I've spent the last six weeks in Mindfulness sessions. My mind has been pinging all over the place and I've been learning how to find some calmness. Every Wednesday, I've sat in a half circle just listening along with about 10 other Paradise educators. I'm grateful to Rosann, our leader who generously volunteered her time … Continue reading Gratitude
If each month is a chapter of our life, January felt like an entire book. It's been a month full of constant change. Admittedly, it's exhausting. Our staff and students yearn for normal, but we are also redefining and reinventing . . . well everything. We still don't have a way to project anything on … Continue reading January 39th
Bewildered, confused, overwhelmed, excited, relieved, optimistic, frustrated, bitter, envious, amused, creative, entertained, innovative, exhausted. . . . If you wonder what it's like teach at Orchard Supply Hardware, or OSH, I'd say it depends on the time of day you ask. Now, after two weeks at OSH, it's starting to feel normal. Almost. That's the … Continue reading Attention Shoppers: English Class on Aisle #14
Day 1 at our new location for Paradise Intermediate School is done. We have landed at a site formerly known as Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH). It's been two months to the day after the fire, and we are finally together with some of our students again. Seeing them smiling, happy to see their friends and … Continue reading Cheeseballs (and the search for titles)
Deep down, I am an optimist. I had to remind myself of that fact, during our third week conducting school in the Chico Mall. We still did not have a site for the new year. I was feeling like the middle child, forgotten, a ghost. . . middle school teachers often feel like middle school … Continue reading Limbo and the dance of optimism
We have been officially "back in school" for three weeks after the #campfire chaos. This is the recovery stage, we are told. But most people don't realize what "school" really looks like for our Paradise Intermediate and Paradise High School kids. There is no routine, no normal, nothing that really resembles what we used to … Continue reading One Room Schoolhouse
Three weeks of frightening stories, face masks, hugs, tears, pictures of friends' houses burned, and the new terms: #campfire, #paradisestrong, #ridgestrong #buttestrong. No one has been left untouched. My fellow teachers, most who lost houses, and some like me who lived in nearby towns, attended emergency school board meetings and listened to local press conferences. … Continue reading Normal. . . is not Normal
Thanks for joining me! This journey has only begun. Nobody tells you that when a fire is put out, that so many lives will be changed and you can't return to the town you knew so well. Tears, frustration, laughter, love. . .this is life for sure! Good company in a journey makes the way … Continue reading The Journey Begins
