Day 39: It's Escaping!

After a nice long walk to get fresh air and catch a bunch of Pokemon yesterday, I'm feeling a bit better.  I'm still tired and was up, for some stupid reason, at 3 am.

In spite of the lack of sleep, I was feeling more engaged in my classes today.  In Math 7, we began talking about rational numbers and I'm VERY excited to talk to them about the area model of fraction operation.

I'm a pretty big fan of physical representations of abstract concepts, which is probably why I think, speak and teach through analogy.

In Pre-Algebra, since we are starting to talk about transformations, we used mirrors to examine what it looked like to reflect a point across the x- and y-axes.  I even build a small GeoGebra applet for quick and easy examination of the concept.

The Integrated Math class is really what has my attention at the moment.  This Greenhouse project is MUCH bigger than I had originally planned.  We have permission from the principal to build the thing and we scoped out a location.

I called the local borough office to find out what permits we would need to obtain.  I spoke with the shop teacher about the logistics of what we would be able to do in-house and what we would have to outsource.  He talked to me a bit about material selection and planning since he has a fairly large greenhouse of his own.  I asked if he would come and speak with my students at some point soon to talk about planning.

I went and spoke with the director of food services for our cafeteria.  The previous director had actually started the process of getting a grant to build a greenhouse, but never completed it.  The new director told me that she would help look into the requirements that need to be met if we want what we grow to be served in the cafeteria.

Things I need to do (A non-comprehensive list):

Look into fundraising from local businesses
Obtain necessary permits
Set up a time with the computer teacher to get a CAD tutorial for my students
Ask local gardening center to come speak to them/organize field trip to local garden center


The more people in the district that I tell about this project, the more excitement is growing. I'm really fascinated to see how this turns out.



On a totally separate note, the superintendent sent an email to the faculty today advertising EdCampPGH and encouraging everyone to go.  When I wrote back and told her that I have been involved in organizing it for the last 3 years, she asked me to organize one for the district.

While it is not without challenges, I'm so happy in this district.