Play is over!

Well, the play is over. Finally. This year we did 12 Angry Jurors, and I was very proud of my kids. They did a fantastic job! Now - on to speech season!

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's Day. I didn't really think today would hit me so hard. Dad would always go to the Veteran's Day program at the high school where he got to be recognized. I would call him to ask him how it went and he would usually tell me an Army story. The Army meant a lot to my Dad. As a helicopter mechanic, he had a good time with his buddies while stationed in Korea. I always enjoyed his stories, and he enjoyed telling them. Cael went to school today, and getting dressed, he picked out his clothes all by himself. He picked out his "Land of the Free because of the Brave" shirt with no earthy influence. He had to come show me while I was getting ready, and felt a little stupid crying in the shower. I put on my glasses instead of my contacts just because I knew I would probably cry more. After school, I won't be making my usual phone call. I'll probably call Mom or my sister, but it won't be the same.

Excited

We are really excited to have the SmartBoard. I haven't gotten to play with it yet, but my time is coming! We have to (yikes!) Share!

Article in the Grand Island Independent

Heartland Lutheran receives SMART Board from Hy-Vee Grand Island Hy-Vee store director John Griesenbrock laughs along with teachers at Heartland Lutheran High School Tuesday morning during a SMART Board presentation. The school won the technology through a promotion between Proctor & Gamble and Hy-Vee. (Independent/Scott Kingsley) Click here for our photo reprints By Harold Reutter harold.reutter@theindependent.com Published: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 11:03 PM CST Most of the students at Heartland Lutheran High School raised their hands Tuesday morning when asked if they were familiar with a SMART Board. That put the kids ahead of the teachers, most of whom had never used a SMART Board, which is an interactive white board that is hooked up to a laptop computer. That lack of SMART Board experience should change after Tuesday, when the school was presented with the device by Hy-Vee. Heartland Lutheran Development Director Lloyd Wagnitz said the SMART Board's interactive feature helps draw students into a teacher's classroom lessons. More Local Former wrestler sentenced to probation for selling ecstasy Heartland Lutheran receives SMART Board from Hy-Vee Statewide emergency radio network rolling out despite budget crisis Northwest makes state history with use of electronic polling books Vote Yes group discusses health care reform Robin Keilig, who teaches pre-algebra, computer applications and physical education at Heartland Lutheran, said she got training in using SMART Board technology in the classroom through Educational Service Unit 10 out of Kearney last spring. But she had no idea when she would actually get to put her training to use because the high school did not own a SMART Board. However, Wagnitz heard her talking about the SMART Board and what it could do. As a result, when Heartland Lutheran officials learned that the local Hy-Vee was sponsoring a contest for schools to get a SMART Board, the school quickly jumped in. Schools could earn points for buying a specified amount of Proctor & Gamble products at Hy-Vee, then going to a Web site to show that they had purchased those products to benefit a particular school. "I was going up and down the aisles, buying Proctor & Gamble products," Keilig said. As development director, Wagnitz felt it was his job to get the word out so all Heartland Lutheran parents and supporters would do the same thing. He also made it easy to get the results recorded on behalf of Heartland Lutheran. Wagnitz used the Heartland Lutheran High School Web site to provide a link to the Proctor & Gamble Web site. To even out the competition, Proctor & Gamble divided points by total student enrollment. In that situation, Heartland Lutheran's relatively small enrollment worked in the school's favor in the competition with other Grand Island area schools. Jesse Romero and John Griesenbrock, Hy-Vee store manager, told students at the end of their chapel services on Tuesday that the SMART Board presentation was a reward for what people had done on behalf of Heartland Lutheran. As the staff member who has had training on the SMART Board, Keilig said, she will be responsible for training fellow teachers in how to use the new technology. The school plans to get a stand on wheels to make the SMART Board portable between classrooms. But Keilig knows how much fun the SMART Board can be to use. "If we don't get a stand, we'll just hang it on a wall in my classroom," she joked.

Halloween

Cael decided to be Optimus Prime for Halloween this year. He had outgrown his Yoda costume, so it was time for a change. We went to Ravenna as per tradition and had a great time!

New tub

We have a new tub and shower! Yea! If you would've seen the one that was in our house, you would understand why I'm sooooo happy. We also got the living room painted. It was a horrible combination of light and dark mint green with an ivy border in the middle. yucko. As soon as we painted it, our eyes stopped hurting, and it was definitely calming. Now maybe we can get some bigger furniture in there and start setting it up as a real room! Yea! Baby steps... This is the living room 'before.'

SOLD!

Well, we're moved out. Not quite moved in yet. Right now I'm in the Sleep Inn in GI trying to motivate myself to get going. I've got the last of my teachers' conference this morning, then I can start on my loooong list of things to do. It's been raining and sleeting here for the last couple of days - just so happens that we've been trying to move in it. Yuck. Luckily, we had awesome family and friends to help out. My mom came from Arapahoe, Allen's Mom and step-dad helped, as did our friend Jo. Some of my students even came out last Saturday morning and Wednesday night (with the promise of food, of course). I didn't take pictures of the roofing - I was too busy directing traffic inside. I'll get pictures of our new house soon. Cael is really excited to go get moved in. He told me yesterday that he wanted to go to his new house RIGHT NOW. It was sad leaving the house that Allen and I bought as a starter home, we brought our new-born baby home to, and we have so many wonderful (and not so wonderful - water in the basement) memories of. It's time to start a new chapter in the Blake saga. Come on down everybody! We have plenty of room!