Sorry it’s taken so long for me to update.  The kids were off this week and things have been pretty hectic.  I figured after my Aunt Debbie emailed me to find out if I was “still alive,” after going out with someone I met online, I should probably write something!  BTW, the date went really well and I’ve seen him several times.

 For Thanksgiving, I went to my friend’s house (the one who works for the Fed, hence me not mentioning his name) where they had about a dozen people over.  It was a great time - we all ate too much food and drank too much wine.  Or maybe it was just me that drank too much?  No, there were definitely some other culprits involved.

 I went to see Stranger Than Fiction last night, with Will Ferrell. Excellent movie.  Honestly, go out and see it.  He did such a fantastic job in the role - as well Dustin Hoffman and Maggie Gyllenhal (I just BUTCHERED her name).

 Tomorrow it’s back to the grind.  School is in session and I’m praying to god that the cleaners finished waxing the hallways.  Don’t ask me why this is so important; I honestly never thought I would care so much about janitorial services.  I just know that my ass is grass if they’re not.

Ok, so I was hesitant about writing this.  As most of my friends know, I’m back on the dating scene and since I don’t like meeting guys at bars, I’m on craigslist.  Craigslist, coincidentally, is basically like the bar without alcohol. 

So that’s not why I didn’t want to post here.  Since I’ve started talking to them through email, I sometimes give out my blog so they’ll get a better idea of my personality.  Which is good…until I want to write about them.  I sorta shot myself in the foot

I’ve chatted with quite a few guys in the past month or so.  Some normal, some not.  It’s a big craps shoot, this dating game.

However, I am happy to report that I’ve found a nice normal guy to go on a date with tomorrow night.  In fact, I even got his permission to mention him on here.  We’ve been chatting back and forth for over a week now, he’s passed the phone inspection, I think we’re all set (haha, I’ve had to install some safety steps, like the phone call, to ensure they don’t sound psycho or anything. yes, I’m insane).

So yes, looking forward to tomorrow night, I’ll let you know how it goes

 

I’m on a mission to bring back art into the homes of our students. Here’s why:

The Metro throws an annual Christmas Party for the most needy students in DC, an awesome event. We’ve been collecting the kids’ “Wish List” and scanning them to make sure everything makes sense. We have the obvious - bikes, Play Station games, Bratz dolls, roller blades. However, I came upon one child’s list that nearly brought me to tears. Two of the items on his list were Monopoly and Colored Pencils. While I was a little intrigrued that someone his age/generation would want Monopoly, I was much more shocked by his request for colored pencils. I asked around to several teachers and they all told me the same thing,

None of the kids have crayons or art supplies at home.

Seriously? No crayons? No markers? Those are such childhood staples to me. I was really affected. So I want to do something to help.

I’m encouraging my family, friends, friends of friends, anyone really to donate colored pencils. I am going to collect them from now until December 18th - and then I’m going to give them to the kids for Christmas. We always try to give each child a little something and I think it would be great to include this small present.

You can donate one, three, 30, whatever you can afford to spare. It would really make a difference to them. We can’t even assign art projects because many of the children don’t have the supplies at home.
So please help me in this small mission - forward this post to others you know that would want to help.

Here’s what you can do:

1. Buy the pencils yourself and ship them to me at school.

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2. Send me a check/money order/cash and I will purchase the pencils myself.

3. Make a donation through Paypal:

4. Buy them online and have it sent to the school. Here is a link to buying them online at Staples.You aren’t limited to colored pencils. I would love any combination of the following:Â

colored pencils, markers, crayons, and drawing paper

I really appreciate this, guys. The kids are going to love it.

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Nate is back at it again, this time asking people What They Want, material-wise.  It sounded like fun, so of course I had to respond:

1. awesome digital camera that takes night shots (Nikon D50)
2. burberry purse - I’m only a slight label whore
3. flat screen tv for my wall
4. really nice leather boots
5. a reliable car to go zoom-zoom around DC

I invite you to think of some and post them in my comments!

