Just an Update
Apr. 23rd, 2007 03:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chochiyo_samaOn Friday last week, I finally looked over the BST (Basic Standards Test) scores for our school.
The results were rather interesting.
You need a score of 600 to pass for reading and math. 35 kids took the math BST--11 passed. That's 31%. 21 kids took the reading BST--7 passed. That's 33%.
You need a 3 or a 4 to pass the writing test. 43 took the writing BST. During the first semester, I taught a Writing Skills Class which was designed to help them (a) become lucid writers and (b) pass those freaking tests. Of the 43 who took that writing test 38 passed. THAT, my friends, is 88%. And what is even better is that 3 of those kids have learning disabilities in the writing area--so for them, a 2 might be passing, which means that potentially 41 might actually pass. That would be over 90%.
Now, I am not SAYING it's my superior teaching abilities that caused this huge differentiation in scores between math and reading and writing--but....I'm saying it was PROBABLY a factor.
Hee hee hee
So, that was very happy news for me on Friday. I ran around like a crazy person, rejoicing. I stopped down at the office and said to Tracy (who is the queen of the office), "Did you see this?? 88% of them PASSED the writing test!" And she grinned and said, "I know! As soon as I saw it, I ran in and showed Jay. You kick ass!"
haha
When I talked to Jay about it, he said, "You rule, sis."
hahahaha
He is so funny.
I'm just so dang proud of the kids. I'm so happy they actually took the time to THINK about their writing and that they remembered what I taught them about how to pass the test.
Anyhow--another great thing that happened on Friday was that I called the bank and found out that both my state and federal income tax refunds had been put into my account. And I got paid on Friday as well. So, I swung by the furniture store where I ordered my couch (not the one I showed pictures of, I found one I liked better--but I didn't have my camera along that day). It should be delivered by the end of this week.
THAT will be grand. I haven't had a couch in over five years.
I picked up my mail on the way home and filled my car up with gas. I forgot to pick up my prescription at the drug store, but eh--I got it on Saturday.
Then, I picked up Ingrid and we drove to Owatonna where we ate at Applebys. I wanted to have a glass of champagne--but they don't have it any more, apparently, the jerks. Ha ha. I had a glass of some kind of wine that the waitress suggested. It was tart--but not horribly so--pinot something. It was to celebrate the great scores of my kids and also that I will have enough renewal credits with my reading class on Tuesday to renew my teaching license (yay!!) and that I got my tax refunds.
I had the yummiest ribeye steak for supper--with garlic mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, and that onion thing they make there with horseradish dip. Ingrid and I split a chocolate volcano for dessert. THAT was delicious.
Then we went home--I dropped her off at her house--then I went home and crashed. I didn't even look at my mail.
On Saturday I went through it and pitched all the crap--I hadn't gotten my mail for almost a week, so there was tons of it. I sorted out my bills, got them ready to pay, and then paid them. With the paycheck and the income tax refund--I had enough money to pay for everything. YAY!!!!
My car is paid off!!!! YAY!!!!!!
I put an extra $200 on TWO different credit cards--so I am whacking away at that debt too.
I forgot to bring the bills with me when I went to pick up my prescription--but I mailed them on Sunday when I drove in to Rochester to pick up some stuff at Walmart.
Jim and DeAnn invited me to their house for supper on Saturday night--I wanted to drink some champagne to celebrate. DeAnn picked up some Martini and Rossi Asti Spumanti. It was okay--a little sweet. The cheaper stuff is better, I guess. ha ha.
Since DeAnn was buying the asti, I said I would make supper--but then, Theresa called me, and we must have talked for four hours. Ingrid tried to call me three or four times during the time that I was talking to her. So, time ran out--and I had to run to Kasson and buy some stuff at the deli instead of cooking myself. I bought broasted chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, raw veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and celery) in a ranch dressing, potato chips and dip, and an absolutely amazing cheesecake that was chocolate on the bottom and "white" on the top.
We just sat around and talked and watched PBS. I sewed on one of the Marley outfits I've been working on. It turned out cute--but I have to sew some beads onto it. I was home by 10:30 or so. I went to bed and messed around on my computer for a while--and tried to go to sleep at about midnight.
For some unknown reason, I just couldn't sleep. I felt anxious and uneasy. I suppose it could have been that I am not accustomed to drinking at all any more. At 3, I got up and wrote a long email to a friend of mine who is into all the same kinds of self-improvement crap that I am into and spilled all my innermost thoughts out. What my goals are--how far I've come--the things I am worried about. Probably he thinks I am insane now.
