Thursday, April 15

Rose #1: I had my introductory dinner for the Eastern Virginia Writing Project's Summer Institute. I got to meet my group that I'll be working with all summer. I also got to eat dinner at the Blue Talon, which is one of the most delicious restaurants in Williamsburg. It was wonderful.

I hope you stopped to smell the roses today!

Wednesday, April 14

Rose #1: Today, I attended one of HP's Digital Learning Events. It was held in Leesburg, VA. I got to meet Intel's Director for Global Education. It was really cool. I also learned I'd rather be teaching my students than sitting in traffic.

I hope you stopped to smell the roses today!

Tuesday, April 13

Rose #1: Other teachers recognized that my journal activity in my classroom has been really successful and suggested that it be presented at one of our parent meetings. It's nice to know that other people are interested in what I'm doing in my classroom.

Rose #2: When I worked with my homebound student after school, she brought her Of Mice and Men paper that she'd been working on over spring break. She had done so much pre-writing and organizational work, and she had so many questions to ask me about the paper. I was really excited to see how my teaching has affected my students as far as their writing is concerned.

I hope you stopped to smell the roses today.

Monday, April 12

Ok, so it's been crazy since I got back from break! Sorry it has taken me so long, but I'm going to try get back on track!

Rose #1: My rose for Monday is that, for the first time all year, I'm starting units I actually LIKE in EVERY class! My seniors are starting The Alchemist, my juniors are starting A Raisin in the Sun, my sophomores are starting The House on Mango Street, and my freshmen are starting Romeo and Juliet. Please respond if you've read any of these or remember reading them in school. If you've read them, tell me why you LOVED them. If you learned about them in school, tell me what your teachers did to make them interesting!

I hope you stopped to smell the roses today!

Friday, April 2

Rose #1: My students wrote papers on Of Mice and Men as a final assignment. One student came into class and said, "Ms. Oxley, I need help. I just don't know how to tie my thesis together with my conclusion." One of my best teaching moments ever. The fact that he even cared enough to ask for help, and the fact that he knew what kind of help he was looking for, really impressed me!

Rose #2: SPRING BREAK BABY! Catch ya on April 12!

I hope you stopped to smell the roses today!

Thursday, April 1

Rose #1: My students watched a documentary on Zora Neale Hurston and they paid attention even though they weren't required to take notes. When I asked them questions afterwards, they knew every answer plus some more information I didn't ask about!

I hope you stopped to smell the roses today!

Wednesday, March 31

Rose #1: I haven't had many students turn in their poetry projects even though they are worth 150 points and were due two weeks ago. I started wondering if the project really WAS just too difficult for them. Then, a couple of my students who aren't really star students generally turned in projects that were great. They're work impressed me and re-affirmed my belief that it really was a good project that my students were capable of completing.

Rose #2: All of my girls at Girls on the Run ran the same number of laps or more than they did at our last meeting. We're making progress!

I hope you stopped to smell the roses today!