kcroone's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member kcroone on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/kcroone en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 06 Jun 2009 03:33:37 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com Open House for the Superintendent — Amman, Jordan http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1243755041/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1243755041/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1243755041/tpod.html Sat, 06 Jun 2009 03:33:37 -0400 Jordan-Year 2
Amman, Jordan

From 2:00-4:00pm there was an Open House for Brian and Virgie-our retiring superintendent and his wife.  It was open to the entire school and students were welcome to come after school to say good bye but they were more interested in the good food. :-)

It was a great chance to chat with Brian and Virgie plus the other staff mingling around.  Here are some pictures of the event.....
]]> Starbucks and Monday nights — Amman, Jordan http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1243840750/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1243840750/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1243840750/tpod.html Sat, 06 Jun 2009 03:26:34 -0400 Jordan-Year 2
Amman, Jordan

Time is definately coming to an end as Anita and I had our last Monday night at Starbucks.  This has been such a staple of my life for the last 2 years that it will be weird this coming Monday when I am there and Anita has left for the States.

What have I done at Starbucks over the last 2 years?  Knit alot, sorted pictures for the web, tried to do cross stitch in poor lighting, consumed a LOT of coffee, and visited with others that join us.  

This week Sarah, Salam and Alaa(Jaena's sister-in-law) joined us and it was a lot of fun.  I hadn't seen Alaa since last fall when she was pregnant with her little girl.  We had a wonderful visit and then they came to my apartment to gather up the clothing I am donating.  They will take it people that are in need and I don't have to worry about it.  That was a relieft to get the 6 bags out of my place!

After they left, it was time to do some grading as I watched CNN news.  That is now the only station that comes in on my TV so I am a captive audience!

 

]]> Playing catch up! — Amman, Jordan http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1243491120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1243491120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1243491120/tpod.html Thu, 28 May 2009 07:06:16 -0400 Jordan-Year 2
Amman, Jordan

Well, there's been a lot going on since I last wrote!  
Student Council elections are going on-elections include campaigning, speeches, and elections that included the upcoming 6th graders.
Fly-Up Day for the 5th graders where they get to be in middle school classes for the morning along with advisory time.   It was kinda crazy in my room as both the 6th and 7th grade classes were working on projects so the 5th graders got to work with the students on the projects so chaos it was!
World Language Competition-all students that are in Arabic, French and Spanish have the chance to compete with poetry, reciting, and conversations.  It's pretty cool when an 8th grader whose first language is German wins 1st place in Arabic after this just being his first year of that language!  Each student that competes gets an award and all this is organized by one of the Arabic teachers.  Pretty cool!
Band and Choir concerts-there was a dress rehersal on Tuesday night that I went to as there was also the art exhibit of student work that included a silent auction of some of the work.  Wednesday the concert was then presented to the elementary students and in the afternoon to the middle and high school students.
Utopia Projects were done in Language Arts by the 7th graders.  Classes could come in and look at the students work and vote on which place they would like to live in.  The projects were fun to see and listen to the explanations of why I should live in their utopias.
Looking back at last week, there were a lot of interruptions in the teaching time but that is how life at ACS has been.
This was a long weekend for us as Sunday was Jordan Independence Day and then Monday was US Memorial Day so we had both days off.  Friday was the usual-coffee at Starbucks and then dinner at the Greer's along with completing the fourth season of West Wing.  Saturday I packed, had a 1st birthday party for Danny Gohde, and then we went back to Greer's to watch more West Wing!  I am truely going to miss Fridays.  Sunday was more packing, going to school to get grades done and then went home to do more packing-I would say that I am about 85% done.  I also picked up all my framing-24 pieces and need to figure out how I am going to deal with that!  Monday I gave myself a rest and read, did some cross stitch, and then went to Starbucks with Anita and Tiffany for the Monday night tradition.
]]> MS StuCo Elections! — Amman, Jordan http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1243421520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1243421520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1243421520/tpod.html Thu, 28 May 2009 07:05:18 -0400 Jordan-Year 2
Amman, Jordan

