Underestimated

That is the word of the day.

"to estimate at too low of value, rate, or the like"

"to make an estimate lower than that which would be correct"

"an estimate that is too low"

synonym: undervalue, underrate, misjudge, miscalculate

Example: Teachers are often underestimated by their administrators, and are often not trusted to make educated judgments. 

If you're interested...

As part of my job, I have to keep a blog for parents & students. So, here's the link in case you are interested in seeing what cool things the MCSD's G/T department is doing:

www.mrssteelesclass.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday Case!

 We went to Case's favorite restaurant for his birthday supper. Mighty kids meal!

The crown on Case's head was there ALL DAY long! Mrs. Wolf, his Pre-K teacher, provides a crown for all birthday students.

Case is learning to read. I have been working on am, at, an, ad phonics. So, as you can see, he remembered some of the words we have read: dam, mad.  Kinda funny! :)

New Job

Well, I am officially a Muscatine School District employee...again!

Last spring, I was beginning to think in the next two years, I will need to find a job. We have three college-bound kids in a few years! :) So, ideally, when Case begins kindergarten.

However, an opportunity arose in April that a former co-worker urged me to apply for. Not one, but TWO elementary Talented & Gifted teaching jobs opened. One teacher was retiring and the other wanted a change of scenery and transferred to a 5th grade classroom.

I thought I was DONE with teaching, so I had let my license expire. *oops*

In the back on my mind, I had always thought, "the ONLY way I would EVER go back into education is if I had the opportunity to be a TAG teacher (aka GT specialist)."

So, I went up against a dozen other applicants, had an interview a couple weeks ago, and was offered the job. I asked for a few days to think before signing a contract, during which time I was able to arrange childcare and preschool enrollment, as well as really consider what I would be doing in going to work full time.

I made an appointment to sign my contract and "go over the terms" with the HR manager. I came to the meeting fully prepared to negotiate. Thankfully, I didn't have to! He started me out two years past where I thought I should be and gave me credit for the 46 hours past my BA. So, I am getting a much better salary than I thought!

My license is in the process of renewal, I took two short online classes to speed the process, and I have a year to show that I will take classes to complete the process.

Now, I need to earn my TAG endorsement, which I will be doing online through Morningside College. It is 12 credits, but all I need is 6 credits beyond that to earn a Master's! So...yep, gonna start my Master's program September 12th. One class per semester, two in the summer, one class fall 2013, one spring 2014 and I'll have a MA.

So...here I am, typing on my new school issued MacBook Air (!), feeling slightly overwhelmed, but also very excited to meet my new students! I will be at two schools, Mulberry and McKinley.

...and the ride begins!

Some friends invited us to spend an "Adults Only" weekend with them & other couples at the Lake of the Ozarks. We had a blast. It was super hot, but they had an awesome boat and there were 12 of us who enjoyed the lake and tubing. I found out I get kinda seasick, though. Dramamine helped quite a bit, though. So...I wonder if a cruise is in my future or not?

Happy Birthday Tennis Friends

My tennis friends get together every month to celebrate birthdays, and this month we celebrated Linda Stone, me, and Sandy Hayes. Linda Stone made the cakes and they were gooood. I am requesting her recipes!

Fifty-Five!

Brooke made quite the cake in celebration of Oscar & Wynne's 55th Anniversary.