ISTE Conference 2012

This past week, I had the rare opportunity to travel to an educational conference.  Normally this wouldn't sound all that exciting, but this one was in San Diego.  With my amazing teaching team.  In seventy degree weather.  For four days.  With no kids.  Ahhhhhh...  It was just a little slice of heaven. 

For those of you whom I see regularly, you know just how needed this getaway was after a very intense school year.  (I'm still not ready to write the post that reflects on all that happened this year.  Let's just say it was a very. difficult. year.  By far the most difficult in my 13 years as a teacher.)

So Sunday morning, we hopped a plane to sunny San Diego, and for four days, we gathered ideas, were reaffirmed that our own teaching practices were both educationally sound and technologically advanced, collected lots of "swag" from vendors (anybody need a pen/sticky note/flash drive/lanyard???), and even managed to mix in some relaxation time in the sun.

But mostly?  Mostly we laughed.  Which sad to say, just hasn't happened much for any of us for a very, very long time.  It felt so good to release the constant stress of this school year, let go, and just enjoy each other's company.  It's something we all enjoy, but just don't get to do nearly enough.  And it was awesome.  :)  Though I'm still not ready to start thinking about next school year, I now feel ready to start my summer.  Relaxed, happy, and just a little sunburned.  Perfect.  :)

 One vendor was giving out capes to promote their product.  So of course, we had to ham it up.  :)  Here we are "entering the phone booth"...

 ...and here we are emerging as super heroes!  :)  (Watch out for those golden glories to make their way to the Jog-A-Thon track this fall!)

 Exploring the sandy beaches of Coronado...

 My good friend and teaching partner, Leslie and I.  :)

 Hotel Del Coronado.  Amazing!

 Leslie and Donovan (teaching team), Jennifer (tech coach for our grant this year), Sue (district TOSA), and Todd (our fearless leader, a.k.a. principal)

 Outside The Boathouse restaurant.  Built in 1887, and wired for power by Thomas Edison himself!  

 Our amazing Boathouse dinner view

The carousel at the Seaport Village is the same one that used to be in the parking lot of the Oregon Zoo!  We three couldn't help but try to relive our childhood.  :)

SDA Recital 2012

The recital theme this year was "It's a Circus Around Here!" and boy, was it!  Aubrey's tap class performed as the "magicians," and stole the show with their antics.  Aubs was lucky to have a crowd of people there to cheer her on, and she just ate it right up!  Afterwards, I asked her if she had decided that she loved dance class again.  "No," she said, "I just like recitals!"  Who needs hard work, when there is a spotlight to be had???

 

 

 

 

 

Recital pics!

Warning!  Cuteness overload!!! 

 

Last day of school!!!

Today was the last day of school!!!!  Although I am extremely excited for myself (I'll save those musings for another post), I'm a little sad that Camryn is through with first grade.  She has had an amazing year, with an even more amazing teacher, and it's kind of hard to realize that she'll be a SECOND grader!  Yikes!  

It's so fun to look back and see how much the girls have changed from the beginning of the school year.   Check out the following comparisons:

 

 First day of first grade, and 3's preschool! 

 Last day, today!

Start of first grade with BFF Emma

 Finishing the year...still BFFs, and looking more like second graders!

Bridging Ceremony: Daisies to Brownies

Whew!  What a big weekend it's been!  First recital practice and pics, then the end of softball, and today, our final Daisy meeting of the year, and our Bridging Ceremony.  Today, our girls started as Daisies and ended as Brownies.  :)

We had a little ceremony for them, and although we were missing two to travel and illness, our little troop had a great time.  We even surprised them with a trip to Build-A-Bear afterwards to build their very own Girl Scout 100th Anniversary Brownie bears.  What an awesome day, showcasing all of the girls' accomplishments!  

 Best buddies...

 Sweet Daisies...

 Big girl Brownies!  CanNOT believe they'll be in second grade!!!!

A great end to a "Dynamite" season...!

This weekend marked Camryn's last softball game with Team Dynamite, and the end-of-season family BBQ.  What fun it was to see just how MUCH the girls have learned this season, how far they've come, and how WELL they can now play!  If only they had another month to play, they'd be TLL champions!!!  :)

Camryn had a great time meeting new friends, learning a new sport, and learning the value of perseverance and hard work.  She's been showing so much improvement in the past few weeks, but in her final game, she blew it out of the water!  She hit two line drives straight back at the pitcher, and made an awesome play to get an out while playing first base.  She was focused, she was paying attention, she was hustling, and not one. single. dandelion. was pulled by her fingers.  I'd call that a HUGE success!  Way to go Dynamite!

 

 Silly girls...

 

So excited, they literally danced on the tables...

 Camryn got shy when Coach Julie complimented her growth and achievements.  :)

 SO happy!

Everyone loved Coach Julie's photo book!