Math Zone

Math Night in the Math Zone! Though late in recording, this was such a fun event that the math department put on for the families and students at the school. From a "Pi" Walk to computer math games to guessing their teachers' and leaders' heights, parents and students engaged in fun with math! It was so much fun to meet the parents of many of my 7th graders and see them outside of the classroom! (Pictured: co-math-teachers from the 7th and 8th grade teams, minus a few- they are so much fun to work with!)

Guard and Reunion

Please say hello the local, "SQUIRREL E. GUARD" that is currently serving at his favorite post, in front of my car, which is in need of a wash when the rain ceases this week! These creatures are EVERYWHERE... I often wonder if they are going to attack me when I am walking from my car to my apartment. They have, fortunately, stayed to themselves thus far, although I'm not going to put it past them.
To complete a grand Saturday, I got to spend the latter part with two roommates from BYU that I lived with before the mission! Crystal and I went to the DC temple in Kensington, MD, followed by the adult session of our Stake Conference in Alexandria ,VA where we sat just less than 10 feet from Karen, another roommate from the same year at BYU! We discovered about a month ago, after each relocating to this area for different reasons, that we were all in the same Stake! What are the chances!? After a great meeting on missionary work, we went out for ice cream. I'm convinced that it's not just coincidence that we became close friends years ago, nor is it coincidence that Karen and James (her husband) and Crystal chose to live in this particular area. This is not the first time I have had enjoyed spending time with these friends out here, and it certainly is not the last. Miracles and tender mercies come so frequently.

"Dutch Bike Dutch" or Bust!

Two genius girls put together this tradition which was done for the 5th time this weekend... A group of 50 plus young adults met up near Lancaster, PA on Friday night, most coming from the DC area (some from other parts on the East Coast)...Many stayed the night in a local hotel while others toughed the cold night camping. Thankfully, I went with the hotel route and enjoyed a warm bed in preparation for some great cycling. Saturday morning we split up into numerous groups, some going 15, 20, and 30 miles, while a small handful of us chose the 60 miler. Randy, Travis, Courtney, Joy, Katie and I took off on the same route as most the others for about 10 miles before we split directions and the 6 of us adventured on some other roads to make for a longer ride.
The Amish country near Lancaster was beautiful! It was so refreshing to be out in the middle of open fields, surrounded by a people whose beliefs and culture is centered on simple basics. It was not uncommon to see locals on bikes, horses, in buggies, or on foot.

As our ride continued, we enjoyed more and more fields and plenty of trees covered in colorful leaves, a mark of a gorgeous Fall in the east. In time, we decided to split for various reasons, so Kim, Courtney and I continued the ride together, only to discover that we had been misled at a very important turning point, which resulted in climbing 4-6 miles of hills and adding approximately 10 miles to our ride.
(Left- Travis, Katie, Me and Courtney)

The last 30 miles was completed with Katie... a stalwart cyclist. Beautiful surroundings made the ride enjoyable in all. I hope to go back out there in the spring and/or summer to enjoy even more! What a blessing it is to have opportunities to explore other parts of this diverse country that we live in. We are so fortunate to have the freedoms we do the worship and exercise faith and agency as we desire.

Here are some pics that I took on my phone while on my bike... Enjoy, and let me know if you ever need a tour guide! :)

Don't Give Up the Ship

Columbus Day! To celebrate the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the American continent in October of 1492, Kim, Breanna and I explored some of the sites of old town Annapolis! The weather was perfect for stopping in some of the shops of old town Annapolis where it was apparent that crab is an entree that the town prides itself in... and Skeens, as you may know have a great appreciation for this kind of pride :) ... Christmas cannot come soon enough.

There was a big boat show going on while we walked the streets, so the straight was particularly crowded with ships sail boats of all sizes.
We went to the Naval Academy and enjoyed learning about the history of the academy and felt the pride that comes with the school's history of academic and national defense training traditions.


There are many strengths to the school including the atmosphere of focused study and training that works to help young students leave the school with greater abilities and confidence that benefit the country and world.
Situated on the Severn River that runs into Chesapeake Bay, the campus is surrounded by water and is nicely maintained.


Kim server her mission in Maryland and had memories of a preparation day at the Naval Academy. The sisters apparently tried to climb and take a picture on this Herndon monument. Her challenge to Bree and I to climb it drove us to prove ourselves (we weren't in skirts, so the task was much more simple).



Inside and outside many of the buildings on our walking tour were statues, pictures, and artifacts from various wars in which the US was involved. The size of these torpedoes from WWII was incredible!
One of the traditions at the schools happens daily at 12:05pm when all of the shipmates come running from all parts of campus to the courtyard outside the Bancroft Memorial Hall and line up for the lunch hour in their white uniforms. We were sadly disappointed as we waited by the courtyard only to realize that this would not happen on this particular day because of the holiday. Perhaps we'll have to return! It was a great town and one I would enjoy again... "Don't Give Up the Ship!" (James Lawerance, 1913).

Apples, anyone?

One of my favorite co-workers and Math department leader, Marci, told me about... APPLE PICKING in Virginia!!!
So, my friends, Adrienne and Simone, put together this amazing trip out to Stribling Farms in Makham, VA, on Saturday morning... Blue skies, sunshine, and rows of apple trees... It was fantastic. We first picked an "apple picker," which looked very similar to a lacrosse stick, a bag to collect our fruit in, and a map. Then, off we went to pick us some crunchy goodness... Tree #1 was loaded with red Stayman apples, which turned out to be the most delicious of them all. Among the other varieties that we picked were traditional red delicious, granny, golden delicious, and macintosh. While some were grand in size and firm for crispness, the flavor did not compare to Tree #1, hence it held as Tree#1 not only for being the first but the best tree we picked from.... So, you might gather that I am a wanna-be-apple-connoisseur. I'm not gonna lie- I love fruit! I have great plans for my apples... only time will tell. Stay posted!

