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.

Memorial Day Fun

Marci and her family, the Dietrichs, are known for their weekends full of adventures. Luke, age 7, competed in a Saturday triathlon, then a Sunday triathlon, followed by a day at Lake Anna in Mineral, VA. THIS is where my friend, Tali, and I met up with the Dynamite Dietrichs!!!

Lake Anna is a beautiful secret in Virginia, about 75 miles south of Arlington. The drive to Lake Anna was gorgeous with deciduous trees shading the winding roads. It reminded me a lot of green western Washington state. When we arrived at the boat house, we were given the grand tour of Frank's creation... he designed the boat house and they have little-by-little built it to what it is now- fit for a family of two active boys who LOVE the water, being outside, family time, sun, play, a dad who likes to garden and play, and a mom who is constantly keeping up with her boys and cheerfully making sure that everything happens smoothly.

I knew before the day on the lake that Marci is amazing (she's my inspiring department boss at school), but now I have seen what an cool family she has too!

We dove off the diving board and the high-jump/platform (a gate was put on the second/roof level of the boat house for this purpose)... Luke gave us each points (I don't think I ever scored higher than a 6/10! I need more practice).

Nate showed us how to eat a snow cone...

...as well as demonstrating how to cover the smore stove in marshmallow. He was also quite the fish--- diving without a life jacket!

Next, Luke showed us his skillz on the knee board and wakeboard... he's almost got his 360 down on his new kneeboard!

Tali then showed us her 180 skills on the wakeboard...

...followed by a stellar ski run by Frank. He claims it's been years, but I don't know how that's possible.

We returned for a gourmet lunch- bbq grilled steak, grilled vegies, fruit and more! It was DELICIOUS!

After lunch, we got back in the water. I got to do some open-water swimming, exploring the shoreline... although I could have stayed a little closer to the shore--- my neon cap came in handy with all the jet-skiers out.

Another run on the boat finished up our laketime well. Frank was a super driver, pulling me on a nice slalom ski run. I got to enjoy some really smooth, nearly glassy, water for cutting in a cove occupied by fishermen (sorry no pics of skiing, Dad and Abes... I was preoccupied).

It felt nice to wipe out a few times, reminding me that I've got some practicing to do before summer skiing with Skeens in Washington!

Tali was a champ and showed us more knee boarding skillz, and the ride ended with Luke entertaining us on the knee board.

While waiting to pull up to the gas pump, he was towed on his knee board... He decided to stand up, proclaiming, "Look! I'm walking on water! I'm walking on water like Jesus!" :) Who taught him that? Marci?

All the while, Nate was snoring, smore snores, on Marci's lap... long day filled with hard play!

THANK YOU, DIETRICHS, for a GREAT MEMORIAL DAY!

Woodstock to Bronx

New York Ragnar:
Mixed Team Patriotic Potomac Pacers

12 runners, 2 cars, 181 miles, 25:08 hours. Run, drive, eat, shut eyes (maybe), repeat. And have FUN!
This past weekend, some friends and I drove up to NY for the first ever NY Ragnar Relay Series! Fortunately I was leg #8 of 12, so I got to ride in Van #2, meaning we left at 7:30am to head north rather than 5am. By early evening, Debbie came running up to exchange #6, and Julie, our first runner took off for her 8 mile leg. Time could not fly fast enough for all 6 of us from van #2 to get out on the road running... the car ride was nice, but we were all pretty excited to move on our own feet. My first leg, just over 8 miles, was SO pretty! For the majority of the miles I was running along a gravel/dirt road with a stream running beside me. The sun was slowly going down, the birds were chirping. It was so pleasant! Nonetheless, I was happy to see the finish of my leg at exchange #7 where Aaron waited at the top of a series of some pretty long hills.
Aaron, then David, Patrick and MJ, then Julie again all did awesome. We witnessed some serious tackling of hills and passing opponents as miles went by.
The next leg, after about 1.5 hours of rest near a park in the car, was in the DARK. It was such a nice night, not too cold. We each wore headlamps and butt-lights through the night, which was one of the rules for the race- about 7pm-6am we were required to wear reflective vests and specifics lights while running. My leg started arount 3 am and was around 6 miles.Our last legs were "eventful," to say the least. The picture above it post-losing-Julie. Apparently a sign that was at a critical turn less than 1/4 mile from the start of Julie's last leg was moved out of site, keeping her and a few other runners from turning left onto this highway that she did not turn back onto until after a mile-long hill, her leg went from about 4.5 miles to around 7miles in length, including a killer hill that was not supposed to be in the cards. We were SOOO relieved to see her at this point! We tried to follow and cheer on/give water to each runner about every 3 miles, and she was not anywhere in sight when we went to meet up with her. Whew! She's such a good sport!
Julie and I had finished our last legs... this is what comes to mind to do when you've been running (literally) on very little sleep. :)
We did it!!!! This is our team (minus Debbie who had already taken off), after running across the finish line in the Bronx (upper Central Park) with our clinch-tail-end-runner, MJ! 25:08, 2nd place in our division and SOOO happy to have had such a good time all along the way!!!

Hunter and Aubrey (Skeen) Hartman

Hunter and Aubrey were sealed in the Washington D.C. LDS Temple last Saturday. I was so happy when I learned that she was from out here in VA, which increased the chances of them coming here to be married... and it happened! :) Looking forward to more memories with the new Aubrey Hartman at Skeen reunions and family gatherings.
Saturday was so great, spending time at the temple with cousins, aunts, and uncles; navigating a new part of the District in a 3-car caravan of Skeens (an eventful journey, in short); lunch in Pentagon City; and celebrating Hunter and Aubrey's marriage and great families in Ashburn, VA, at their reception.

In attendance were Aunt Pam and Paul; Uncle Doug and Linda, Morgan, McKay; Kelley and her son, Cayden; Jeff, Tracy's husband; Megan, and her daughter, Addison; Catherine and Aunt Nancy; Rich and Jonah. I love the Skeens! It was such a treat to see everyone, and I certainly wish that I could see more of this family! Something I love about family, though, is that neither time nor land mass can distances the lasting friendships and memories.
Linda and Doug are so wise, and I enjoyed catching up with them on life's journeys; Catherine and I picked up right where we left off when we last saw each other about 3 years ago; Jeff shared some great stories about Thailand and little Taylor riding an elephant; Kelly and I made plans to organize a cousin running race gathering before the end of this year; Addison showed off how Megan taught her to "pound it" rather than give high fives for friend and adults (she's darling); Aunt Nancy and Catherine tried Phad Thai for their first time at Thaiphoon for lunch.

Proud to Say, "She's my M-O-M!"

Up at night, can't sleep alone?

She was there to comfort me, by staying near.

Had a bad day at school again?
It was her who dried up the tears.

Can't laugh alone, 'cause it's not as fun?
She's sure to laugh along.

Need some humor in life from day to day?
Watch her dance while I play a piano song.

Advice from health to boys and all life's plans?
Call the woman who's wiser than wise.

Out late as a teen, does anyone know?
She's up, waiting on the stairs, no surprise.

Who's cheering me on in work and play?
Cheerleader of the year: that's her again and again.

Who knows our family history on many levels?
She can tell me where the Behrens and Aea-Changs began.

In short, she's a woman of talents that really have no end.
I've known her as her daughter, and today she's a best friend.

The list could go on of reasons to celebrate this woman today,
But it would take for too long- we'd be here through next May.

Happy Mothers Day to the woman who is a mother to me and hundreds more,
And to grandmothers, and the many mothers, whom we together honor and adore.