Back from a short break

So, I am back. I went to Space Camp in Huntsville, AL in March. Very cool. I remember that movie from the 80s where Kelly Preston and Joaquin Phoenix launched the space shuttle by accident. That's not exactly how it was, but we did complete a "shuttle mission" (with me in Mission Control). Came home with the payload doors open and all the shuttle crew were sucked out, but, an otherwise successful mission. Oops. I also spent some time in NYC with my fine arts department. I never knew precipitation could be so brutal. A meterological dermabrasion is what it was. Brrr..... I got to see Mary Poppins. She and her spoonful of sugar made the trip worthwhile.

Back on the homefront there's LOTS of stress. Papers are in their second drafts. Products are due in a few weeks, and kids are freaking out. Pink slips are flying around. My favorite explanation on the pink slip (a form we use to let kids know that we know they are not turning in work/meeting deadlines) is the "I forgot" excuse. Have we not been working on this thing every week since January? You forgot? Oh, okay.

I am a little worried about my senior teachers. They are looking really tired and stressed. I, myself, made a career move partly because of Senior Project, so I know where they are coming from. How can we make Senior Project less of a burden for senior teachers? I have an awesome team of teachers, but I fear I will lose them to another curriculum or another career if I can't figure out some way to ease their Senior Project burdens. This is the cardio part of the Senior Project yoga practice (reference to my first entry). I need to come in and say those empowering yogic words of wisdom which will inspire them to continue their practice. They'll probably scoff at "be in the moment" right now.

I am scheduling lots of individual conferences with kids to solve organizational problems with the papers, but what do you do about the apathetic crowd who has nothing to work with? Do I just sit back and let them face the consequences? Graduation is looming. Family members are making arrangements. For some reason, this pressure is not enough to get them motivated. Or, are they so behind that beginning anything is too overwhelming?

Met with the curriculum coordinators from the county office this morning. SP Coordinators from all the high schools in the county are finally going to start meeting to share ideas and establish some expectations. I think this will be a good opportunity to share and steal ideas. Our county is pretty competitive, so we need to really focus on collaboration instead of competition. Should be interesting.

Off to another student conference . . .