My co-worker just got off the phone with CPS (Child Protective Services).  She was reporting a case of abuse with one of our students - he came in this morning with a mark across his face, and admitted to us that is was a parent who did it.  The parent also threatened to kill him.  It turns out that he gets beaten at home regularly.  He just got glasses and broke them two days later; he received a beating for that. 

Now, I know that this is the type of situation that I should expect working here.   And I do.  I expect it.  But I met this parent, I was there when they signed up their child to school, and they were so happy to have him attend here.  He had been teased at his last school and the parent was ovejoyed that we don’t accept that kind of behavior here, and that we would be holding him to the same high conduct.  The way they acted, I just never would have guessed.  And this student, this child, never gets into trouble.  He is well-behaved, sweet, a lovely lovely person.  My heart just breaks for him.  So CPS will be coming today to speak to him, then go to his house to speak to his parent.  I’m not sure what will happen, but I really hope something good comes out of this. 

It’s so frustrating.

Another child is in our office.  Her mother is dying of AIDS and she has been in the custody of two church family friends for several months now.  Her sister was also in the care of these church friends - until they decided they couldn’t permanently keep the girls.  They are just roommates, in their late 20s, who stepped up when no one else would.  They are in the process of finding the girls permanent homes, which is wonderful.  However, they couldn’t find a place to take both girls, so they split them up.  The younger sister left a month ago to live in Arizona.  So just imagine, now, that your mom is dying, the sister you were a mother to is gone to live with a super family, and you are in limbo.  I bet you might have a lot of “issues.”  And she does, plenty of behavioral/emotional issues.  We are in the middle of trying to fatten her up.  Why?  Because she is being sent on one of those crazy three week retreats in the desert, where you are with other “troubled” children.  The point being to break you down so that you can start rebuilding your emotions.  Or something like that.  Anyhow, she has to carry a 35lb backpack around and she only weights 98lbs, so we are frantically feeding her power bars and ice cream. 

What a way to start a rainy Wednesday morning.

 

 

Here are some pics from my bro’s visit:

Ahh, another week, another Monday.  I’m happy to report that Fall is in full swing here in DC; this weather this weekend was perfect for driving around and looking at the foliage (I’m finally pronouncing that the correct way, instead of foilage). 

Since Bonnie’s car is in the shop, I decided to splurge and rent a car for the weekend.  I had forgotten how much I miss driving, I really loved being able to run errands without having to worry about bus time/routes and how to carry everything home.  I’m returning it this evening, so I had the rare chance to drive to work.  It was fantastic, so much faster and more convenient than the Metro.  I am now spoiled and my goal is to save enough money to get a car soon.

Toby is starting obedience classes at Petsmart this Wednesday, and it looks like there’s another Corgi in the class!  I’m really excited to get a chance to talk to another owner and find out if all of them are as nuts as Toby.  I’m thinking that the most important lessons for Toby to learn are:

1.  Here

2.  Down

3.  Stop

4.  Share

Not in that order, necessarily, but you get the idea.

 

There is a child spitting into a cup in front of my monitor, while a second child tallies how many times he spits.  Yes, this is the latest form of punishment here at KIPP.

 So, one child got in trouble for spitting in the hallways.  In one of those “now you must smoke the whole pack of cigrettes” type-punishments, we are making him fill a Dixie cup with spit.  In front of me.  Great.

The second child got caught writing the following on a piece of paper:

bitch ass nigger

How do we know it was him that wrote it?  Well, because he wrote this lovely phrase right underneath his name, with the same pen, in the same handwriting.  At first he denied is - because they always do.  Then he said that he was just “testing the pen to see if it worked.”  Yes, because when I test my pens, I tend to write derogatory comments also.

We have some super-smart, respectful children around here.

UPDATE: 127 spits to fill the dixie cup up to the 1/2 mark (which is all we made him do).

Ok, I did it.  I’ve told you what I believe, now I’d like to hear back from everyone else.  Either leave it in my comment box or link to your own site.