Sunday, June 3, 2012

Weekly Wrap-up for June 3, 2012: Two Weeks and Launch of Victorian Celebration.

Pace Lap at the Indy 500 last Sunday
Even though we only had four days of school this past week, it felt like an incredibly long week. There is something about coming back to school after Memorial Day weekend that causes teenagers to go berserk. They get that taste of summer vacation and then go absolutely nuts in school. I kind of wish we finished before Memorial Day, but I think that would require us staying later each day. I know that some schools around the country are done, but we still have until the 15th.

At least we are pretty much done with content-I'm wrapping up a poetry unit with my juniors on Tuesday, and my sophomores are turning in their research projects on Monday (they're presenting through Wednesday). My elective class is still completing their independent novels and will start their projects this week. I'm glad we're moving toward the reviewing aspect before finals next week.

Sparty whispering sweet nothings into Lily's ear
Beyond school, we've been gearing up at the park. Memorial Day marks the beginning of the "summer" season, so we've definitely seen an increase in groups out on the weekends. Yesterday we had a wedding at the park, and thankfully they fit in the ceremony before a bout of bad weather. We have all kinds of events coming up-5K races, mountain bike races, etc, so I know I will be busy there as soon as school ends!

Friday launched the beginning of "A Victorian Celebration," my two-month event focused on the Victorians. The response has been amazing, and I am so happy that so many bloggers are participating. There are already a number of posts on the main post, and I can't wait until I finish my first title (Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens).

Sparty cuddling on Matt's lap
I also posted the first giveaway for the event-for a Penguin copy of North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. If you're a participant in the event and don't own a copy of the book, head over to the post and enter!

There will be plenty of other giveaways and prizes over the next two months, so make sure to check back often to see what the current giveaway is (I think next week is a Hardy title!).

Besides these two huge things-school and the event-life has been relatively uneventful. With the end of a school year comes a lot of grading, but I am caught up and seem to be managing my paper piles rather well. But I still can't wait to have more reading time and the opportunity to make some real progress on my project lists. For a while, I wasn't that invested in what I was doing, so I'm glad to be back in a reading mood...and craving the classics.

Reading at the Park office on lunch
I also have some new books headed my way, so as soon as they get here, I owe you all a book loot post. I did so well with my book buying ban at the beginning of the year, and now I am failing miserably. I cannot resist pretty covers or new books. :) I am sure that Matt will flip out a bit when he sees new titles on the shelves. There are worse things, right?

I hope you all have a great reading week! Let me know what has your attention!

13 comments:

  1. I'm glad the challenge is going so well, I've seen lots of great reviews come out of it already.

    And I still think you American teachers are lucky for finishing on the 15th June. Here in the UK we have next week off, but 6 weeks in school after that, meaning we don't finish until July 20th :(

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    1. Oh boo.

      Well, to be honest, I'm a proponent of year-round school, but it doesn't seem to be taking off over here. I think our kids would benefit from more time in school, but that isn't a sentiment shared by many.

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  2. How's this for stupid: The boys had to go back to school for TWO DAYS after Memorial Day. Their last day of school was the 30th. In those last two days, all they did was play. I don't see the point!

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    1. I had to jump in on this comment. Seriously?? TWO days?! That's obnoxious. We came back and had (have) 8 days left. But truth be told, the kids aren't even allowed to have backpacks THIS week (our last week) so seriously..what else are we to do? My final was given last Thursday. #babysit

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    2. Wow...crazy. I just feel like once they get that taste of summer over Memorial Day, all hell breaks loose. They have been CRAZY this week.

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  3. My kids had Memorial Day, then the high school had three days of exams. How's that for sucky? (If you're a student, anyway). My oldest had her last exam Thursday morning -- for gym! So, she basically came into school and read a book for an hour and a half, then she was done! The good news was that she actually read a book that I'd recommended -- and she really liked it! (Usually if I recommend books, they must be awful).

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    1. Well, I'm glad she read and enjoyed a book! But that scheduling doesn't make sense either. I wonder if we go so late because we start late? Kids don't go back till after Labor Day.

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  4. Allie! I adore that you have BLACK cats. You're cool points skyrocketed. Our most recent *child*, stella, is also all black. She was a rescue from our vet. Can you believe she was dropped off with a litter and she was the only one not picked up for SIX MONTHS! Yup. Serious. Six months in a cage. You should have seen her when we opened the door and let her loose with our other three *kids*. She's still not graceful and when she jumps it is definitely a thud.

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    1. Awww, thanks. Sparty was a rescue kitten too. When we were looking for a new kitten, we were told by shelters that black cats and kittens are always adopted last because of the superstition. And once we saw Sparty (all of his siblings were adopted except for his sister), we had to have him. He is just the sweetest cat. :)

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  5. I did fairly well with my book buying ban at the beginning of the year, then it was lifted. I did better about buying but then got out of control and started it again. This one's not going so well. :( But tis okay, I have lots of awesome books to read. My goodreads challenge? I'm way behind that as well. Before I actually kept track of the amount of books that I read, I was doing way more than my the number for the challenge (100). But I guess when life happens and you have to work for a living, things get pushed back a bit. Good luck!

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    1. I've bought about 15 books in the last week....Matt is really going to kill me once the packages start arriving. :) We both know I'll eventually read them, and there are worse things I could be spending my money on, you know?

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  6. I actually can't believe the schools around me are done already--it seems like we always went longer when I was in school. I'm excited for the start of the Victorian Celebration, although I'm a little late getting started as I'm trying to finish up a couple other books first. Soon. Good luck with school this week and happy reading!

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    1. I'm off to a slow start as well. I just have too much going on and no days off to catch up. I only have until next Friday, so as soon as that hits I am going to go book crazy. I'm lucky if I get in 10 minutes of reading right now!

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