Ever since Haley started Kindergarten, we’ve had cherry turnovers for first day of school breakfast and ceremoniously displayed our back-to-school bus in a place of honor on the dining room table.
This has by far been the weirdest back-to-school start that I can recall. Shout out to all of my students and teacher friends who are absolute troopers as they try and navigate and make sense of what life at school looks like in the midst of an ongoing pandemic.
My heart truly goes out to everyone in the overcrowded hallways and stuffy classrooms trying to keep masks on faces while also teaching and learning.
Kids in Portland are sitting outside in neighborhood parks for lunch which is working great for now, but what is that going to look like when it starts getting cold, or the inevitable Oregon rainy season starts?
My students are all over the place with how they’re feeling about going back to school. For most, it’s a mixture of nerves and excitement with a large dollop of “it’s weird.” And I feel you!
At the Garden Shed, I just put out a broadcast email to all of my families updating everyone on my COVID policy. Which is basically “I’d love to see you in person if you are vaccinated and you also feel safe doing so.” What a weird set of conversations we’re having as we continue navigating best practices in light of the Delta variant that is wreaking havoc on Oregon.
My neighbor and nurse friend who is normally scrubbing in for ortho surgeries has been pulled up to the ICU at OHSU to step in for exhausted colleagues, and all elective surgery has been suspended. And a long-time high school friend who chose not to get vaccinated just died due to COVID complications and it’s just heartbreaking and so hard to believe. I am a FIRM believer in the vaccination and implore you to get yours!
I digress to a lighter topic—my old school “teacher” planner.
Handwritten with heavy use of liquid white-out and numerous highlighter colors to indicate different kinds of meetings or events. For whatever reason, I just can’t seem to process an online calendar and continue to stick to this tried and true method of staying organized.
Having been an educator for so long. My hubby had to remind me that the year does not start on Sept. 1st, but I’m not convinced.
I love to see how differently my students approach the process of finding their fit, choosing their colleges, and tackling the application process. I have seen everything from color-coded spreadsheets to one student who literally pulled out a deck of cards and played solitaire to “pass the time” at a recent application camp (a first for me!).
Whatever the approach, a reminder that you do need to have a process and a plan as well as remembering that this is supposed to be fun!
Seniors you are on the home stretch finishing up supplement essays, dialing in letters of recc, and working on your demonstrated interest/connectivity plan. Click here for last September’s blog post with info. on the upcoming FAFSA and CSS Profile that need to be on your list for October.
Juniors I have been LOVING our conversations as you complete the Majors Highlight activity, Narrative Interview, Career Inventory, and Card Sort activity!
I am blessed to have so many great word-of-mouth referrals and my junior class is almost full! So we are all going to have this luxury of time all during junior year to look at interests, what’s out there, find your fit, and build your balanced list of schools.
Freshmen and Sophomores, these early years are a great time for you to start doing some campus walks and building your familiarity with colleges, programs, careers, and trying on different activities and paths both in and out of school. Engage fully in your classes, challenge yourself to add some rigor, join a club, do some volunteering, and go on a job shadow or two. Any exploring you do now helps to build your knowledge base and discover your interests and passions.
As I was working from my friend Bridget’s house last week and visiting with her two new kittens Jinx and Max (or let’s be honest, I was “trying” to work as the kitties were pretty sure that my keyboard was their personal play ground), I was reminded of the importance of taking time to seek out and enjoy simple pleasures. I will leave you with some kitty therapy to brighten your day…
