Last Day of School
I recently finished my tenth year as a classroom teacher. As always, in preparation for summer maintenance and cleaning, I packed up most of my classroom materials and organized paperwork and activities from the previous year. This year is a little different; however, because I will not return to my classroom at the beginning of the school year. In fact, when my colleagues return to North Quincy High School (NQHS) on September 7, 2016, I will be approximately 6,500 miles away aboard the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer ready to drop lines and head towards the Southern Ocean and the Western Antarctic Peninsula. To make sure that the transition to the school year is successful, I tried to think ahead and prepare as much as possible for the coming year. Cabinets are labeled, weekly lesson summaries are complete and numerous binders are prepared so that the long-term substitute teacher can ease into the hustle and bustle of a new school year, new classroom and new students without much trouble. It will be a very different start to the school year, but one I am sure will be worth all of the preparation.
The To-Do List Never Ends
My self-generated to-do list continues to grow as my departure date approaches. Just to give you a sense of my summer vacation plans...here are some of my items (all in various states of completion and in no particular order):
- Physical Qualification (PQ) Forms (just waiting for clearance notification - yeah)
- US Antarctic Program Deployment Paperwork
- Media contacts and press-release submissions
- Outreach program development
- PolarTREC paperwork (goals, project ideas, curriculum ideas, etc.)
- Uploading music, movies and books (hey - it's not all work, work, work)
- Meet with the research team from URI, Old Dominion and U of South Florida in July
- Pull out all of my wool/thermal winter gear (this one is very important)
- Curriculum development (so many ideas in my head)
- Visit family and friends
- Prepare house for a 7-8 week absence (anyone want to cut the grass at my place?)
- Take care of bills/utilities (no Internet on the ship, folks)
- Meet with long-term substitute to finalize plans for the school year
- Participate in a few PolarConnect events (Why not join me - the next PolarConnect event is scheduled for July 7th @ 5:00 EDT with fellow PolarTREC teacher DJ Kast)
The list goes on and on, but I think you get the idea. Regardless of the how long or how detailed the list, there is definitely a lot to do in preparation for my trip.
Not Just Physically Prepared
I have been overwhelmed by the well wishes and support of the school administration, local community members, students' parents and my friends and family. The biggest support in recent weeks has come from my fellow teachers at North Quincy High School, and (of course) my wonderful students. The number of teachers and students that stopped by my room to wish me luck and say goodbye has been overwhelming. I am so thankful for all of the well wishes and hope that the excitement and anticipation that I have felt from everyone in the school will carry over during my trip in the fall. The conversations regarding curriculum ideas, the questions about Antarctica, the questions about diatoms and research goals and the general support are an important part of my mental preparation. Thank you for following my journey - I look forward to sharing this experience with you all and I hope that you will share your questions and comments with me throughout the trip. Feel free to practice - add a comment about this journal update or any of my previous journals - I look forward to our conversations!
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