Happy 5th Birthday!

I cannot believe it is New Years Eve already. This year feels as if it has flown past - in fact - the past 5 years feels as if they were just yesterday...

That is because 5 years ago today, my niece, Carly, was born. I was beyond thrilled to be an Aunt. She was precious then and she still is today, but she definitely interacts with you a lot more now than she did 5 years ago! LOL! I remember that a few weeks after Carly was born I took vacation time to spend a week helping my sister and getting to know my new niece. On the last day there I was sitting in Carly's room rocking her while she was sleeping and I sat there crying because I didn't want to leave her. My sister walked in and asked what was wrong and I told her that I wanted to take Carly with me - she could have another baby. Needless to say, *that* didn't go over well. :-)

Now, Carly is 5 years old. She loves everything Princess. Her favorite color is pink. (She also likes purple.) She enjoys playing make-believe. She likes chicken nuggets, spagetti (without any sauce), and chips. She is so much fun and I love her even more today than I did 5 years ago... and I definitely didn't think that would be possible!

Happy Birthday Carly!

And, to everyone else, Happy New Year! I hope you have a great and safe evening tonight.

Fun with Carly and Cole

I *know* this is a blog about school stuff, but since this is our winter break and I like sharing glimpses of my "real" life with you I decided to share a few more pictures of the fun I had with my niece and nephew.
Today it stopped raining so Carly and Cole were able to have some fun outside with more of the gifts from "Aunt Bri." Carly was excited to try out her new ice skates and she did OK - just a few falls and lots of laughter. She definitely preferred to have someone holding her hand while she skated, but she said she was going to practice practice practice. When she opened the roller skates she said, "Just what I always wanted." It was too cute.

Poor Cole... when Carly was little and Aunt Bri bought her a "bike" I was crazy
enough to try to put it together myself for her. (So not a good idea! Ask anyone who was around when I *tried* for an hour to hang the shelf that is in my office!) But, being the loving aunt I was willing to look beyond my lacking in handy-man type skills and suffer through. Now, Cole, the 2nd child, who is still VERY much loved gets laughter from me at the thought of putting together a bike and, as a result, received his bike in a box... for his VERY handy dad to put together before he could play with it. What would have likely taken me days to assemble his dad had together in no time. (Thankfully!) Cole liked the idea of the tricycle - and he liked having someone push him around on it, but he was too small to actually reach the pedals. (Although, his handyman dad who Carly will quickly tell you can fix anything, came to the rescue and added blocks of wood to the pedals so that he will be able to ride on his own.)

It was fun playing with the kids and I was sad to leave them. I had a great time with my sister too - her husband took kid duty last night and she and I went out to a movie... we saw "PS I Love You" - let me just tell you - SAD movie!!! Somehow I missed that detail in the previews and did NOT expect to cry through the entire movie. So while my fun times in Kentucky are now over it was great while it lasted. I hope you have also been enjoying your break. I can't wait to see all of you again at school (I can't believe we go back next week already!) and hear about your fun stories too. Enjoy your last few days of freedom! :-)

Holiday Happiness

My holiday really felt like it started on December 26th when I traveled to Kentucky
to spend a few days with my sister's family. As anyone who has stepped foot into my office surely knows, I adore my niece, Carly, and my nephew, Cole. So, coming down to share in some of their Christmas excitement was better than I can put into words. Santa came to see the kids and they were happy to show me their new toys so that we could play together. They also liked some of the gifts from "Aunt Bri." One of the gifts I brought Carly was a dress that had a matching dress for her babydoll. She thought she should be in a magazine - The internet is the closest that I can do for her.

I also bought them each hooded towels like animals and Cole loves his bath time along with brushing his teeth so hanging out in his dog towel was a hit. I hope you had happiness in the simple moments of being together with your families. Sadly, I return to Columbus tomorrow, but I am thankful for the time I was able to spend in Kentucky.

Financial Aid

Save the Date! On Tuesday, January 8th at 7:00pm there will be a presentation about financial aid and filling out the FAFSA form in Room 207 at WKHS. (FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid.) Most students will need to fill out the FAFSA form and it is essential to meet the deadlines established by your colleges of choice to determine what amount of aid they can offer. (Many deadlines will be February 15th.) So this is definitely not something you can put off once we hit the first of the year. There are some people who will automatically assume that they do not qualify for financial aid and it is important not to make assumptions and to read the fine print from the colleges carefully as there are some colleges that won't offer any financial packages (including merit scholarships) without having a FAFSA on file. Specific questions about each college's requirements and deadlines should be addressed to the financial aid offices at each respective college.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! I know that everyone does not celebrate Christmas, but either way, I hope that you have a wonderful day today surrounded by the people who mean the most in your life. Be thankful for all that you have received and find joy in giving to others. I have so much to be grateful for this year - my family, friends, and the students with whom I work each day. Thanks for being a special part of my life. I hope you have a relaxing and memorable Christmas!

Winter Break

I don't know about you, but I am relieved that we have reached winter break. I do find it a bit scary that we are nearly 1/2 way through the school year though. Does it seem to be flying past for you too? I hope you have plans to relax and enjoy the upcoming days off. I am nearly finished with my shopping (thank goodness because I hate to shop!), but have not started wrapping gifts or writing Christmas cards yet. (Guess you know what I will be doing tomorrow...) :-) Friday ended up being a little bit crazy for me so I didn't get to wish you all the best for the holidays. I hope you enjoy it with your family and are safe throughout the break.

Also, FYI - I will blog several times over the holidays, but probably not every day - as this is a vacation for me too. :-) Looking forward to hearing all about your holiday fun after we get back to school. Again, have a great break!

College Life Panel

Today at school the seniors had the opportunity to listen to a panel of current college freshman who graduated from WKHS last year talk about what life at college. Five students returned to share their insights - Matt Roy from OSU, Danielle Miller from Ashland, Kevin Patterson from OU, John Coleman from University of Miami (FL), and Michaela Minichello from the University of Dayton. Clearly they had different sizes of schools in different areas and had unique experiences to kick off their college years.

John was the only one of "my" former students, but I was thankful that each of them volunteered their time to talk with the seniors. I have had several opportunities to talk to (or e-mail with) many of my past students to hear about college life and each time I have the chance to hear more about their transition to college I always feel it is beneficial. As a result I was glad that the seniors are given the opportunity to have a little time out of class to benefit from their insights as well. I'd guess that my favorite pieces of advice were to keep your door open when in your room as it is a great way to start meeting other people, go to class, and reach out to your professors for extra help.

I also appreciated Alex DiBartola and Jon Roullard (Senior Class President and Vice-
President) serving as hosts and asking questions of the panel participants. They did a great job... and because Alex guilted Jon into dressing up and then didn't dress up after all I have to compliment Jon for looking so nice. Thanks Alex and Jon - I really appreciated your help in pulling off today's assembly!