Jazz Fest

I tried as hard as I possibly could to ignore the Facebook posts and texts from NOLA family members telling me to check the Jazz Fest line-up for this year.

 

Curiosity killed the cat.

 

 

Better Than Ezra, an LSU/New Orleans band, is my all-time favorite, and after hearing one of their songs this morning, I succumbed to the pressure. I checked the line-up.

 

MISTAKE.

 

Some of the artists I'd be ecstatic to see:

 

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Santana, Robin Thicke, AARON NEVILLE, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and of course, Better Than Ezra

 

The Jazz & Heritage Festival is one of my favorite events that takes place in New Orleans. It has tons of stages where artists are performing all day long. There are endless booths with tastes of New Orleans cuisine, like Gumbo, Sno-balls, Po-Boys, Crawfish bread, and Beignets. It's a great place to spend your day walking around, eating, shopping, and listening to the plethora of diverse artists!

 

Each year, a special poster is released featuring something cultural from the city. They become collectibles instantly and can be highly prized!

 

Here are some of the ones hanging in our dining room:

 

 

[Harry Connick Jr]

 

[Al Hirt & the Blue Dog]

 

 

[Louis Armstrong]

 

Click here to learn about:

 

Crafts // Food // Music // Posters


To book my tickets or not to book?

Ms. L

 

 

"Let's Go Serve Some Children!"

 

 

 

     Yesterday morning at 7:40 am, we heard over the loud speaker that our Principal called an emergency faculty meeting. There's something eerie about changing routine--especially in a profession like teaching, where you do the same thing every single day. It was easy to see the tension and insecurity on the teachers' faces as we all walked over to the other building. We didn't know what to expect, but we knew it could not be good news.

 

 

     We learned some sombering news which I won't share on here. What I do want to tell, though, is how our Principal ended our meeting. Despite the fact that he just given us information that would easily ruin a day, teachers were in tears, and everyone was in shock; the bell still rang. Our day still had to start. He said "well...let's go serve some children."

 

 

    No matter what was going on outside the doors of the school, there are still 700 children in this school walking into classrooms. Those teachers who were crying had to take a deep breath and slap a smile on and say "good morning" 21 times.

 

 

We set the tone.

 

 

It's up to us.

 

 There's no hiding in a cubicle or staring blankly at a computer screen. No, we can't cancel a meeting or choose not to answer the phone for the day.

It doesn't matter what is going on in our hearts and minds. These kids deserve more! They deserve 100% all day every day, and that is a very difficult part of this job.



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Sincerely,

 

 

Ms. L

 

 



Links I Love

Sometimes after a long day, I like to sit with my iPad in front of the tv, with a cup of hot tea. Here are some of the links that have been entertaining me as I avoid thinking about all the grading I have to do.

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35 Books to Read Before They're 2014 Movies

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11 Annoying Things People Say About Teaching

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36 Things You Obviously Need in Your New Home

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Vinyasa Scarf

xoxo,

Ms. L 

Teaching Resources

Our newest Unit is all about working together on a team. As I asked my students what types of careers require a lot of teamwork, one of my students raised her hand and said "teachers!"

I think a big misconception is that just because we all work in our own individual classrooms, we do everything individually and on our own.

FALSE.

I would be nowhere without my team.

Not only do I work with the 4 loveliest ladies ever, but vertically--with teachers from other grade-levels, and through the cyber world! The internet is one of the greatest teaching resources.

Here are some websites that I tend to frequent for the best resources.

1. Pinterest, obviously...

Here are the links to some of my boards that feature teaching pins.

 

 Second Grade

For Future Students/Kiddos
 

 

I also utilize the search bar like crazy! If I'm teaching three-digit subtraction, for example, I'll just type it in and search for cute ideas and links.

2. Teacherspayteachers.com

OH MY WORD. What a lifesaver! I tend to browse their free section, because there are so many resources. However, I can never complain about spending the occasion $3-5 on mini-lesson packs or extra practice worksheets. I love this website for things like morning work, challenge packets, or additional work to go home in homework folders. I also shelled out a few bucks at the beginning of the year for binder covers & spine labels, to help keep myself organized! Here is the link to my favorite purchase.

 

(Editable Teacher Binder)

 

3. Superteacherworksheets.com

 

One of my teammates recently introduced me to this website. It has worksheets on nearly every subject imaginable. I know worksheets aren't best practice, BUT they're great for morning work or extra practice.

 

Unfortunately, you do have to have an account to use it, but I'd say it's worth it!

 

 

What type of teaching resources do you use?

 

Happy Monday,

 

Ms. L

 

Little Sister Sarah

Ever since I've gotten addicted to the blogging world, my younger sister Sarah has wanted to join in.

Here she is with a post of her very own!

