Mis Estudiantes!

Monday was the first day of the 2009-2010 school year at ASP. I am so excited for my little estudiantes! They are all adorable and so far its been smooth sailing. I introduced a few new things this year that seem to be going well... "Miss M money" is my favorite new addition. They are lovin it! We'll have an auction every two weeks where they can spend the MM$ they've earned on trinkets I got from the 5 peso store (teehee). I also started a class web page which is exciting. I hope they use it. Here is a pic of each of my classes. Que cute!

4th Yellow

4th Blue

Hard work has paid off...

Where the magic happens.

My desk area

Let's get ready to rumble!

Todo bien.

Although the initial return to Mexico was a challenge to say the least, everything seems to have worked itself out. I am now a water-using, key-having, bed-bug free gringa. The past couple of weeks have been non-stop, which to be quite honest, I wasn't expecting. We had orientation for 4 days after my return from Playa del Carmen. I was a "specialist" on ESL instruction which meant that I had to give a workshop on it for all of the foreign staff. UGH. Luckily, my grad school classes were fresh in my mind and I was able to design a very informative and entertaining power point presentation. Things took a turn, however, when the school's power went out approximately 3 minutes before my presentation was set to begin. Really? Baaah. I pulled it together and gave the presentation sans ppt until it turned on 15 minutes later. Perfect timing, Mexico.

After the first week of orientation, I was asked to teach a pre-class for brand spanking new students who may or may not have much English background. 9 students in grades 4-6 came to my class to get familiar with school, school procedures, and basic English. It was a bit of a challenge, especially having it thrown at me the day before, but the kids were fun and it was a good warm-up for the real thing next week. I spent all day yesterday and will be spending the rest of today setting up my classroom, lesson planning for next week, and getting general procedure stuff done. Bring out the coca lights, it's gonna be a loooong weekend...

Cutest thing ever

Today was my last day of school since I have to get back to the U.S. for graduate school. When I left for a meeting, my students, unbeknownst to me, wrote me some of the cutest notes I've ever read... Here is my favorite: Keep in mind they are second language learners...

Miss M:

I will miss you a lot. This few weeks that you were my teacher I like you a lot because you are very fun. When I don't understand you explain me. You are the best teacher I have met. Thank you for all. I will miss you a lot. Bye Miss M, I hope you like us and I wish you lots of good things. I will remember you always. I will not forget you never.

I almost cried. This is why I do what I do!~ Hasta Augusto, ASP!

Red/Green RULES!

So the P.E. soccer tournament was this week between the 6th grade groups. My groups, green and red, rocked! The 20 minute mini-games were held during lunch period on the little field behind the school. There was a girls and boys team for both of my groups, who played the blue and yellow groups. We won every game! Wooooohooooo! Go team!

Escuela Mañana

I’m getting a wee bit anxious about going in to work tomorrow… Not because I don’t want to go or because I don’t think I’ll be able to handle it but more just because I don’t really know what to expect. To put it in perspective, we had 2 weeks of Spring break in the middle of April, classes for 1 week, the swine flu outbreak~ schools cancelled for 3 weeks~ and I have now missed the first official week back for my friend’s wedding in the U.S. So in reality, my sub this past week has had just as much face time with my students as I have. Eeeek! I’m afraid they’re not going to remember me or something. Add to it that this is the last month of school and surely you can empathize. Hopefully all will go according to plan. Worse comes to worst, I have a bucket of ring pops and a pile of homework passes and I’m not afraid to use ‘em! 

