Last Day of School!

Teaching is a very cyclical profession. I'm glad for it. There are celebrations built into the calendar, and it really gives a very nice rhythm to a year. There is excitement and anticipation in the Fall for the school-year to come. And of course there is excitement and anticipation (relief, ecstasy!!) for the Summer when school is finally all over for one more year. There are fun things in between, of course, but nothing quite compares to the highs of the beginning and the end.

Today is the last day of school for the 2009-2010 school year in our district. I woke up about an hour ago, nearly tingling from excitement. How can I sleep when there are so many happy thoughts running circles in my head?

What's really funny to me is that the things I'm thinking about are not so much what I have to do to close out this year as much as the things I'm looking forward to for next year. A couple evenings ago I looked through my single-copy music library (which right now is a couple of hanging file boxes). That is such a nerdy thing to do, and I just love doing it. Anyway, I'm already picking out music for next year, and really getting excited about it. Having just one year under my belt is helping me so much in getting organized. I'm actually thinking of pieces I want to use for UIL (which isn't for 10 more months!!) so that I can start teaching them in the Fall. That's a risky move, but one I think I'd like to try. The risk is burn-out on the song. The up-side is that by the time contest rolls around, they can sing it in their sleep, because they've been working on it for so long.

Having these kinds of thoughts makes me feel like such a nerd. But you know what? That's OK. I know who I am, and I'm happy. My nerdiness is my secret advantage... OK, maybe not so secret. It's just one of the ways I look at where I am as a total God thing. God made me for this job. He is fulfilling many of my heart's desires in this job. God is good to me, and I can never forget it.

Little Mann Big Mann

I have the song, "Little Man Big Man," by Toad the Wet Sprocket, in my head, and have for about 4 days now.

The Interview that Wasn't

Yesterday I was sick. Sunday night, after that last blog post, I got a fever, and couldn't sleep for being so hot. I left the bed and went downstairs to sleep on the couch so that Hubby could rest. I got up Monday morning, started to head into the shower, and realized I was slightly nauseated. Any plans I had of pushing through the day quickly subsided to the realization that I needed to call in sick, no matter how easy a teaching day it would have been.

The real kicker is that I was scheduled to have a job interview at my giant choir school. The head director is leaving to open a new high school in our district, leaving his job open. Already knowing two thirds of the kids, the school in general, and not wanting to continue my split teaching position, I applied as soon as I learned of the opening. That was months ago. Then it came down to the day of the interview and I was sick.

The principal called me at home about the same time as my interview would have ended, probably after talking it over with the committee, I'm guessing, and asked me if I wanted to reschedule my interview or forgo the opportunity. I agreed to let them go ahead and hire who they wanted to hire without taking the time to interview me. I know it's important to my principal that the new hire get to meet the kids before summer. I also know that my one year of teaching middle school doesn't really stack up well against someone with more than that. She did pay me a wonderful compliment, telling me I'm an excellent teacher and that she thinks I'll be ready for my own program in a few years.

I had mixed emotions about it all yesterday. Sadness that the opportunity was gone. Relief that the huge choir program which has eaten the last 3 weeks of my life won't be resting fully on my shoulders. Anxiety of not knowing who was hired, and how well I'd be able to work with him/her...

Through this whole process, I've not been fully sure that I actually wanted the job. My part-time, split job is difficult, but it's good for me. I have more flexibility than I would teaching full time. While I sometimes complain that I work full time for less than full time pay, there are times that I actually do work a little less than full time. Having the freedom to say every now and then (like I did during TAKS testing week), "Well, since I'm not full time..." and having a little bit of leeway to come in late or leave early does come in handy.

I have had success this year with my giant 6th grade choir and my tiny choir. Next year I plan to have even more. And in a few years, after doing this a little longer, maybe my tiny choir will grow, or I'll go somewhere where I can be all at one school. My time will come, even if my interview yesterday didn't.

Smooth Sailing to Summer!!

I can hardly believe it. The gigantic hurdles that have been staring me down on my calendar are all done, and now we have just 2 weeks before the official end of the 2009-2010 school year and the start to SUMMER VACATION!

If the last 2 weeks didn't kill me, I'm starting to think I can do just about anything. The week of May 3, I had rehearsal every day after school followed by an evening event 4 out of 5 nights that week, followed by a trip to Schlitterbahn on Saturday. Then the week of May 10, there were rehearsals every day after school Monday thru Thursday until 7:00 PM, and then a huge show on Friday AND Saturday nights. We did the show twice because our performance venue isn't very big.

On top of all that, my girls took turns being sick. They both had a mysterious virus causing a fever and not much else. Little Girl had it for 5 days, and Big Girl had it for 4 days. Hubby and I took turns staying home with them. But even when I didn't go in to teach for the day, I still had to pass off the sick kid in the late afternoon and go to school for the rehearsals after school.

And now here it is, Sunday afternoon, after the two busiest weeks ever, and I'm still smiling. Maybe I'm just smiling because it's over. Or maybe I'm smiling because it all ended up being a huge success.

I took both of my choirs to the competition at Schlitterbahn, and my tiny choir won Best in Class for their division. That's just amazing!! My 6th grade choir was beat out by a powerhouse school from San Antonio. Oh well, we can't win them all.

The pop show we just finished last night was HUGE. We had all 200+ kids on stage together singing 3 of the numbers, and then each choir did a song, plus a whole bunch of solos and small group acts. The show was also a success, and there were many tears from the 8th graders who will be moving on next year.

Now there are only 2 weeks left of the school year. All that's left really is getting things wrapped up for this year, and auditioning the kids for next year. That will be low stress for me, although the students will be anxious about it.

I'm looking forward to next year in a big way. I'm looking forward to not being new. I've almost completed the cycle now, and I'm ready to know what I'm doing. It will be nice to have experience to guide my expectations.

I have one of the songs from last night's show in my head, "The Call," by Regina Spektor.