Rotten Week

This week I felt pretty miserable, except for Thursday afternoon. Seemed like I had a bit of a bug. Nasty headaches, low energy, short at school. Thursday it was in the 60s and the sun was shining, maybe that made the difference. Maybe I was just recovering from the past couple weeks. Hopefully it will be better this week.

My lower level 8th grade classes are still struggling with Math. They have, as a class, failed the last two tests pretty miserably. I brought this up in the Math department meeting, and the teachers are worried about what will happen when the classes move up. They said that as of now, my tests are, if anything, a bit easy and the level of the material rather low. Students aren't motivated to do the homework or listen in class.

It would be nice to do some projects and things that would help with their motivation, but we are supposed to maintain the exam based curriculum which the students don't like, so they don't learn anything anyway. The problem is that if I deviate from the schedule more than a little I get in trouble. Then it will be instantly my fault that they didn't learn anything. At least I have 'done my job' and therefore am in the clear...

Friday after school we packed up the car full of tools, a bit of food, and my new bike. Sure is nice not having to worry about train schedules any more. We made a detour to Gerda's house to pick up some maternity clothes for Naomi. She is starting to get big.

We got to the cottage too late, woke up early, and had a very busy day. I am determined to make the final adjustments to the pantry this weekend (hence all the tools) so that the kitchen area is completely finished and functional. Unfortunately it started raining halfway through the project so I should be able to finish the cuts today.

After lunch we went to the dump to unload a car full of garbage followed by a trip to Naomi's Uncle where we enjoyed the afternoon and she picked up her mom's tax information. He has been doing the taxes for awhile, and it will be nice to have his advice on things. They have a nice, peaceful house complete with a workshop, fish pond, and aviary.

Now that Alies is gone, it is possible for Naomi and I to enjoy spending time with her Aunts and Uncles. She has a very interesting family...too bad Naomi wasn't able to grow up with them around more.