Hee hee hee.
He called today and said, "Are you okay?"
I said, "yeah."
"Good," he said.
Then we talked about other stuff.
hee hee.
On Sunday, I left West Concord at 8 am to go to Walmart for groceries and other stuff. After I left Walmart, I went through the drive through at Dunn Brothers and got an iced chai tea. It was yummy.
I was back in West Concord by 10 am.
I really, really wanted to see a movie last weekend, but it just didn't work out. I did get a bunch of stuff done at home on Sunday.
I finished my laundry. I did a TON of dishes. I made baked chicken and brown rice so I'd have food to eat this week. I swept and scrubbed the kitchen floor. I folded and put away all the laundry. I sacked up all the garbage in the house and cleaned the cat litter box. I picked up the garbage that the neighbor's damned dog strewed all over my yard when he tore up my garbage bags last weekend while my asshole neighbors sat on the front step of their house and watched me. The pricks.
I worked hard.
I took a two hour nap in the recliner in the late afternoon too. Ha ha. I was dead tired.
I went to bed early on Sunday too--and I slept very well. After having eaten a big piece of that left over cheese cake.
heehee
The results were rather interesting.
You need a score of 600 to pass for reading and math. 35 kids took the math BST--11 passed. That's 31%. 21 kids took the reading BST--7 passed. That's 33%.
You need a 3 or a 4 to pass the writing test. 43 took the writing BST. During the first semester, I taught a Writing Skills Class which was designed to help them (a) become lucid writers and (b) pass those freaking tests. Of the 43 who took that writing test 38 passed. THAT, my friends, is 88%. And what is even better is that 3 of those kids have learning disabilities in the writing area--so for them, a 2 might be passing, which means that potentially 41 might actually pass. That would be over 90%.
Now, I am not SAYING it's my superior teaching abilities that caused this huge differentiation in scores between math and reading and writing--but....I'm saying it was PROBABLY a factor.
Hee hee hee
So, that was very happy news for me on Friday. I ran around like a crazy person, rejoicing. I stopped down at the office and said to Tracy (who is the queen of the office), "Did you see this?? 88% of them PASSED the writing test!" And she grinned and said, "I know! As soon as I saw it, I ran in and showed Jay. You kick ass!"
haha
When I talked to Jay about it, he said, "You rule, sis."
hahahaha
He is so funny.
I'm just so dang proud of the kids. I'm so happy they actually took the time to THINK about their writing and that they remembered what I taught them about how to pass the test.
Anyhow--another great thing that happened on Friday was that I called the bank and found out that both my state and federal income tax refunds had been put into my account. And I got paid on Friday as well. So, I swung by the furniture store where I ordered my couch (not the one I showed pictures of, I found one I liked better--but I didn't have my camera along that day). It should be delivered by the end of this week.
THAT will be grand. I haven't had a couch in over five years.
I picked up my mail on the way home and filled my car up with gas. I forgot to pick up my prescription at the drug store, but eh--I got it on Saturday.
Then, I picked up Ingrid and we drove to Owatonna where we ate at Applebys. I wanted to have a glass of champagne--but they don't have it any more, apparently, the jerks. Ha ha. I had a glass of some kind of wine that the waitress suggested. It was tart--but not horribly so--pinot something. It was to celebrate the great scores of my kids and also that I will have enough renewal credits with my reading class on Tuesday to renew my teaching license (yay!!) and that I got my tax refunds.
I had the yummiest ribeye steak for supper--with garlic mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, and that onion thing they make there with horseradish dip. Ingrid and I split a chocolate volcano for dessert. THAT was delicious.
Then we went home--I dropped her off at her house--then I went home and crashed. I didn't even look at my mail.
On Saturday I went through it and pitched all the crap--I hadn't gotten my mail for almost a week, so there was tons of it. I sorted out my bills, got them ready to pay, and then paid them. With the paycheck and the income tax refund--I had enough money to pay for everything. YAY!!!!
My car is paid off!!!! YAY!!!!!!
I put an extra $200 on TWO different credit cards--so I am whacking away at that debt too.
I forgot to bring the bills with me when I went to pick up my prescription--but I mailed them on Sunday when I drove in to Rochester to pick up some stuff at Walmart.
Jim and DeAnn invited me to their house for supper on Saturday night--I wanted to drink some champagne to celebrate. DeAnn picked up some Martini and Rossi Asti Spumanti. It was okay--a little sweet. The cheaper stuff is better, I guess. ha ha.