Today was the culmination of the MS StuCo elections!  The candidates were running for President, Vice President, and Treasurer.  Once again, there was no one running for Secretary!  Oh well, that will be next year's issue. :-)  The upcoming 6th graders were invited to come and listen to the speeches and vote with the rest of the middle school.  8th graders were in a class meeting and it doesn't affect them as they will be part of the high school student council next year.
After listening to the speeches and gathering up the ballots, we took a MS team picture.  It was the first time we were all together to take one!  Oh, I also got a nice plaque thanking me for my MS StuCo work so that was nice and quite a suprise!
Maha I. and went to Sweifiyah to do a little shopping after school.  I needed to order a necklace with my name on it, looked for and found a poster tube, and then looked at a tile store near where I get my nails done.  Then I went to meet Anita and Eric at Starbucks as they wanted to go to the olive wood store to see the place and buy some gifts to take home for the summer.  I also had to pick up my order of rolling pins and honey spoons that I had them make for me.  I am now really done shopping there!  Promise.
It was back to Starbucks.  We all got coffee and I counted ballots for StuCo while we sat there.  No one really wanted to go home with nothing to do!  Once I got home around 8:00pm, I read "World Without End" by Ken Follet until I finished it.  The night before I had stayed up till 2:00am reading this book!  I really enjoyed it and it's one more thing I don't need to pack or carry with me!
]]> Moving and the 8Ball Dance — Amman, Jordan http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1242280680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1242280680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1242280680/tpod.html Mon, 18 May 2009 02:49:27 -0400 Jordan-Year 2
Amman, Jordan

Today I took a personal day to do some packing but first I went to school to teach a lesson to my 8th graders that I knew that the sub and the kids would have problems with.  The 8th graders are "writing" an alphabet book on the Civil War and this was the day to introduce the details.  It's a good thing I did as there was no sub ordered for me!
Next on the schedule was to help Bian pack.  I had offered to help her pack if she needed-she did so I went to help around 11:30ish.  I quickly packed 2 boxes that I am sending in her shipment to Texas along with a piece of art that's too big for my totes and 2 wall sconces that I bought in Damascus.  Guess that means a trip to Austin this fall!!  MEA????  Sounds like a great time to go.  I worked with her till around 3:00pm and we packed about 8 boxes.  She was happy with what we got done!
Back to school as there's a dance tonight!  It's the last dance of the year and the kids are excited. Once a year the girls get to break dress code-strapless and skinny strap dresses are allowed.  Are they ever excited for that!!!! The student council had all the decorations ready to go and were already setting up in the MPR by the time I got back to school.  I was excited to see that!  It didn't take that long as the pool balls were all made, music mixed, pizza ordered, and the chocolate fountain would be arriving shortly. :-)  Many of the kids went home to change into their suits and dresses as this is like a "mini prom" complete with an after party at one of the 8th graders.  Yikes!
The evening was great!  The kids all looked beautiful and had a great time.  There were more than enough chaperons so that I wasn't stressed and could have fun. There was a brief rain shower but not enough to dampen the spirits of the kids.  Close to 9:00pm, there was the voting for the 8th grade king and queen, 7th grade duke and duchess, and the 6th grade prince and princess.  Each grade level got to vote for one boy and girl in their grade level and then the votes were tallied by the grade level advisors.  A great time was had by all!
]]> One month to go.... — Amman, Jordan http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1242204840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1242204840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1242204840/tpod.html Wed, 13 May 2009 05:25:21 -0400 Jordan-Year 2
Amman, Jordan

Well, Spirit Week ended last Thursday with a great game of Hawaiian Basketball.  The 7th Grade boys won and so did the 8th Grade girls but it wasn't enough for the 8th grade to win the "Spirit Day Away" day on May 28. And I also found out in a very round about way, that I DON'T get to go as the StuCo advisor even though it's the StuCo that's paying for it.  I guess the "lucky" ones get to have a fun day as the four going are the MS clique. Yes, I am just a little ticked off and I apologize for venting here-I have been very good for the last 2 years not complaining but I am done with some of this stuff.
On a more interesting note, we had the ACO Board Meeting last night with the presentation of the budget and new board member elections.  I am happy with the candidates that were elected to the board and feel that they will have the best interest of ACS in mind as they address the needs of the school.  I also got to play "parlimentarian" during the meeting.  I know, a complete shock to some of you!  Things were getting a little out of whack with all the motions on the floor so I asked for a friendly amendment to the motion and then the discussion went nuts!  The meeting finally got back on track with the original motion going for a vote and failed so then I withdrew my amendment.  I had a good time, apologized to the chair, and realized I missed the MCSS meetings with Boucher and Andrix. :-)
Today I am a wandering teacher as my room is being used for the Language AP exam.  I took my 6th graders and 7th to the High School area for class and it's been a little crazy today.  I am looking forward to spending the last period in my room today with my 8th graders.
Thursday is the last dance-the 8 Ball in honor of the 8th graders that are heading to other places or to the high school.  I think everything is ready, I am just finishing up the pizza order as there 110 middle schoolers coming to this event.  Yikes!
Enjoy the day- 
]]> Spirit Week & Student Council — Amman, Jordan http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1241531640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1241531640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1241531640/tpod.html Wed, 06 May 2009 10:16:45 -0400 Jordan-Year 2
Amman, Jordan

