ancora imparo

Life is good.

My old house is being bought by the neighbor. We’re closing on it November 10th. We can rent from him until our new house is finished.
Our new house is coming along. This week, the electricians and the masons were there. The equipment is there for them to begin work on the sand mound. Siding was delivered.
The kids are healthy and happy. My husband loves and supports me. He even gives me back and foot rubs.
Work is going well. I definitely have days when I’m feeling overwhelmed. There are a lot of misunderstandings about what the library is and is not. There’s a lot of work to be done, both advocacy-wise and administratively. I’ve been working my way through the weeding of fiction. It’s a slow job, but it’s rewarding to see mostly empty shelves that have books that might actually be read, instead of shelves filled with books that haven’t been checked out in more than 10 years.

I’m getting a lot of positive feedback from both teachers and administrators about the work that I’m doing. They seem to appreciate the little things I do (like adding links to the library homepage to make research easier). Some are beginning to ask me to do some instruction with their students. This is always a challenge in a new school—especially one where the library program has languished for a while. They’re in the habit of making due and bypassing the library because it’s easier.

I went to ask a question of my principal today and he not only gave me the answer that makes sense, but he asked me about how things are going, complimented the work I’m doing and asked about the house we’re building and how my family is. This is a man in charge of 150 teachers and 1850 kids. He impresses me with his willingness to take the time to ask about not only work but about personal things.

I was recruited by my supervising principal (an assistant principal) to be the advisor for National Honor Society. He suggested me to the principal. Tuesday, when the principal talked to me about it, he started out by saying, “I’m very pleased with your performance and what you’re doing in the library. I’m going to submit your name to the Board for approval but I’m concerned about you becoming overwhelmed by too many things.” I told him that sponsoring a club enables me to connect with kids in a way that is not possible for me as a classroom teacher and that those connections are important to me. I also assured him that if I found myself needing assistance I would let someone know.

I’m very fortunate to be working in a building where I feel appreciated, respected, and valued as an employee and as someone who has a life outside of their job. I’ve worked in six buildings in four school districts. That hasn’t been my experience everywhere. This is an exciting shift for me: I graduated from this school 21 years ago. I am moving my family into the district. I’m invested in the community and the school. This job makes me feel that those have been good decisions.
Life is good!