Getting ready for school

People keep asking me if I am ready for school to start. My reply is usually, "I might as well be, it's going to start of I am ready or not."

I can't say that I am ready. But I can say that I am excited :-)  this will be my 2nd year as the Information Technology teacher at JHS and my 1st year as the Computer Science teacher :-)

I haven't turned in my project for the class I am taking. I asked for an extension because Si seems to think he is supposed to be in my lap whenever I am working on the computer. I hope to finish it tomorrow and submit it.

Si starts back to daycare tomorrow. Janie will go to work with me (and we will go by the doctors office for her 6th grade shots -- shhh... She doesn't know that just yet). I hope we can get her some t-shirts from the high school and that will pretty much finish up her school shopping except for a mesh backpack.

I hope this year is going to be as good as I am feeling :-)

CS4HS Day 1

First day of class! I'm excited and nervous as heck! Here are some examples of the posts we have had so far...

What is Computer Science?

Well here we are at the very beginning of the CS4HS MOOC.  One of the reasons for this course is to help prepare teachers to teach Computer Science in high school classrooms across the country.  It will be very interesting to see what your understanding of Computer Science is at this point in the course and your thoughts on how important you feel the subject is to our high school students.  So our question is: How would you define Computer Science and how do you feel it should it be presented in the high school curriculum?

Computer Science to me is an understanding of how computers work. Not just the binary code, not just the networking cables, but all of it. Too many people know how to use a computer but have no understanding of the terms data or application program.

 

 Why am I Here?

One of the most important things we must understand in order to be successful in any task we do is to have a grasp of why we are doing it.  We also would like to know a little bit about our students and their motivation for taking the course so let me pose a question to you.  Please answer the following question: Why I am taking this course and what is it I hope to achieve from successfully completing the course?

I have a background as a COBOL programmer and my degree is in MIS. I have been teaching Business Education for the past 10 years and just recently changed my program in Career Tech to be Information Technology. Finally after 10 years I am teaching what I love! 

I have seen that there is a need for this type of program in my high school. The interest that has been shown so far has been very high and students have sought me out to ask about the new classes. I look forward to working with these students because of their passion and love for everything IT.

my son

As I walked down the hallway at JHS with my daddy, I remarked at how long this week had seemed. "I'm ready to get out of here and go get my son."

Daddy turned to me and smiled his sincere grin, "My son. How wonderful does that sound?! I've never been able to say those words."

"But you can say 'My grandson' which is pretty awesome too," was my reply.

"You're absolutely right!" he said with the same grin.

😍

— feeling thankful.

Senior Portraits

I haven’t taken many senior portraits since the birth of my son, but the few I have had the honor to take this year have both been close to my heart. 

Last week I had the opportunity to take a few shots of the beautiful Justice Jones. I have never had a photo shoot go by so quickly and come out with so many wonderful images! I was astonished. Justice, you have grown into a beautiful young lady. Your heart is sincere and your smile can brighten up a room. Thank you so very much for letting me take your pictures!

I also had the opportunity to take pictures of one of my favorite students, Deondra Horton. I have had him in class twice, and each time I was amazed by his work ethic and determination. The word lazy isn’t in this boy’s vocabulary. His infectious smile always made my day better, and I’m sad that he won’t be at JHS next year. I am anxious to see what wondrous plan God has for his life. 

Wikipedia is not the Devil

Dear Whoever-says-Wikipedia-is-the-devil,

Stop.

Just stop.

Yes, I agree that Wikipedia is a bad choice as a reference for a term paper.

But for everyday information on a topic it is wonderful, and usually (not always) correct. There are very few places on the Internet that have such diverse topics all located together in one site.

So, shut up.

Thanks,

Leigh

small victories

I am wearing a pair of jeans today that I haven't worn since I was probably 3 months pregnant with Si.

Small victories make me SO happy lately :)

I honestly feel like food has become my enemy.  The less I eat, the better I feel.

My wedding ring is too big for my left ring finger. Since I don't have my wedding ring and engagement rings soldered together, I just moved my wedding band to my right middle finger. My engagement ring still fits fine (it must be smaller) so it's still on the appropriate finger.

Oh... We have less than 3 weeks until PROM.

teaching

I just found out that our librarian is probably quitting this year.

I cannot imagine ever leaving JHS.

My daddy is teaching his 36th year here. I am on my 11th. I graduated from this school. My mom graduated from this school. I hope Janie and Si both graduate from this school.

I love my school. I always have. I cannot imagine teaching anywhere else. I honestly can't. This is more than just a job. It is a calling. It is my life. I constantly strive to be better at teaching my kids.

Yeah, my kids. If they're in my classroom, they're mine. I care about them now and I look forward to hearing from them in the future.

I love my job more now than I did the first year I was here.

And I hope I love it even more next year.