Dash #5 EMES & 40 school lunch

            I don’t remember the elementary school having a particular smell.  I remember the option of two ways to walk there on foot.  Seems like it may have been faster to walk up our street and over on third east and down than the safer way which we usually went – over 240 to 260 and came in behind the school. The playgrounds were behind the school.  

a really ROUGH map of my neighborhood

            Our desks had openings in the front.  They were wide enough to hold two plastic trays.  We called them tote trays.  It is where we put all of our school supplies.  We carried the trays each time we moved for math, reading, science, etc. according to whatever our learning level was.  If someone was absent, the desk could still hold my tray as well as that of the absent student.

            Before peanut allergies was a common thing I remember peas tasting like they’d been cooked in peanut butter.  I kid you not!  To this day I believe the peas at East Midvale Elementary School cafeteria were cooked in peanut butter or maybe a heavy peanut oil that tasted like peanut butter.  Now, I love peanut butter but I HATE peas and cooking them in peanut butter did not improve the taste.  I may hate peas more as a result.

            We had a cafeteria separate from the gym.  I don’t remember if there was a folding door that separated the cafeteria from the gym.  Maybe.  It would have made for more room for assemblies and programs.  The school offered many programs for parents to come and watch their students perform.  It felt like my parents had a lot more opportunities to watch programs than do the parents who have students in schools today.

            We had an old custodian by the name of Mr. Beckstead.  He wore green coveralls.  At least that is how I remember it.  Our lunch trays had compartments, I think two or three squares and a circle, and each compartment was for a different food item. When we were through eating lunch we had to take our lunch trays up to the garbage, but if the monitor was not satisfied with our eating habits, he/she would send us back to the lunch table to finish whatever we hadn’t touched.  Many of my peers would stuff unwanted food into the milk carton because the monitors never checked the cartons.

            When we were in the  5^th and 6^th grade we could help serve food.  In sixth grade, if a student’s grades were good enough and had the desire or were picked, they could work as a safety patrol monitor.  I remember students guiding other students across the street.  300 East is far too busy for a child to fulfill that duty.  It is done by an adult.  I don’t think as many schools offer safety patrol anymore.

Recapping the Last Four Weeks

          On March 18 I started a class in public communications.  My first assignment was to take (or make up) a situation from work and address it.  When I initially looked at it I had decided to speak on connecting parental support to the child’s behavior – but I had misread the point of the assignment.  Fortunately I decided to wait until Wednesday (the day of the lecture) before I started.

          A teacher’s aide, for the most part, rotates among different classes.  The particular schedule I had followed on that day was 30 minutes each with kindergarten to 3^rd grade, most of the time with kindergarten.  Also, that particular position required me to monitor the 4^th grade during recess and their lunch.  I was with the kindergarten class when the fire alarm went off on Monday for a fire drill. 

          By Wednesday I had changed my topic from behavior to the fire drill as the alarm went off a few hours before I returned home to watch the recorded lecture for the week.  The fire drill had been on Monday and there was a real emergency evacuation on Wednesday.  I was with the fourth graders whom I had never lined up with before.

          I found it interesting to compare the fire drill on Monday to the results that took place on Wednesday. Only my first assignment was supposed to be addressing a co-worker or someone I manage one-on-one.  My topic of conversation was not one that I would choose for just one individual but was able to make it work by pulling out a specific.  There have been so many times when I have not had a walkie-talkie with me (mostly because I haven’t made it a habit) but did have on Wednesday but not on Monday.  The assignment I turned in was on the importance of having the radio device with me at all times and not just at lunch.  I imagined the conversation from my manager’s point of view.  That is what I handed in.

          The following week’s assignment was to write a speech that I would give in public.  I was required to give the audience three things to talk about.  I incorporated that we practice fire drills to ensure safety, we are more focused when we are prepared, and when we are focused and calm it is easier to make adjustments – such as evacuating to an area that we had never practiced before.

          I have always been under the impression that the more excuses a person uses to convince another of something, the less believable it is. My throat had been dry since the class had started, and seemed to dry at more as the class progressed.  The week I was to record my speech was not a good week for me.  I hadn’t practiced my speech orally because of my dry throat and the rain fell heavily and was louder than I was I tried recording.  I compared my situation to Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day as mentioned here. 

          I ended up with a 107 out of 120.  Not bad.  I wouldn’t have scored myself that high.  I couldn’t even watch it as my voice didn’t even move in sync to my lips.  That really bothers me.  Now I am waiting for the grades for this last week.  Tomorrow I start a new class.

