TALE 2015

Today, my BFFs and I attended and presented at TALE (Texas Association of Literacy Educators). We led a session on Be an Active Reader and a round table session about building a culture of literacy in a school. It is always great meeting authors and talking with fellow educators.

Book signing with Donalyn Miller

 Me doing my part of Be an Active Reader.  

Sorry they aren't clearer.

The Literacy Triad

Book signing with Steven Layne

Our selfie before heading to the Board Meeting and dinner.

Thoughts from a Spinster

1. According to a presentation on Friday (presenter's description of certain women in literary history), I am well on my way to being a spinster.

2. I can't tell you how many times this weekend I've been asked, "Where are you in your program?" (ie Doctoral Program) Um . . . finished 6.5 years ago. How young do I look? Note: Just last month, I was asked if I've retired.

3. Just because someone attends a research conference doesn't mean they must be in Higher Ed. Some folks enjoy working within school districts at various levels. No need to look down upon us or feel sorry for us or assume we don't have our Doctorates yet. The comments/questions weren't so bad, but the facial expressions and body language that went along with it were pretty brutal. 

4. Learning is fun and allows us to gain so many new ideas. I have a few ideas to share with everyone for vocabulary and other literacy strategies, with our History Dept. on making History more engaging, with our Creative Writing teacher, with our Spanish teacher, and with our Science Coordinator for our 1 to 1 iPad initiative. I have a few ideas for my own research too.

5. I'm a great timekeeper for presenters during their presentations. However, they must pay attention to me in order to stay on time. 

6. There is no Shepherd's Pie like the Shepherd's Pie served/eaten in an authentic London Pub. MMMmmmmm, good! Blue Anchor Pub is delicious!

7. My niece and nephew are so creative and had some of the best Halloween costumes ever.  She went as Junie B. Jones to school and a Minion for trick-or-treating. He went as the main character from Maze Runner to school and an old man or old Native American or something while trick-or-treating.

8. It is very hard being away from family on a holiday.

9. Conferences aren't all fun and games. I had to get some work done too, so I knocked out two tests. One more to go. (Nothing like procrastinating.)

ALER October 31-November 2

One of my BFFs, Robin, and I went to Delray Beach, Florida October 30th-November 2nd to attend ALER (Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers).  I attended some great sessions, enjoyed presenting with my BFF, and enjoyed seeing the Atlantic Ocean.

Here are a few pics:

 Photo Op at the Airport

 The view of the Atlantic Ocean from our room.

 It wouldn't be a great trip without a little excitement.  Yep!  That is a fire truck at our hotel, which had to be evacuated, and no, we did not hear the alarms to evacuate. We found out and evacuated as the firemen were loading up and everyone was returning.

 I'm almost always working. Just kidding!  We were resting.

Our Selfie on November 1st

My feet in the Atlantic Ocean!

 The Atlantic Ocean

Checking out the beach again before we left.

Our gift to our other BBF, Jill, who couldn't attend.

For some reason, I don't have any pics of our presentation.  Oh, well!

NTCTELA Conference Today!

I attended my first North Texas Council of Texas of English Language Arts (NTCTELA) today.  It was AWESOME!  Matt de la Pena was the Keynote Speaker, then I heard Donalyn Miller and Teri Lesesne, and finally I ended the day in a writing workshop with Matt de la Pena.  It was a great day of learning!

Busy November & a Science Conference

The last two weeks have been quite busy.  The weekend after Halloween was slow and restful, but then it got busy.

I spent the evening of November 5th through the afternoon of November 9th about 4 hours south of my home at a state Science conference.  I was blessed to hang out with some great people, learn a lot, get a little exercise, and enjoy a little time away. We were really busy, but it was also relaxing and a really wonderful time.

While at the conference, I had the opportunity to hear Adam Steltzner. He was great! He played Bass in a Rock Band at 21 and was a Rocket Scientist at 30.  Amazing story on how he became interested in Science and started on his path toward NASA.  When he finished speaking, I still wanted to know more.

Adam Steltzner

"Adam Steltzner, the lead mechanical engineer for the crucial entry, descent and landing events when the rovers reach Mars, agrees. On top of being an award-winning teaching fellow at the University of Wisconsin, Adam was also in a rock band. And he loves his job at NASA.

"'It's certainly been the high point of my career. . . working on this essential phase of the mission," he said. "It's been an absolutely incredible experience, very gratifying.'"  Retrieved from http://marsrover.nasa.gov/spotlight/marsapalooza02.html on November 16, 2013.

Literacy Conference

My 2 BFFs and I submitted a proposal to a state literacy conference. (Actually, they did all the work, and I got to be included.) One friend had to back out due to a work commitment that came up, but my other friend and I headed to the host city on Friday night to attend and present at the conference on Saturday.

We presented my friend's dissertation study has a round table discussion during the first breakout session.  She did a great job, and I supported her all along the way.  I enjoyed participating in the conversation that occurred.

During the rest of the conference, I attended a session on Vocabulary/assisting ELLs and a session on Voice/using & writing poetry.  I learned some new ideas and will be sharing them this week at work.

I will organize my thoughts and present the information with a group of teachers this year.