Since DeAnn was buying the asti, I said I would make supper--but then, Theresa called me, and we must have talked for four hours. Ingrid tried to call me three or four times during the time that I was talking to her. So, time ran out--and I had to run to Kasson and buy some stuff at the deli instead of cooking myself. I bought broasted chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, raw veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and celery) in a ranch dressing, potato chips and dip, and an absolutely amazing cheesecake that was chocolate on the bottom and "white" on the top.
We just sat around and talked and watched PBS. I sewed on one of the Marley outfits I've been working on. It turned out cute--but I have to sew some beads onto it. I was home by 10:30 or so. I went to bed and messed around on my computer for a while--and tried to go to sleep at about midnight.
For some unknown reason, I just couldn't sleep. I felt anxious and uneasy. I suppose it could have been that I am not accustomed to drinking at all any more. At 3, I got up and wrote a long email to a friend of mine who is into all the same kinds of self-improvement crap that I am into and spilled all my innermost thoughts out. What my goals are--how far I've come--the things I am worried about. Probably he thinks I am insane now.
Hee hee hee.
He called today and said, "Are you okay?"
I said, "yeah."
"Good," he said.
Then we talked about other stuff.
hee hee.
On Sunday, I left West Concord at 8 am to go to Walmart for groceries and other stuff. After I left Walmart, I went through the drive through at Dunn Brothers and got an iced chai tea. It was yummy.
I was back in West Concord by 10 am.
I really, really wanted to see a movie last weekend, but it just didn't work out. I did get a bunch of stuff done at home on Sunday.
I finished my laundry. I did a TON of dishes. I made baked chicken and brown rice so I'd have food to eat this week. I swept and scrubbed the kitchen floor. I folded and put away all the laundry. I sacked up all the garbage in the house and cleaned the cat litter box. I picked up the garbage that the neighbor's damned dog strewed all over my yard when he tore up my garbage bags last weekend while my asshole neighbors sat on the front step of their house and watched me. The pricks.
I worked hard.
I took a two hour nap in the recliner in the late afternoon too. Ha ha. I was dead tired.
I went to bed early on Sunday too--and I slept very well. After having eaten a big piece of that left over cheese cake.
heehee
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no subject
Date: 2007-04-24 12:15 am (UTC)You so rock!
Date: 2007-04-24 01:14 am (UTC)And a new couch? I so want to see a picture! Have you decided on a recliner yet?
I got a lot done at school today. I can see our PI5 reconstitution failing already. There is NO CHANGE happening in the way teachers teach. They're still coming in at the last minute for videos or to sign up (HA! Sign up? More like ask me verbally) to come to the library in, like, an hour. Excuse me? You didn't know you were coming to the library today? What about your lesson plans? *I've* already got my year planned for NEXT year. I've mapped out my inservices and the rotation of the teachers. Yes, they are getting assignments. I've revised the student planner and the faculty handbook. I don't want to use the words unprofessional but....what teachers comes to school and doesn't know what they're teaching that day?
Well, I got a lot of my old reading handouts and stuff typed into word processing so I can revise, etc. I ran them all off into packets that I'll be giving the language arts teachers. Who will probably throw them away or file them somewhere never to be seen again because what do I know? I'm only the librarians. And they're too busy. It's too hard for the kids. They won't do them anyway. Blah Blah Blah. They don't want to change.
Well, I retire in six years. I'll push and prod and wheedle and nag and then....I'll retire. And if they don't want to take any suggestions from me I can say "told you so" with a clear conscience. Who says you have to be an administrator to know best practices? In fact, I'll bet money I know more best practices for the classroom and to turn that school around than all three administrators combined.
I so want to get my yard in order. You sound like you have so much energy I'm tired just reading what you've accomplished. I did hardly anything. There are weeds all over. I need to replace the pump for my fountain. I have the pump. Just haven't worked up the energy to switch it out.
I did do two loads of laundry. But I have one more load to go. All T-shirts that need to be spot treated in the front. The curse of buxom women. You know where the stains land. Same place on every shirt.
I love my dog. The little furry hot water bottle is snuggling nicely. He warms my bed at night, then jumps off and gives me his place. Then he snuggles close to me and keeps me warm until morning. I haven't turned the heater on in months.
Rain to date is 3.81 inches. Our norm should be 10.45 inches. We are way behind and will never catch up.
The knitting club is going gangbusters. I want to learn to make socks.