The Chronicles Of Nay

I know that I haven’t blogged in a such a long time…. Like such a long time. Life has been super busy and hectic and crazy. But… I think I am back!

Lets begin… This year has been super hectic because this year I agreed to teach 2 subjects. Courtney and I were on a mini team where we had 75 kids that we saw for both subjects. We were able to create a very strong bond with some of the kids seeing them twice a day has been nice. The contents though…  I have been teaching science the last 6 years and I haven’t taught math since the first 3 years of teaching. I have had a really hard time this year feeling like I belong in either department. I have been working so hard to try to figure out the math curriculum and continue doing awesome things in science that I feel like I have no time for my life! I have been teaching science long enough that it is easier to just sort of do it… but math was very time consuming. I am reminded why I was so thankful to be in science! I will say though that this year has pushed me out of my comfort zone a little and I feel like whether I teach math next year or not I have grown as a teacher this year.

So a couple years ago I did a professional development through TCU and a grant called the Teacher Quality (TQ). During this time I had the privilege of working with some other science teachers from the area, but also 2 professors from TCU. A Science education professor and a bilingual education professor. The goal of TQ was to create quality science teachers. To help the science teachers not only be more knowledgeable in their field but to also help them with supplies to help them in their classrooms. There was also a push to help English learners develop strong English and growing their academic vocabulary. The PD went for two weeks during the summer and then it was one weekend a month during the school year. During those Saturday mornings we were able to get together and talk to other teachers that were implementing some of the things we learned and how they went in our classes. At then end of the two years the professors asked how I felt about them coming in to my classroom maybe once a week so that they can see what we were learning in action. I Told them to come on in! They have been coming to my room to watch me teach for a little over a year now. In October they came to me with another amazing opportunity. They asked if I would be willing to present some of the stuff I have been doing in my classroom at a conference with them.  I said sure! That would be amazing! Then she told me that the conference was over spring break and I was like ok… In Costa Rica! So, in March I traveled to Costa Rica with 2 amazing ladies to showcase some awesome stuff I am doing in my classroom. They are always so encouraging and have such nice things to say about things going on in my classroom. It has been so nice working with them because we all like to think that we are doing great things and that we are good at our jobs but when you hear other people compliment you then it means more, especially if you admire them for their work!

Another opportunity that I was presented with was an opportunity to work with the Cosmosphere and NASA. It is the 50 year reunion of Apollo missions so they are creating lessons to reach minorities to encourage them to seek jobs at NASA. I work with minorities! So my students and I have been going through these lessons to pilot them for the Cosmosphere so that they can improve them before they release them next year. It has been such a cool experience! My students are getting to not only see these lessons before anyone else but they are getting to be a part of making them better! It has been so cool! And most of my students are taking the task seriously!

I think I have told you that I have been playing pool for a few years. I play 9 ball doubles, 9 ball team and 8 ball team. It has been such a great experience. I have made some pretty awesome friends and learned a lot. I have been playing with a new team and I have learned so much from them. It is amazing how much strategy and things there are to remember but I am enjoying learning! My doubles partner and I played and won the city tournament! Because of that I have the amazing opportunity to go to Vegas this coming week to play against people from all over the US!

Before school started I was feeling pretty strong that I should start a bible study. I started talking to some people and when it came down to it Melissa was like “Naomi just come to the one I go to. Anna, from work, does one in her home.” So I decided to try it out. It had been so long since I had gone to church or really done anything religious! But joining this bible study has been one of my greatest decisions. I have made so many friends that have been such a strength and encouragement to me! It is so amazing some of the things God has done in my life over the past 7 months or so. The woman in the bible study were exactly what I needed in my life that I didn’t know I was missing! God has been so good to me this year, He has blessed me with many opportunities, insights and encouraging women of God! The end of 2018 and beginning of 2019 has been amazing and I look forward to where the rest of 2019 goes!

Since I have spent so much time working on school this year dealing with the 2 subjects and 1 being basically new to me that I sort of lost myself. Rather I threw myself in to work. I set out with great plans and ambitions about how this school year would go and I looked up and it was almost May! My plan for this summer to take some time and refresh and recharge, I am going to do things that make me happy! I plan on reading, laughing, taking pictures and maybe a road trip somewhere! My plan is to do a lot of reading so if you have a good book I need to read leave a comment and I will add it to my list!

I will try to keep y’all updated more often so that I don’t have to write a novel next time! Have a great rest of your weekend… I need to finish lesson plans for this week since I am going to be in Vegas most of the week!