Simplify

They love integers... Given the number sentence, -3-(-1)-(-2)+(-6)-(-3)-(-3), in what way could you simplify the sentence so that you are only dealing with 2 terms?

For the past three weeks, my students have been working to improve their understanding of positive and negative integers and how to figure their sums, differences, products and quotients. While this may appear to be an elementary task, many are convinced otherwise. One of my latest strategies in bringing integers to life is by modeling a hideously clashing outfit to my classes, consisting of a brightly colored lava-lava from the Kiribati islands with a fall-colored silk scarf around my neck.

With little to no hesitation, I had my seventh grade female fashion experts confirm to me that the outfit looked terrible.. Why? "Because you don't match at all!"
My response... "Exactly. And how what kind of effect would this have on me if I wore this around friends or into a job interview?" The response...an astounding Negative.

Precisely... Integers with mismatched signs (a positive integer multiplied or divided by a negative integer or visa versa) result in a negative product or quotient.

While students continue to develop a more deep understanding of operations based around integers, there is greater and greater need for remediation with individual students. Feeling quite inadequate to meet each of their needs, application of principles taught in General Conference last weekend have become a great source of strength. So, I will share a few highlights of the many that I feel apply in these situations...

• "Come what may, and love it..." (Elder Wirthlin) and "Opposition is necessary for the experience and progression that we are here for..." (Elder Cook) and "Make a 'COURAGEOUS DECISION'... to have an 'invincible summer' even in the middle of winter" (Pres. Uchtdorf).

Not every day will be roses; many will not. Keeping a sense of humor and seeking for an eternal perspective are two ways to still love the days and moments that are less rosy than others. Each day is filled with experience that we can choose to use as a building block or a brick on our shoulders. Why not build with it?

• Zion is a people and a place... Dis unification is the antithesis of Zion (D. Todd Christofferson)
  

Collaboration with others with the purpose of building one another, aiming for the same and "right" goal in mind is a powerful and enabling source of strength to all individual involved as well as those who are the recipients of the improved service and skills learned.

• Our evening prayers build upon and are a continuation of our morning prayers... (Elder Bednar)

Starting and ending the day in council with the Lord keeps perspective in order and helps to build a more lasting remembrance of who is the most valuable and true source of strength in all pursuits.

To remember the title of this post, "Simplify," I will end here. Simple.

Custis, W&OD or Four-Mile-Run?

That is the question... Kari and I went cycling between sessions on Saturday afternoon, with a determination to find the infamous W&OD (Washington and Old Dominion Trail). After swerving around walkers, runners, and fellow cyclists, we came to the end of the Mt. Vernon trail, making our way to the Custis. It was a great ride to that point.

After several miles, we found the W&OD and it was time to turn around to get back in time for the afternoon session. But no, we saw a sign for the other infamous Four-mile-run trail, which we knew connected to our desired ending point... Well, the trail was poorly planned... perhaps with the intent to get people lost, turned in circles or confused. Together, we managed to make the "right" turns with only one turn-around... Two-minds are better than one.

In short, if you'd like a bike tour of Northern VA, I am on my way to competancy... Hopefully the weather will stay nice and lend itself to more beautiful rides of greater distance before winter comes.

Running Tour

So, there I was... A beautiful morning before General Conference, staring out my window at the Pentagon. Then, to my great surprise, I soon found myself with my running shoes on, phone and keys in hand, running towards... the Pentagon. Having become slightly more familiar with the roads and where they lead in the area, I found myself some great sidewalks and bike paths to land myself at the Pentagon Memorial.
After learning about the symbolism of the memorial and solemnity of the memory, I continued on my way, towards my desired destination on the other side of the Potomac. Crossing Rosalyn Memorial Bridge, the Washington Monument and Capital Building were in near sight (you may choose to zoom into these photos).
Soon, I arrived at the Lincoln memorial...




























Moving onto my final destination for the day...

So, there I was... The Washington Monument
Happy to be running through the history of our nation...

Ragnar Supporters, oh yeah!

Hello Beautiful! DeEtte and I took a stroll down to the finish line of the first annual D.C. Ragnar Relay. A fearless group of runners from the Colonial wards combined ran the race from Friday through Saturday. Due to the random rain that decided to show up once we were out the door and already running late, DeEtte chose to sport her hoody with great pride. We were happy to have the sun come out as we neared the finish line.

Next year, the goal will be to PARTICIPATE in the race rather than come in as a cheerleader at the finish line.

On the way home, we improved the hoody look by finding matching hats to keep our heads dry this winter.

The Road

So, here I am. The road has not been without blind spots nor slippery turns, detours, yellow lights; yet greens lights have not vanished, and I have enjoyed the journey here in Northern Virginia as I move forward.
To briefly mention portions of that journey...

• Took a teaching position in August, having taken a trip to VA for interviews at the end of July.
• Quickly moved to VA, staying with the Cali and Jason and their kids for a couple weeks while I looked for a place to live and car to drive and attending teacher inservices.
• Moved to Alexandria, taking a sublet contract for 2 months... south of Old Town and only about a 15 minute drive from my school.
• Found and bought a car! Another Chevy Malibu has been adopted into the Skeen family.
• Moved, about 4 weeks later, to Arlington (Crystal City) in with news roommates whom I am enjoying getting to know.
  

I will share more experiences that have been enjoyed along the way in quickly coming future blogs.

Welcome

I am happy to welcome you to my blog and invite you to view it for updates whenever you wish. My main purpose in creating this blog is to create a central place that my family can view photos and hear about my general whereabouts, not taking place of our regular phone conversations :) That said, please enjoy and feel free to share your comments or greetings, both family and friends!