Job Offer

Salary negotiations took place last week so we were all on our toes... especially in light of the recent adoption of an official salary scale. In previous years, what the school offered you was based on a toss out and see when you bite policy. With SACS accreditation pending, however, this just will not do. Which leaves many people above and a few below what they should be making based on degree attainment, work experience, and number of years at the school. After meeting with some of the head honchos at school I was briefed on the newly adopted policy and what I should/was/would be paid. I'm satisfied but not thrilled which is usually the way these things go... The ironic part of it was that after finally coming to terms with staying in Pachuca for another year, that afternoon I received a call from the hiring coordinator at JFK in Queretero where I had been crossing my fingers to hear from. Not only did they offer me about $6K more in salary but also International health insurance, a hefty travel allowance, and signing bonuses. After the interview was pretty much complete and I practically had it in the bag, however, I found out that teachers with pets could not live in the first year teacher housing and therefore could not be hired.  A little harsh, huh?? She said she'd try her best to convince the board that Nolita was harmless and should be trusted in the I'm sure not so pristine apartment complex but in the end it was a disappointing negativo. Oh well, though. I am proud to say that I did not give up on little Nolita in spite of the alluring pay raise and I will continue my journey next year as a Pachuqueñean according to the everything happens for a reason theory... hrrumph!

4th grade 2009-2010! 

Tempting offer UPDATE

FYI: I took the job with the 6th graders despite all warnings. I negotiated a pay raise and a few other perks so I hope I won't regret it even if their reputation does hold up. So far, so good though. I went in to school a few days before the break was over to set up shop and design my classroom management procedures. They are responding really well so far! Hopefully they aren't just enamored with una nueva maestra...

School Visitors

So this week, the school has had a slew of visitors. Most importantly, the SACS accreditation committee that will stick around until Wednesday to analyze and report on our school's legitimacy. One came to observe my class today... luckily, all went according to plan. phew!

A less important but far cuter group of visitors are the newborn gatitas that have taken over our auditorium junk pile. Normally home to broken desks, tables, and chairs, this area of campus has recently become haven for about 6 little kittens, their mama and papa. So cute!

Tempting offer

So apparently a 6th grade teacher lost it today and threw a pair of scissors at a student. Then stormed off to the teacher's lounge where she demanded her passport and took off for the front gate. They don't think she's coming back... So much so that they offered me her job this afternoon. I'm tempted but have been warned by about 97% of my coworkers that these children are a different breed, leaving no one unscathed in their paths. While this is alarming, I wouldn't mind trying out another grade and it's only for the remainder of the year which is a perfect trial run. I'm gonna see what perks they offer and weigh my options... Update to come.

Curt Crossley

The primary school director at the American School of Pachuca, Curt Crossley, passed away on Tuesday, March 24, 2009. Curt was also the recruiting coordinator for the foreign staff at our school and he was one of the main reasons why I felt so confident taking this job in January. Curt had been sick for about 3 weeks prior to his this. The news of his death came as somewhat of a shock, however, considering that the staff had been continually reassured of his return. Although I did not know Curt for a very long time, I considered him a friendly and competent boss and a good leader for the school. He was aware of the problems that we faced and did his best to accommodate teachers, students, and parents. It is a tremendous loss for the school and for his friends. The heap of legal boundaries and inability to contact his family has also been stressful for the administration and staff at school. I hope that these issues will be resolved in a timely matter so that a memorial service can be held and people can pay their respects. 

But it's worth it...

So I just realized that my past 3 post have been somewhat negative and that's the last thing that I want to convey about this experience. I am solely dealing with the little everyday things that are a nuisance when living abroad in a country where you don't have any native connections and don't fully speak the language. Here's a little insight as to why I do it: my job is incredible~ I have more freedom than any beginning teacher should but I embrace it and have enjoyed being creative and learning from my co-workers; the kids are cute as hell and most of them still have an incredible yearning to learn which is encouraging in light of the horror stories I have heard throughout grad school of US Public Schools and the students uncanny ability to ignore their need for an education; although I feel like I am continually playing in a sports game that I am terrible at, I can tell that I am learning more Spanish which just might be sticking this time; and the people I have met here thus far have exceeded my expectations to the point that all I have to complain about are stinky smells and terrible customer service... ha! or as they say here, je!