Hey y'all!! Over the past few months, you have gotten to know my sister, and believe me: this blog is a great represntation of her out-going, energetic, and most apparent, talkative personality! Lauren and I are quite opposites, but we do have one thing in common, and that is being dramatic. While Lauren has had many events in which she could be nominated for an academy award, I take my drama to the stage. Ever since 6th grade, I have been in theatre class and absolutely love it!! Each year the class began with a lip sync, which  was alway my favorite!! The first year I "sang" with a choreographed dance to Breaking Free from High School Musical. Then the following years were Hannah Montana songs, that were pretty amazing if I do say so myself. Well, as the years went on, I starting getting better, and enjoying it even more! I have three shows that I will never forget being apart of. 

School House Rock 

Freshman year, my performing arts class performed School House Rock, and I have never had more fun in a show!! The songs were stuck in my head for the rest of the year, but now I know the preamble!! The whole show is light hearted, fast paced, and a lot of singing! While I am not a singer, by any means, this show had me singing from begining to end and I did not mind a bit! We even got to perform the show one afternoon for the lower school kids and they loved it!! It was the most exciting and fun show I have ever done and will truly never forget this show! or my INTERJECTIONS!

Into The Woods 

Stephen Sondheim

Holy Moly! What a show! Totaling over 3 hours long, this show is a lot of brilliance! Sondheim just has a way of making beautifully difficult musicals! With only 2 months for rehearsal, that meant a lot of nights at school until about 10:30-11:00pm singing, singing, and more singing. The schedule was rough, but the show, when finally put together, was amazing. While I do not think anyone could beat Bernadette Peters, our witch was awesome! And we had a girl play Jack which was a lot of fun!! After the show I really gained an apprieciation for the broadway musical and has got me so excited for the movie coming out this year!!

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Bronte

This past year, my school competed in a One Act competition, in which we brought Jane Eyre and made it all the way to state!! With a small cast and serious tone, this play led to a lot laughs and bonding. Aside from the theatre side, this is one show I will always remeber, because of all of the friendships made. I portrayed Miss Temple, Jane Eyre's teacher and mother figure. my two best friends played Jane Eyre and Helen Burns. Despite long and rough rehearsals, we had so much fun, we even got a couple of silly run throughs that no one will forget!! Even though the whole experience was amazing, there was a lot of nerves, mess-ups, and celebrations. First, we performed on our own stage and advanced to districts, in Argyle, where we placed 2nd and moved on to state! For state, we got to spend the night in Temple!! getting there friday morning, and finishing before dinner, we got to see Catching Fire with my cast, which was unforgettable! Then we spent the rest of the night in the hotel conference room having a blast, playing games, eating dinner, and just having fun!! Despite the fact that we did not place, I won a medal for all-state actress!! (not to brag--hehe) 

Right now, I am working on solo acting piece, A Leap Year Leap, and the poem The Walrus and the Carpenter for TAPPS competition. In addition we are working on the production, Annie!! I am very excited for what the rest of the year holds!

Theatre has taught me a lot, but most importantly I have learned to just have fun and not worry what other people think! It is so freeing to be on stage with all lights and all eyes on me. I absolutely love it!! While Lauren speaks in a classroom of kids, I speak in front of an auditorium of strangers. They are nowhere being the same, but we find mutual ground, in that, we just really like to hear our own voice!! (hehe)

xoxo,

 

little sis

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Think about this:

 

 

 

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What are your priorities?

 

 

Finding a way,

 

Ms. L

 

 

Weekend Recap

This past weekend, I checked something off my hypothetical "Dallas To-do List". Living in Frisco, I'm close to a lot of attractions in the DFW area.

 

 

Saturday's adventure involved the Perot Museum of Nature and Science

 

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If you've driven through Dallas in the past few years, you've undoubtedly noticed this unique building.

 

 

This picture came from an article on Architecturaldigest.com about 10 Blockbuster Buildings Around the World.

 

On the first full weekend of the month, visitors who bank with Bank of America can visit for free! (They also generously offer military & teacher discounts--info here)

 

Let me preface this with letting you know that Science is NOT my thing, but I truly enjoyed this experience!

 

My friend and I took the escalator ride all the way up to the top, starting with the exhibit called

"Expanding Universe Hall". It featured authentic sounds captured in space, as well as pictures taken by rovers and information about our planets and moons.

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One of my favorites was the T. Boone Pickens Life Then and Now Hall. Who knew that Dallas was once an ocean with giant forms of life? We learned exactly how fossils are made and even learned about something called the Dallasaurus. How appropriate!

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I would go on about my other favorites, but I truly loved them all. This is a great place to spend a long time, spend a short time, bring tourists, bring children. I think we covered the museum in a little less than 2 hours, but I could easily go back for the same time and still learn a LOT more.

 

Who knew that gems, crystals, weather, anatomy, fossils, birds, engineering, energy, animals (get the point?) could be so fun?

 

Happy Tuesday,

 

Ms. L