Back to School!

Wow...talk about a busy day! I got to school this morning before 7 am and children started arriving shortly after. I thought the first day was hectic at RGS but that was easy compared to Encino Park where they have a thousand students pre-K through fifth grade! Actually, it went very smoothly for as many people as there were...I was directing children and parents to their classrooms (difficult when I haven't figured out the layout myself!), but by 7:45 everyone was in their places. They had something called "Kleenex and Koffee" set up in the library for parents who had difficulty with the separation on the first day...I was very impressed! My schedule started at 8:30 and other than lunch, I went non-stop all day. I spent 30 minutes in eight different classrooms they have set up on a three week rotation. At the end of six weeks, I will have been in each classroom twice a week. I took in my favorite grade level book to each classroom along with a game to get to know the children...it was very successful and we had lots of fun! Being with the older kids was interesting...I described my Reading Fairy costume to them and they begged me to wear it sometime. I guess there are some things we never outgrow!

Teaching Sunday School

This morning was my second day teaching kindergarten at Oak Hills Church and I enjoyed being with the kids so much! There were about twenty kindergarteners in my class this morning, and they were so excited because tomorrow is the first day of school in San Antonio. They seem like such babies right now, but by springtime they'll be used to the routine and then they'll seem like big kids!

Tomorrow is my first day teaching at Encino Park Elementary School. This last week was my district orientation, and then three days at the school where we had so many meetings I had trouble getting everything ready for the first day of school. I'm going to be called the "Enrichment Teacher" and I'll take my lessons to each classroom twice a week. I'll be seeing kinder (that's what they call kindergarten!) through fifth grade. I start my routine the very first morning and then have five minutes beween classes. This school is huge with a thousand students, so pray that I don't get lost! The very first day I'm going into Kinder and First as "The Reading Fairy", so I had a fun time explaining that to the teachers! (They actually loved the idea though...Thanks Terri!) I'm excited about being in a new school, although I'm really going to miss RGS!

My house!

Well, this is what I've been waiting for to publish my next post! For the last month, we've been remodeling our entire house. When we bought it, there were several things we wanted to change and now we're almost finished. The first major change was the kitchen. We put in new countertops, new lighting, a new sink and new appliances.














On the left side of the laundry room is a huge pantry. I'm standing in the kitchen to take the picture here.





There weren't many changes in the entry other that lighting and of course furnishings. I'm really liking the way it looks! The master bath is due to be finished soon, so those pictures will be coming next week!

New Job!

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted any news, but we're in the process of remodeling and there really hasn't been any new news for a while. Well...today there is! Although I filled out applications a couple of weeks ago, I hadn't heard a word from anything that looked promising. I was beginning to wonder what I would do with myself when we finished with the house...I mean, you can only do so much shopping! This morning the calls started coming in. I guess this is the first week back for most administrators in the Northeast School District. My first appointment was at the school only one mile from our house, and I loved both the school and the Principal and Vice Principal. I enjoyed interviewing with them but it sounded as if the only openings were for Special Ed and although I wouldn't mind working with a special needs student, I think I would get bored after a short time (plus they told me all their aides had to do lunch duty). I was honest and told them what I was really looking for was an opportunity to work with a variety of students and teachers, much as I was doing at RGS. I left feeling like it wasn't going to work out. On my way to my next interview, they called on my cell phone and said they loved me and wanted to work something out...not to take another position without talking to them. I had other interviews, one in which when I started to leave offered me a perfect sounding position and wanted me to take it on the spot...I told her I had to pray about it. Anyway, when I got home, there were several messages from the first school so I called her back and they had created a perfect position for me...and I don't even have to do lunch duty! I'll be seeing kindergarten through 5th grade students and I get to come up with activities to support their classroom needs. I couldn't have planned it better myself...that is truly answered prayer!

Lost???

When we moved to Texas, we had to change EVERYTHING, including our e-mail! I still haven't been able to locate my address file amoung other things, but I'm aware that not everyone got our new address and phone. So I thought I would let you know that my new e-mail address is mrschips78@gmail.com so that at least you could get a hold of me that way. I've tried to send numerous messages to old friends and they come back returned for some reason. Oh well...in this computer age we live in, it's hard to keep up with the technology!