This is it for Spirit Points for the middle school!  The student council put together a week of events that have been hilarious to see how much the kids get into the events.
Sunday-hat dayMonday-formal dayTuesday-nerd dayWednesday-sports dayThursday-Hawaiian Day + Hawaiian basketball
Whatever grade level wins with the most points gets a day at the new water park at the Dead Sea.  My 8th grade isn't in 1st place but is only about 60 points behind so there is hope!  I tell my 8th graders  that I get to go anyway so I'll be ready to go with whatever grade wins. :-)
I am getting ready to pack up but still don't want to get to into yet as I know myself to well-I'll be packed in a day or 2 at the most.  I have started organizing and sorting stuff out-some has already found new homes with the Greer's and with Maha.  Some down and lots more to go!
]]> Running around.... — Amman, Jordan http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1241271660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1241271660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1241271660/tpod.html Wed, 06 May 2009 09:51:45 -0400 Jordan-Year 2
Amman, Jordan

Here's what I remember doing!-Driving down to Garden Street by myself to buy mohair for my knitting club.-Tiffany, Anita, Liam and I went for a drive to a little village past Wadi Seer to see where some Hellanistic ruins and caves are that would be fun to go back to.  We also went to see a craft place that makes rugs and paper.  I bought my first(and last) carpet that will go in my room once I get into my house. -Tiffany stuck around and went through my sale stuff and found a lot of goodies for their house.  I took it over to there house and had grilled hamburgers with the Greer's and got home around 8:00 and then made my plans for teaching this next week-a full 5 day!!!!!!!!!!
]]> Spring Fling — Amman, Jordan http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1241176920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1241176920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1241176920/tpod.html Tue, 05 May 2009 07:34:02 -0400 Jordan-Year 2
Amman, Jordan

What a beautiful day!  It was my goal to work on my tan while manning the student council booth during the annual school carnival.  Yes, I did put on the sun screen begrudgingly as I am tired of looking like an Oreo filling!
The MS StuCo had a jail again where you could pay 2 tickets to put someone in for 15 minutes.  Your choices were to stay in for 15 minutes or pay 4 tickets to get out.  Some payed the tickets and some decided to stay in and visit with their friends that were also in jail.  The whole carnival is run by students in NJHS or StuCo with teachers volunteering for the dunk tank.  Not me!  I worked the whole day in the jail and got some nice color.
In the evening, I went to Tiffany and Lyle's for dinner.  I had made a muffaleta sandwich to bring over for us and then we watched West Wing till almost 1:00 am.  Finally Season 3 is done and Season 4 has begun.  It's my hope that we will finish Season 5 before leaving Jordan.  I think going to the Greer's on Friday nights has been the highlight for the year this year.  Company has been fun but this is something to look forward to each week!  
]]> ACS Oscars — Amman, Jordan http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1241089800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1241089800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kcroone/2/1241089800/tpod.html Tue, 05 May 2009 07:19:35 -0400 Jordan-Year 2
Amman, Jordan

Tonight was an experiment for the Middle School Student Council-have students make their own movies and have the viewing audience be their peers.  Kinda risky but it turned out to be a great evening for all that attended!  There were 3 student entries that were shown and then voted upon for best actresss/actor and 3 other categories just like the real Oscars.  Dinner was Popeye's chicken and sodas while we took a break before watching the "real" movie-School of Rock with Jack Black.  Oops, there was also a popcorn break as we had rented the popcorn machine from the Senior Class so to have that real movie experience.
The experiment worked and all had fun!  There were about 45 kids that showed up and had a good time.  I got home and Matt called so we chatted while I enjoyed a drink.
On to the next event-Spring Fling!
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