High-Stakes Testing Guidelines in the Event of Severe Weather

This was shared with me at school today. I do not know the origin of this, but if you came up with it, I will gladly give you credit.

Testing Guidelines in the Event of Severe Weather

1) Please do not look out the window to watch for approaching tornadoes. You must monitor the students at all times. To do otherwise would be a testing irregularity and must be reported.

2) Should students notice an approaching tornado and begin to cry, please make every effort to protect their testing materials from the flow of tears and sinus drainage.

3) Should a flying object come through your window during testing, please make every effort to ensure that it does not land on a testing booklet or an answer sheet. Please make sure to soften the landing of the flying object so that it will not disturb the students while testing.

4) Should shards of glass from a broken window come flying into the room, have the students use their bodies to shield their testing materials so that they will not be damaged. Have plenty of gauze on hand to ensure that no one accidentally bleeds on the answer documents. Damaged answer sheets will not scan properly.

5) Should gale force winds ensue, please have everyone stuff their test booklets and answer sheets into their shirts being very careful not to bend them because bent answer documents will not scan properly.

6) If any student gets sucked into the vortex of the funnel cloud, please make sure they mark at least one answer before departing and of course make sure theGuidelines for Testing in the Event of Severe Weather

7) Should a funnel cloud pick you, the test administrator, up and take you flying over the rainbow, you will still be required to account for all of your testing materials when you land, so please take extra precautions. Remember, once you have checked them out, they should never leave your hands.

8) When rescue workers arrive to dig you out of the rubble, please make sure that they do not, at any time, look at or handle the testing materials. Once you have been treated for your injuries, you will still be responsible for checking your materials back in. Search dogs will not be allowed to sift through the rubble for lost tests. Unless of course they have been through standardized test training.

First Asparagus Harvest From Our New Asparagus Bed

I put in an asparagus bed last spring. "The guidelines" state that you are supposed to just let the asparagus go wild the first season, which is exactly what we did.

About a week ago, I noticed that we already had shoots coming up, so I cleaned out the bed.



"The guidelines" state that we can harvest the first shoots from each plant the second season. Here is our first harvest:



We will have some more ready to harvest tomorrow, but we can't wait to eat this so we may have to eat this first harvest tonight.

If all goes well, next spring we can harvest as many shoots as we want. I can't wait until next spring!

A Precious Gift From My Wonderful Students

When I got to school this morning, three of my students were waiting for me at the door of my classroom. They said they needed to talk to me, so I unlocked the door and we entered the classroom. They handed me a container with home-made cupcakes and a card. The card said that their prayer group has been praying for my dad and our whole family while dad is being treated for cancer. They wanted me to know that they appreciate my dedication to them, and that they care about what is going on in our lives.

Needless to say, I was overwhelmed by this wonderful gesture. It took all my strength not to cry in front of them. Their actions are coming at a time when my dad and our family need it most. I just got off the phone with my dad and told him the story, too. Dad is a retired science teacher and elementary principal. These students have given me the most wonderful gift, and they will probably never fully understand how meaningful their actions are to me at this moment in my life. Today was a very, very good day!

When State Standards Invade your Dreams

I had the weirdest dream last night. Teachers had painted their state standards on the walls of the hallways outside their classrooms. In big, red characters. Even stranger, it wasn't the complete text of the standards, or even summaries, but just the numbers and letters from the standards outline (2C, 3B, 5E, etc.). Perhaps the most strange is the fact that I remember this dream is vivid detail.

No stress here!!! Right???

Early TI Calculators

Today, I was frantically searching my closet for something I bought 2 years ago and "put away" in a safe place. I didn't find what I was looking for, but I did find my old TI calculators. I remember when they came out because I was competing in University Interscholastic League's slide rule competition that year. We have come a long way.

Here is my first calculator, the Texas Instrument SR 10:

http://twitpic.com/3kn6sx
Info on the TI SR 10 from vintagecalculators.com

Here are the SR 51A and the SR 51II:

http://twitpic.com/3kn7tm

Now, I need to find that slide rule . . .

Graphing Calculator Poll: Please Contribute

2010 Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks August 11-13

Don't miss the peak of this year's Perseid Meteor Shower! You can find lots of information on this year's shower plus viewing tips at http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/earthskys-meteor-shower-guide .