*sigh*
I am dismayed by the fact that I have not heard from said school district. I believed that, if I were being called back for round 2 (which I assume will take place this week), I would have received a call yesterday. I didn’t expect to hear from them last week, what with Christmas and all…
wah.
Here’s a quick summary of my interview this morning…
They had asked me to come in early because they had something they wanted me to prepare. when I got to the office, the secretary handed me a slip of paper that said “think about a ‘hook’ you would use to to teach Romeo and Juliet. be ready to explain this hook during your interview.”
A happy coincidence, in that both lessons I included in the mini-portfolios I prepared to hand to the interview team (there were six of them) involved Romeo and Juliet. yay! 🙂 I took one of them, a very general “intro” lesson involving some internet work, and expanded it into a class discussion on love etc, involving some discussion of how the theme is used in popular culture (music, TV, movies).
Another question allowed me to use my “Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” lesson incorporating the Jackdaw song as an example. I got to talk about studying acting and participating in community theater.
But the most important thing, I think, is that I really felt a connection with the interview team. You know how sometimes, you just feel a positive vibe in the room, and sometimes you don’t? And that vibe, that energy, doesn’t seem to be about anything you specifically do or say…it just is. Well, it was today. And it felt very positive.
The team is finishing up their part today. They will make recommendations to the assistant superintendent who will bring some people in for another round. They plan to have the final decision made “very early” in January.
I didn’t think to ask how many people they were interviewing today. There are two positions.
Keep your fingers crossed for me! 🙂
Last week, I read about a long-term sub position in a school district where I’d recently interviewed. I thought the ad was for the same position for which I’d already applied.
I called the district’s HR secretary, who checked to see if my application was on file. It was not. Grr…I downloaded a new one, filled it out, and hand delivered it to the district office on Tuesday. (and kept a copy this time. I’m learning…)
Last night, I got a call from the head of the interviewing committee. They’re interviewing me on Tuesday. Yay!
I also learned that it is *not* the same position. The other interview was at School District East. This one is at School District West. (Most of the larger districts around here have two high schools, usually called “East” and “West.” Except for the one that’s “North” and “South.” They just had to be different, I guess.)
Keep sending those positive vibes my way…I’m gonna need ’em… 🙂
Mmmm…nothing beats a fresh bagel and a cup of hot chocolate at Timmy Ho’s. 🙂
I hear that season 1 of Arrested Development is out on DVD, and that the regrettably too-short run of Wonderfalls is due out soon…hmmm…way too many TV shows to own!
R has gotten me completely hooked on red apple Jelly Bellys. I can’t stop eating them.
My roommie’s peanut butter blossoms are simply divine. No joke. (that would be the new batch. the original batch wasn’t bad, but these are heavenly!)
Warm Vanilla Sugar products from Bath and Body Works. (I am also intrigued by this new Black Rasberry Vanilla scent…will have to check that one out…)
New people commenting on/linking to my blog…anyone I haven’t thanked personally, consider yourself thanked. 😉
Being encouraged to write by smart, talented people who like my writing.
Fun packages from fun friends. 🙂
One of my not-so-favorite things? Being rejected by potential employers, even for jobs I didn’t *really* want. (at what point do I start taking the rejection personally? Blaaaaaaaaah)
In a much better mood today, thanks. 🙂
Sometimes, dating and romance can be so hard and confusing and uncertain…big questions, serious talks. Blah blah blah…
I met R’s parents last night. We had dinner with them at Caffe Aroma in Williamsville (I’d eaten there once before). We had a slightly pretentious but friendly waiter, and all of the food was delicious. (I had this bowl of outstanding soup…a lemony-chicken broth with little homemade noodles. Yum!) R’s parents were fun and interesting and very, very sweet.
I taped Lost (so don’t tell me!), but I watched The West Wing. Still feeling pleased with the way this season is going. The characters are very much behaving (and talking) like themselves again. Good job, writing team.
