My Crazy Summer!

I don't have a lot of time right now, but I do want to let everyone know that I found out which school I'll be teaching at! It's called Jordan Ridge Elementary, in South Jordan Utah. There are about 950 students enrolled there every year, and it is a year-round school, which means I will begin teaching in July, teach for about 9 weeks and then have 3 weeks off. Should be amazing for planning purposes and for much needed breaks, especially as a first-year teacher. You can check out pictures and school stats at these links: http://www.jordandistrict.org/schools/elementary/jordanridge/index.htm
http://web.jordan.k12.ut.us/JRidge/

The first one is the districts description of the school, and the second is the schools home page. I hope you have as much fun checking it out as I did!

Also, I got my assignments for being a sports and dance camps counselor this summer. I will be a counselor for all 4 weeks in July. Let me give you a little background on my summer schedule so this actually means something to you. First, I will finish up with my current classes on April 25th, and move to Campus Plaza on the 26th. Then I will have Friday of that week off, and the weekend. Then, because I am a "fast track" student for ELED (meaning I'm cramming all the rest of my classes into spring and summer terms so I can teach this fall), I get to start class the day before everyone else's spring term starts. Then on Tuesday we will begin practicum again, hopefully at the school and in the grade that I am assigned to teach, so I can get to know everyone and the system at the school. I will spend the rest of May in practicum, then I will finish my spring classes at the end of June. I get a couple days break, and then I will start my summer term classes which they have squished from a two-month period of time into just one month (probably for crazy people like me who are doing year round school :)). So, during the month of July I will be going to class, setting up my classroom, going to district training meetings, and working summer camp in the evenings. Then the final stretch will be the crowning glory. Along with all of this, and during my last week of being a camp counselor, I begin actually teaching school about two days before finals. Talk about stretching. Luckily, I sort of enjoy the thrill of packing so many things in at once, but it's a different story when I'm actually in the middle of it, sleep-deprived, and with no end in sight :) But it's all part of the college deal, in my opinion. I swear this place is just swarming with a bunch of twenty-somethings who are working way harder than they should, lacking sleep and living off of sugar rushes and adrenaline. But you just get through it, and that's all you can ask for :). And then you look back when you're old and think about how great it all was, and how you miss those days. Funny how we humans work, eh?

One more thing. After I finish my summer term finals, and I'm done doing summer camp, I will have the entire month of August with nowhere to live while I am working up in Jordan. I figured paying for housing when I'm not even living in it wasn't exactly my cup of tea (I'll be living in the dorms with my girls during camps), so I decided I'd stay at friends houses in the area on the weekends when I'm not doing camps. Which again leaves the problem of August. Here is the latest solution. One of my current roommates, Rachel, is going to live with her parents in Salt Lake for the summer, and they have an extra room and kitchen in the downstairs of their gorgeous house in the mountains east of Salt Lake (we're talking view that overlooks the lights of southern Salt Lake City here). She offered that I come to stay with her for the month of August, which would be perfect especially because it would only take me about 20 min. to get to my school from her house, as opposed to 40 from Provo. I told her I'd think about it, and went up to her house for Easter dinner today and met her family, etc. They were all super nice, and absolutely hilarious, so it's looking pretty good that that is where I will end up. I love that I am going to be moving all over the place this summer! First here, then to random peoples houses for weekends, the dorms, then Salt Lake, then back here again. I love that feeling of being versatile, and transient. Plus I can get to really know lots of people. That is such a thrill for me. It's going to be a good time. I can feel it.