Rama Done?

Volume 1 Issue 2

Welcome back y’all! We are headed into week two over here and it’s going pretty well I am not sure if I mentioned this or not in my first issue, but I feel like I am fasting too. Here’s why.. Everything is closed during the day. Although I cook dinner most nights (except Thursday… never on a Thursday), the option to grab something is just not there until after sunset. The Eid holiday has been officially announced to begin June 4th. That means we get out of school one day early. This past weekend felt a little tough, but I did keep myself occupied by writing Saturday. Well folks, this is what happened this week:

Sunday May 12th

It’s Mother’s Day in the United States. Do you know how unbearable it is to look at social media today, yesterday and tomorrow? My timeline will be flooded with all kinds of shout outs to mama’s, grandma’s, aunties or whoever surrogate people refer to mother. Moving on…. I just love this schedule. I have never been a morning person so this really works for me. I went in this morning with a mission- to complete all of my grades and comments in Powerschool. And that’s just what I did. The really nice thing about this time the team can cover each other’s class while the other knocks out end of year tasks. I also chased some kids down to finish some work because after seeing their final grade, well I had mercy on them. Maybe I am not teaching them management (an ATL), but I see student failure as teacher failure. At least where I come from admins are going to ask what you did to support the student? I’m just covering my bases incase I am asked. I was also able to get all of my reflections in Managebac, which is the system used to store MYP/IB/DP units. Basically, I had to go in and write about my thoughts on 7th grade units- how we thought they would go, what happened and how to change in the future. The last project that I started was a swimming handbook. As a department we would like to clearly outline swimming expectations for students and parents. I also think it will help us enforce policy when it is written. By that time the day was over. I came home and took a nap while Suits on Netflix was watching me. After napping I food prepped a few items for the week. Cooking always makes me feel good. Because Coffee Bean is closed on campus life has been difficult without caffeine. So, I ran out to Starbucks. Guess what? It is open 6 PM – 3 AM. I did pick up some pods for my Nescafe so that I can make iced coffee in the mornings. 

In this midst of writing this, I was tagged in this quote. Thanks to the friend for checking in on me. 

Monday May 13th

Today I thought I would do nothing, but as it turns out my grades were incomplete. Needless to say my on the job training for putting grades in Powerschool was a crash course prior to having access to Powerschool. So it’s kind of like the blind leading the blind and the blind asking other blind for help. Anyway, all boxes are filled in for S2 and Final Grades so I think the coast is clear. I am ashamed to say this, but I have been reading “Becoming” by Michelle Obama since December. It sat on my nightstand every night and I picked it up minimal times. I wouldn’t consider myself an avid reader, but just for enjoyment. I guess I don’t enjoy it enough. Anyway, I have one more chapter before finishing. But speaking of reading, I was listening to the podcast Rachet and Respectable with Demetria L. Lucus last week and her guest Damon Young, co-founder of Very Smart Brothas and author of “ What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker”, made the point of noting that strong writers are also avid readers. With that said, I will finish the book this week and start “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum. That’s actually a question I’ve had all my life as a student and educator. Additionally, I ordered Young’s book. This should keep me busy through the summer. 

Tuesday May 14th

I’ve decided this will be my last week journaling my Ramadan experience; unless something crazy exciting happens. I taught my first class today at 12:40 and I left at 1:30. So for four hours I was trying to keep myself engaged in work. I mean that’s not what really happened. I was actually searching Dresslily and swimsuitsforall.com for all for swimwear this summer. Adnaloy came by and we gossiped for about an hour or so. It was good catching up. If you remember, she is my neighbor and the first friend I made here. I was telling her that it’s so crazy how we didn’t really get to see each other during the day at work. Another highlight was my old boss texted me a picture of my business card he found in his office. I had so many business cards and didn’t know what to do with them. So Megan and I hid them all over his office. It’s like the gift that keeps giving!

Wednesday May 15th

Nothing exciting to report.

Thursday May 16th

I told myself that I would finish “Becoming” this week and that’s just what I did today. Such an inspiring book! Regardless of your political affiliation, race, and other variables it’s a great read for women around the world. Without giving too much away, my biggest take away from the book was her discussion about the “swerve” in life. You must read it to understand and identify your swerves.

The second exciting thing is I requested to be the chaperone for a trip to Croatia, which is half service, half tourism for 6th and 7th grade. I was asked to be the trip coordinator! This is exciting for me! I love doing things like this, especially with students. I am sure that my experience coordinating the Jr. High field trip at my previous school will come in handy.

Finally, I am all packed for my weekend getaway. When I booked this ticket I thought I might need a trip to break up Ramadan. So, watch my instagram or Facebook to see where I check into next.