Finished season 1 of Six Feet Under this past weekend, and am two episodes into season 2. I’m loving the show more and more. The writing is outstanding, and the performances are brilliant. Even the secondary characters (Keith, Gabe, Billy…) are brilliant. (I always *knew* I would like this show, by the way…I just have to thank R for giving me access to the DVDs. 😉 )
My class is winding down. Strange, isn’t it? Today is our last *actual* class, because I have individual conferences scheduled with them next week. Their final portfolios are due when we meet on the 14th, and then we’re done…I will be teaching again next semenster (phew!), but I’m not sure what yet…on the one hand, it would be nice to teach 101 again. I have a lot of the “homework” done, I’d be able to iron out little details of things I’d like to do differently, but it would also be exciting to teach 102, the intro literature course. We’ll see…I imagine it’ll come down to where their needs are. I should probably know next week.
As much as I don’t want to, I should be getting some work done…
OH! And one more thing…my word count for November ended up at 18,146. My goal is now to keep up a similar pace, and finish the darn thing. And then do more things. 🙂
There is a long-term sub position in English starting Dec. 20 in the school district that I used to cover for the News. I’ve contacted the HR guy personally. Please, please, please send me all the positive thoughts/prayers/whatever you possibly can. Say a chant, light a candle, dance naked in the moonlight… 😉
Also, as NaNoWriMo draws to a close, I want to say thank you again to all those who have offered me encouragement and support. I did shockingly little writing over the Thanksgiving weekend, which means I’m not quite going to reach that personal goal of 25K, but I’m still not quitting. Help me keep at it. Bug me about writing. Those (few) of you who are reading, keep asking me for more. I WILL finish this.
And as for the NaNo thing, there’s always next year… 😉
Even though I felt it coming, I was still disappointed to receive a rejection letter from the rural school district.
*sigh*
I had my interview at the rural high school this morning.
I think it went very well.
This was just round 1; they’ll be doing callbacks for a second round of committee interviews, then bringing finalists back to be observed teaching a lesson.
BUT this is for an actual *job*. Not a long-term sub position. Someone is retiring.
And it sounds fabulous. Some sections of sophomore English, one section of juniors, and two senior electives. One of them being…CREATIVE WRITING!
I know. Too good to be true, right?
I got along quite well with the principal. The interview went about 40 minutes, and he said that he hoped to be seeing me next week for the second round. I said, “Well, I hope so, too.” (big smile)
Before I left, I popped in to the superintendent’s office to introduce myself. We talked for a few minutes about some of my old teachers, people that he knew. Small world, indeed.
Don’t want to get my hopes up too high yet, but I felt really, really good when I left.
God, I’m busy today. And wasting far too much time. 😛
Here’s what’s news…
Signed up for NaNoWriMo. Yep, I’ve committed. Eep! I’m going to have to put myself on a schedule, I think. I should also get practicing. Start doing some of those daily writing prompts over at TC.
Didn’t get the community relations job with the school district. I was more excited about it in theory…after all, what I really want is to be teaching. I actually had a moment of panic as I was calling the guy back, wondering what I would do if it was offered to me.
Haven’t heard yet about Monday’s interview. Still hopeful.
Have another interview scheduled for Friday morning. This is the one with the rural district where the guy from my hometown is superintendent.
Whee!
I got a rejection letter for the aide position that I didn’t want anyway. See? Moot. 🙂 (Incidentally, after talking to a couple of people in the field, I’ve determined that a paraprofessional position would be a good idea IF it was in a district where I’d like to get my foot in the door. This position? Not my ideal work environment anyway, so probably not where I’d want to be working.)
I have an interview this afternoon for a high school long-term sub position. Wish me luck!
The community college where I’m now teaching is advertising for a full-time job starting in January. Hmmm…
Back when I was deciding to go back to school, I had been thinking that teaching at the college level was my ultimate goal. However, I knew that this would probably mean pursuing a doctorate at some point, which I am not quite prepared to do. Then I discovered that I do actually *like* teaching high school.
This is to say that I’m at something of a crossroads right now. I could go either way. I feel fairly confident that I would be happy in either position, so if this opportunity in higher ed were to present itself to me, I would pursue it…I’ve always thought it was something I might want to do “someday” anyway.
I’m feeling very confident about interviews in general lately. I used to take rejections personally, but more experience has changed that. I realize now that a rejection doesn’t mean that I was bad, or that I performed poorly in the interview. More likely that they found someone who was, for whatever reason, a better fit for the position. I came out of two interviews last week feeling good…and so I know that if I don’t get hired, it wasn’t because they didn’t like me. Let’s hope this positive attitude stays with me!