More Washington Joys

Time flew by in Washington State with the ma, pa, and young'n sibs... The spoiling did not stop... In addition to the aforementioned enjoyments in the first days, I will now add to the list (not to promote jealousy, of course- Mom and Dad are too good to me)...

• Jenna and Wes's sealing and reception
• dancing with the McDonald and Dance families (even the cute new additions under age 4)
• Baby shower for JeVonne
  
• Seattle Temple time (visit with Sister Skeem!)
• more fresh blueberries, later accompanied by raspberries and more

• Mom's home-grilled salmon

• early-morning water skiiing with Jeanette, friend, and Dad on Lk. Washington (the warmest water I've ever felt in this lake!)
• wakeboarding on Lk. Washington (same morning... had to get it all in)
  
• walking with my pregnant friends, JeVonne and Marielle (in place of our regular running ;)
  
• running Mercer slew and I-90 bridge
• more swimming at the pool
• watching Maraea dive at the pool (UNLV is SO lucky to have her join them this year!!!)
• CeFiore frozen yogurt with not-so-"little" brother, Bri; sister, Maea; and Mom

WASHINGTON State (not the OTHER Washington)

Flying into SeaTac Airport on Thursday afternoon was beautiful! I am a sucker for lush green flora and mountains. Even better is close proximity between me and lakes... so visiting family in W. Washington in the summer is very fulfilling. To my surprise, western Washington has had an uncomfortably hot summer for its liking. Typically we enjoyed "heat" in the mid to upper 80's... just warm enough to walk outside in shorts and a t-shirt and just "be" comfortable in the sun, but recently they have been experiencing temperatures in the upper 90's and even above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Whew! For me, it's been GREAT... minus the brown lawns. It reminds me of the summer of the drought we experienced when I was in grade school... brown lawns... even the church lawn. Strange.

Despite the brown lawns, the trees are still tall, green and as plentiful as ever before.

Since I've been home all of a couple days now, I've been spoiled...

• time hanging out with mom
• Blue Angels practice-flying over Lake Washington
• wakeboarding on Lake Sammamish with Dad, Mom and Maraea
• swimming in Lk. Sammamish
• swimming at the pool then watching Maea coach
• endless blueberries for snacking and meals
• flank steak grilled with roast garlic and zuccini
• trail walking with Mom and Joey
• time on the piano (aww)
  
• lots of rest (my body knows when I'm in WA- it sleeps hard)
• time for reading (aww)

Ghana 2009

I am happy to share with you pictures and experiences from Ghana, now in blog form! It's still in the works, however you can see what's up so far by going to http://educatorsinghana.blogspot.com/ .

"Home" :)

Sunday late afternoon I landed back in VA. "Adventures" were only beginning, I soon found out :)

I came "home" to a house situation including bedbugs... still in the process of working with the landlord to resolve the matter, while living with some sweet friends who've happily taken me in until I leave town for summer visits elsewhere... only time will tell where I'll residing when I return "home." Sleep has been short, just getting over post-Ghana sick spell, completed a week of math teaching workshops, officially started my summer vacation at 1pm today!!! Learning a lot... so grateful for tender mercies :)

Celebration... rest and a little bit of rock climbing in MD... just warming up! :)

Farewell

One great year at a GREAT school with GrEaT students. While tears did not come, it was bitter sweet to say goodbye to my students on Thursday. Students from this semester and last made some impressive strides and really grew both academically and personally as youth, as is evident in my 4th Period's group picture below :) haha... They're outstanding kids.

3rd Period's Goofy Picture

4th Period: Proud of her geometric sculpture

There was a lot to celebrate at the closing faculty luncheon, although I think the administrative team did not get the shout-outs that they really deserved. It's inspiring to work with individuals who are so invested in the success of students and teachers. I'm really looking forward to returning to the same school (different position) in the Fall!

BTW: We, as faculty (women sadly represented by only me, the "wanna-be-baller"), pulled off a win against the eighth graders in baskball! Whew! I'd love to make time to work on those skillz- it was fun.

Fall Semester Students on their way out

Summer is here! I am also REALLY looking forward the adventures that are soon-coming... departure in 1 day! If you are interested in hearing updates on teaching in Ghana, please send me and email or just comment. I have another blog set up for the trip, but I may resort to emails if the internet connection is too slow.

Last bus's departure

Marshall Islands Update

If my sources are telling me correctly, the Majuro District of the Marshall Islands is due to become a STAKE this month!!! This is something that we were working for back in my days 2004-2006, and the leadership and members have become stronger since! This is so exciting! Check out this link for a more detailed explanation. http://ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com/2009/05/first-stake-in-marshall-islands.html

Cheerleader?

Question of the week from the 7th Graders... "Ms. Skeen, were you a cheerleader in high school?" Well, not only is math a reason to cheer each day in the classroom, but...

Sunday was a day of celebration! DeEtte Chatterton agreed to take on the last name Jones!

Her and Brandon will be sealed this Fall... I am so happy for her! I've been rooting for Dr. Jones from day one of their dating, and I'm sure their courtship would have been more peaceful without a roommate who was cheering in their behalf (literally, at times). While I do not have any picture of the proposal and "official" engagement that took place in New York's Central Park (Brandon is a smart man), I do have evidence of the aftermath... one happy DeEtte (not new- she's always happy), and three happy friends.

Virginia Skeens

Colette Skeen recently married Aaron Massey, which created a great "excuse" for me to finally meet more of our extended cousins our here in VA! Katrina and J.C. and I have spent some time out here, with their little girl, Juliet, but we had not yet successfully all convened.

Way to Go "Sevies"

This past month has been Virginia State SOL Testing (SOL: standards of learning). Math for my school was the first department in our testing window line-up. This made us slightly on edge, to be honest, since it meant we'd have up to 2 weeks lost in time for instruction prior to students taking the test that determines a lot about their success in 7th and 8th grade. BUT, it was what it was! We cheerfully did it, and it was..... AWESOME!

I am so proud of the 7th graders! Their scores sky-rocketed in success from last year! With an increase of 34%, they finished with a 76% passing rate!!! And an even greater reason to celebrate is the individual students and their personal successes... one of my boys had an increase in his score of 140 points (this is a 600 point scaled test)!!! Let's just say, this boy has grown immensely this year (in many ways)! Also, 3 of my kids went from a failing score (below 400) last year to pass/advanced (above 500), which is opening up a high possibility of them studying Algebra as 8th graders and preparing for Calculus as seniors in H.S.... that may seem pretty ordinary, but they made huge leaps of progress to get there this year. Way to go "sevies"!!! :)

One of my girls had a epyphony this semester, declaring herself recently to be a "nerd" because she's smart. It's really cute- she's a "very cool nerd," nonetheless, as she and her classmates reassured her. :) She's one that pass/advanced.

Gratitude

Aside from testing, I am grateful for little lessons that my students teach me every day that I have eyes to see it. Yesterday, we went outside to prove the Pythagorean Theorem to be true on the basketball court... I decided to have the kids leave their papers and boards for me to carry up to the classroom so they could go straight to the cafeteria for lunch. They managed to slide themselves into the side door, which was previously locked (someone must have let them in). As I approached the door with my hands full and no key to get myself in, one of my students was quietly waiting for me inside so he could let me in! What a nice kid! He's been so impressive in many ways throughout this semester- he's just a really good kid. It's refreshing and edifying to associate with such youth.