Go, Go, GO!

     About two weeks ago S Ann Marie visited Ashley and I for four full days. She was able to attend Ashley's kindergarten classes, my fourth grade class, supervise the playground with me, eat lunch with us in the cafeteria, spend time in our "office" and of course tour the school! In addition to all of that, Ann Marie was able to see what our day to day was like in the monastery from prayers, to dinner, to our downtime. Everyday is different so it was really nice to have her here for almost a whole week to see how everyday unfolded. It was wonderful to see S Ann Marie because it was a familiar face that I was longing to see since August. I remember thinking that it was going to be a long time till I would see her again, and now she came and left. This is bitter sweet because it reminds me that the end is near.
  
     Well, since the end is near I have been trying to keep busy so I don't have to think about it too much. It has not been hard to stay busy because I have tons of work to do. I am in the process of transitioning out of Mrs. Morales' 4th grade Bilingual class and into a full-time Art teacher for 7th and 9th grade. Miss Paizy is the regular Art teacher for the Intermediate School but she will be going on maternity leave April 8th. I will begin substituting for her class full-time on April 1. Miss Paizy will be in the classroom with me for that first week to help me transition into that position. Last week I met with Miss Paizy to discuss the work that I would be doing with the students and she said that she was going to be giving me little projects to do with the students. She asked me if I had any ideas and I told her that I did. Scrap booking. She was trilled! I thought that I could have the students (7th and 9th grade because 8th grade doesn't take Art) make a small scrap book about their 2010-2011 school year. So we began to brainstorm and I quickly started working on a schedule, lesson plan, and presentation. I worked on that for four days straight! I was excited to show Miss Paizy my "draft" till I discovered that the 9th graders will have 18 class days beginning April 1st and not 26 class days like I thought. What a bummer! So I have to re-do my schedule, and my plans with them if I want then to finish the project on time. Scrap booking is really time consuming and I want them to do a great job. But other than that little bump on the road, I'm very excited to begin my new job.
  
     The month of March has been go, go, go since it started. Every week has had an event. The first weekend, Ashley and I participated in a walk to increase cancer awareness called "Revelo por Vida" with the Sisters from Santa Escolastica, which turned out to be lots of fun. The following week we spent with S Ann Marie and on Friday we were able to take her on a small tour of Viejo San Juan and to see El Morro. We finished that evening with the best dessert in town, Cold Stone Creamery. This weekend, Ashley and I were able to visit the Isla de Culebra through the courtesy of one of Ashley's kinder student's family. We spent the weekend with the student's family and had a great time. They are a wonderful family and I'm glad they found it in them to invite us out. Next weekend is also an exciting one for both, Ashley and I. We will be going on the Bioluminescent Bay Kayak tour with Mrs. Turkovich; the Religion teacher for third and fourth grade. I am extremely excited for that because that is one of the "touristy" things I wanted to do before I left Puerto Rico.  Then on Sunday, March 27th, I will be running my first 5K ever! It will be the St. Patrick's 5K where the funds go towards the Pro Hospital Society for kids. I have been running on a regular base here, so I am excited to actually run for something this time. I got a taste of what it feels like to walk/run for something meaningful when I participated with the Sisters in the Revelo por Vida walk. I felt very proud to be able to say that I participated.

     This has been a busy month so far and I know it is not going to slow down but that only fuels me. I'm looking forward to starting this week, continuing with Lent, and staying focused in school.

The Sisters ready to walk for life

Ashley and I participating in Revelo por Vida

S Ann Marie visits El Morro

Isla de Culebra