Coming to an End

                My communications class ends tomorrow.  I need to post my written speech, revised speech, where it went, etc.  I have been able to compare the subject of my assignments to writing the assignments (and presenting one in recording) for the class itself.  I’m sure it will make more sense once I get around to posting either tomorrow or Monday.  Monday seems more likely.  So sorry to keep ya’ll in suspense . . .

Rain, Drizzle, Downpour, Puddles, Sun, Sprinkle, Rain . . . .

            Yesterday it poured buckets.  The rivers and creeks have risen.  Some have overflowed.  I was shocked to hear that schools west of us were closed or on delay.  Wow!  Check out these stories.  There are some amazing pictures that I can’t even fathom.  See here and here.

            Today there was such a grand combination of element changing the sky and the amount of moisture.  A few times we needed umbrellas and galoshes.  Other times sunglasses were required.  Why with all that change did we not see a rainbow?  It must have drown.

Dash #163 Favorite Hymn

What is Your Favorite Hymn?

I've always liked "More Holiness Give Me"

More holiness give me, more strivings within.
More patience in suffering, more sorrow for sin.
More faith in my Savior, more sense of His care.
More joy in His service, more purpose in prayer.

More gratitude give me, more trust in the Lord.
More zeal for His glory, more hope in His Word.
More tears for His sorrows, more pain at His grief.

More meekness in trial, more praise for relief.

More purity give me, more strength to o'ercome,
More freedom from earth-stains, more longings for home.
More fit for the kingdom, more useful I'd be,
More blessèd and holy, more, Savior, like Thee.

Songwriters: Ronald Staheli

For song tune see here.

Journal Entry

            For the entire month of December, I had a problem sleeping.  I couldn’t get comfortable.  I’d stir.  I’d wake up.  I don’t think I ever slept for more than five hours during one night – and it was NEVER five hours in a row. I was even watching accounting videos and still not having success with my sleep!

            This month I am experiencing the opposite.  I can’t ever seem to wake up – not do I want to.  Right now the rain is soothing to my ears even though it’s pounding on the rooftop.  There is something calming about it.  I like to sleep.  I enjoy being restful.  But I’m really not restful if I have too much sleep.

             I finally got my speech turned in for my communications class, but I did not have a good experience with making the video or uploading.  The rain is louder than my voice has been this month.  My entire week has reminded me of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day here.   

         I managed to get meaning out of some of the talks given in General Conference but was obviously not focused on many others.  I’m grateful for the Internet that provides me with an opportunity to review what I have missed. 

            This week will be my last filling in for the position I had accepted back in January.  I was told that someone will be starting on Wednesday.  I have been told that in February and March as well.  Perhaps this third time will be the charm.  Roland wants me to apply for a bookkeeping position and will be doing that the following week.  Don’t know where I will go from there.

Homographs

Same Spelling, Same Pronunciation

Bark is the outside surface found on the trunk of a tree.

Many dogs produce a sound called a bark whenever someone approaches his territory

To court someone is the same as dating.

A court is a place where legal actions take place.

Both basketball courts and tennis courts consist of an area with marks and nets which contribute to a sport.

A courtyard is the area or space between buildings that surround it

To flush a toilet means your sending the water in the bowl into the sewer.  A flush in poker means your cards are in sequence.  

Iron is a source found in meat, some vegetables, and beans.  We need iron in our diets. 

Sometimes when working out, people will refer to lifting weights as pumping iron.

Some water pumps are made of iron - or were.

When we press our clothes, we use an iron. 
Some golf clubs are referred to as irons.

Being kind to someone is treating that person with respect. Kind is also another word for sort or type.

Maroon is a reddish-brown color that some may pass off as purple.

Maroon is a feeling of abandonment or being deserted. If my car runs out of gas when I am on a desolate road in the middle of nowhere, I feel marooned.

I just recently learned that maroon is a British term for fireworks associated with signals.

I may point my finger to indicate direction or item.  Children will often point to the words as they read them.

A point is a tip such as a pencil or a mountain.

Sometimes point can mean the highlight of a statement.  Do you get my point?

When I am looking for fruits and vegetables in the supermarket, I will find them in the produce section.  Another produce means to create something like a movie.

Punch is a drink made from fruit.  It has a different meaning from hitting something (or someone) with my fist.  Punch is also a hole made by a tool such as an awl or a hole punch

Relish is a condiment made from chopped pickles.  Relish is also treasured enjoyment.  I relish the thought of celebrating life with my family.

A type represents an assortment or class of interest or sameness.  To type means hitting the letters on your keyboard with assigned fingers.

Yarn is a heavy thread that is used to knit blankets and crochet sweaters and such.  To tell a yarn is to exaggerate a tale.