So it's been a while since I've posted. Lots of stuff has happened... new house... new job. Portland, Kennebunk, respectively. It has happened very quickly too. Back in the beginning of May, I had a Skype interview with Kennebunk High School. I later found out that the new principal (who was there) thought I "came alive" on the screen and seemed very passionate. Two weeks after that interview (and another no from an interview at Massabesic Middle School), I got a call from the current principal who is going overseas this summer (hence the new principal). He asked me to join their team. I was speechless... and by speechless, I mean I was so excited that I could barely wait for him to finish his sentence to say yes.
He talked for a while more on the phone, but I was honestly too excited to fully hear him. I'm getting a great pay raise for one. I'm going to be living with my husband again. And Tangie will get to know more than being alone for eight hours a day... she'll make friends at the doggy parks of Portland! We began our search for a new apartment/house almost immediately, and found a wonderful (somewhat expensive) house on outer Forest Ave in Portland. I came down for a weekend with some stuff that I was moving out of Houlton, and we went to look at this 3-bedroom house in Riverton after Devon's baseball game. The landlords loved us, and we loved the place. The landlords also loved Tangie, which was wonderful since Tangie is very obviously a pitbull, but not very obviously a wonderful dog.
So that was around the last week of May (I think it was Memorial Day weekend). From there, I came back to Houlton for the class of 2011's graduation. Miss Sydney, their valedictorian, was in my anatomy class this year, and gave me a shout-out in her speech. I was pretty stoked to be noticed as a good teacher at that school, even if only by a single student. Later, when I was leaving for the year, and forever, I found that there were a few more people who were going to miss me. Sheesh. I don't know why, but I felt like maybe it would have been nice to be acknowledged as a valuable teacher and colleague before my last week teaching there. Oh well.
The past few weeks have flown by! I turned in my final grades, got my room cleaned out, and said my goodbyes. The guidance counselor there has been the only one to consistently support me and "boost my ego" and she was able to make me cry on my last day. Thanks, B. I was also pretty bummed to say goodbye to a few students that I would have loved to continue teaching. After my last day on June 17th, I drove myself and the rest of my stuff down to Portland forever... or at least until we move into our new place on June 30th/July 1st.
Unfortunately for my lovely roommates (one being my hubby), they'll have to do a lot of cleaning and moving over the next two days. Why? Because I presented "Wikispaces for Classroom Use" at the SAMS Summer Institute on June 23rd & 24th back in Houlton... then I came back late Friday only to pack and leave for Philly for the annual ISTE Conference. I've been here since Saturday evening, and being here has been fun, but the conference has been a waste of time. It stinks. I've been to three 1-hour sessions in two days. One of which I was pre-registered for and I didn't really like. It was just a plug for NatGeo's Beta Education site.
I'd like to talk more about the two sessions I desperately wanted to attend but were full by the time I hauled myself to the closed doors. I will do that later, but not in this post. I want to discuss why I wanted to attend more than the sessions themselves. For now, I must have a yummy Philly dinner, then MOVE into my fancy new house, then I will discuss. Take it easy, it is summer after all!
The endeavors of a spirited teacher who hates wearing shoes. Follow me as I navigate teaching, chemistry, technology, grad school, vodcasting, blogging, horseback riding and more... all while trying to avoid traditional footwear (or shoes altogether).
