the morning, we went to run an errand in the library. My sweet "S" was there with her class. She has always had trouble with pronouns and today was no exception BUT, it was sooooo perfectly in context! "S" came running over to me to say hi and check out my accessories for the day! Towering over "T", she glanced at him then turned to me and asked in her east Indian accent, "WHAT is that?" In my mind, I am thinking, " oh yes, WHAT is my dear "T"...he is an enigma today!! " Unfortunately, I had to correct her grammar to "WHO is that?" It was a priceless moment! Don't go thinking I'm a terrible EA !!! lol! My co-workers that heard the story all laughed as well!!

In my next class, I had a boy ask me how old I was. As I hesitated in silence for a moment contemplating how to respond, he asked if he could guess my age. Sure...this would be interesting. He asked, "are you 2o?" I didn't want to crush his spirit so I just smiled and left the room!!:)

In the afternoon, my sweet "D" came up to me at snack and said, "no Rice Krispy square?" followed by a high five!:) She was trying to manipulate me into giving her a Rice Krispy square thinking I didn't know she was a little monkey all afternoon and was not allowed to have one!!! Apparently, she tried to pee in the drain in the bathroom, spit all over everything, steal YoGo's from her fellow classmates, etc. Good thing she is soooo cute!!:):)

On a sad note, we have many teachers dealing with difficult personal issues. It is my prayer I can be a support in some way to them during this season of their lives.

Personal Highlights:

Monday:

I am a volunteer driver for a community organization that helps adults who are unable to drive to their doctor's appointments. Today, I drove an interesting special needs family!:) Our conversation felt like we were all part of a three ring circus!:) It was great!:)

Tuesday:

My mostly all white choir was trying to master an amazing black gospel song! We are slowly getting the rhythm down!:) At least we have the heart!

Wednesday:

Girls Night Out. I look forward to it every week! It never fails that our conversation always turns to "colourful", real, and honest dialogue! Don't worry, it is not x-rated- this is a church group after all!!:):) This particular Wednesday was no exception. One of the girls that comes is a teacher. She taught us an interesting, "inspiring" lesson based on this book:



Hopefully this information will come in handy one day! !!! Can you believe there is a book on this topic?!!!

Thursday:

Book Club dinner meeting. Book of the month: "The God Delusion." Had a lovely dinner and interactive discussion at this amazing Italian restaurant!

Friday:


I got to hang out with my 19-year old niece. She is a graphic design student and has this funky photo program on her computer. Here are a couple of pics of the two of us:

After our photo op, we decided to go to the movies. On our way to see "Penelope", we stopped at the corner store so I could visit the ATM machine! My niece decided to purchase a Monopoly Lotto Ticket.

A winning ticket...
... so we believed for about 5 minutes! My niece was playing this game while I was driving and all of a sudden she started screaming, "I won a Jaguar. " I was speechless. At first I thought she was pulling a belated April Fool's joke on me but then I quickly realized her screams were serious! I couldn't believe it! So, we called my parents to tell them, well scream in their ears, the good news!! Being wonderful grandparents, they started giving some wise advice to my niece!! While they were giving the pep talk, I decided I better check the ticket again. To the dismay of my niece, I found there was an error. Not a winning ticket! What a roller coaster of emotions we experienced! We finally made it to the movie and continued to laugh about our "winning/losing" ticket!

I cherish these times I get to spend with my niece! It was the highlight of my week!