The quadruple bypass snow day

So as it turns out, I left out a type of snow day in my Educator's Reference Guide to Snow Days :
The Quadruple Bypass: When school closes for FOUR whole days in a row!!

It has turned my weekend into a six day weekend! Here's what I've been up to:

Eating

Making cards for my store

Making flower belts (tutorial here!)

Organizing a huge raffle/giveaway to support Amy, a fellow blogger in need. You can get all the details about that upcoming event here. I hope you'll join us!

Have you had a lot of luck with snow days this week? What have you been up to?

an educator's reference guide to snow days

Today marks our second snow day in a row! Our area of Texas got hit with freezing rain/sleet/snow. And the coldest temps in fifteen years! Unfortunately, we have to make up any snow days we take (but I'll just let Future Sarah worry about that!)

In the meantime, enjoy this handy reference guide to snow days:

Snow Days:

Standard Snow Day: You knew it was coming, and it came!

Over-hype Call: There was supposed to be a storm. They panic and call it. Then there's barely any snow.

The Perfect Storm: A huge storm is forecast. You get the call that school will be canceled tomorrow. And it's Thursday night. (Yay THREE day weekends!)

The Double Whammy: Same as The Perfect Storm but with more than one snow day in a row.

The Surprise Party: You had no idea there was any chance of a snow day. You wake up in the morning to a surprise call and get as excited as a kid at Christmas!

The Fun Snow Day: School is canceled due to freezing rain... which melts by the time you wake up!

The Too Cool for School: It's twenty below and too cold to wait outside for the school bus. Or start your car.

The Heart-breaker: A two hour delay instead of a snow day.

The Tormentor: A standard snow day, but your power is out. And the roads are too bad to go anywhere. You're cold, you're bored, and you wish you were at school after all.

The Missed Memo: You get to school, only to find out that the doors are locked and school was canceled while you were on your way.

The Hostage Situation: It's the Missed Memo, plus you get stuck at school because Mom and Dad dropped you off before you realized. And now the teachers are stuck because the kids can't be left at school alone...

Non-snow Days: 

The Over-hype: Everyone thought it was going to be the Snowpocalypse, and instead it's just overcast.

The Stubborn No-call: The weather is bad enough, but they won't call it because the last snow day was a mistake (see Over-hype Call) OR they've already called too many snow days.

The Odd Man Out: Every other district EXCEPT YOURS has called a snow day.

The Toughman Contest: There's an escalating war between superintendents to see who can tough it out the longest.

**This post could not have been written without my husband's expertise!**

What do you think... did we miss any?

think with your head, not with your wallet

Dear School District,

I'm disappointed in you.

When you decided NOT to cancel or delay school today (unlike the 30 districts around us), you must have forgotten that not all the staff members live in town. Some of us have to drive quite a ways across those icy roads and through that freezing rain to come to school.

But apparently you were motivated by money, and not safety.

And while I inched my way to school, driving white-knuckled through traffic jams, I wondered how many of my students who are bussed in from 30 to 40 minutes away were going to be waiting for me.

The answer? Not enough kids to warrant following my lesson plans. Forty percent of them stayed home! I'll be honest, it was tough to have a good attitude after that.

I was even more resentful of your greedy decision-making policies when one of my colleagues got into a car accident and won't be able to come back for a few weeks.

So, School District, the next time that you think it's "safe enough" for the kids to come to school, don't forget about the staff!

Signed,
A Special Ed. Teacher

A Valentine's Day Miracle!

My district is notorious for never closing due to inclement weather. I've been hearing tales of when we were the only district open in a 100 mile radius.

That's why I wasn't surprised when school was open today despite the very unusual two inches of snow on the ground this morning.

But it has continued to snow all day! The roads are covered with snow and slush... and the snow gods have smiled upon us and sent us below freezing temps overnight. So it was with tremendous joy and shock that I saw my district has already canceled school for tomorrow.

Woo hoo!

Time will tell

We woke up this morning, like many other people around the country today, to snow outside!

Except, instead of two or three feet, it was more like one to three inches. But down here, that is a Big Deal. Sadly, it's not enough of a big deal to cancel school today, but my husband's college campus is closed so at least he's happy!

When we opened the backdoor to let Barney out to pee, he started to run out into the snow, but then he stopped and was like: "Oh noesies! My toesies!" and promptly came back into the house.
I took him on a walk anyway, though, and by that time, he had remembered all the wonderful snow he used to play in at Christmastime in Michigan. Then it was all leaping and bouncing and shoving it in his mouth.... I wonder if my students will feel the same way about it once I get to school this morning?

A Crying Shame!

Issued by The National Weather Service
3:53 pm EST, Thu., Feb. 19, 2009

... WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING...

A SNOW STORM COULD IMPACT THE REGION ON SATURDAY. SNOW IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO THE AREA EARLY SATURDAY MORNING AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY. SNOWFALL COULD BE HEAVY AT TIMES. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS IN EXCESS OF SIX INCHES ARE POSSIBLE.

This is what we in the business refer to as "wasted snow". As of January 5th, 2009, it is the number one cause of all pouting, ranting, hysterics, and general tantrum-throwing in our household...

Redeeming Herself

Our principal canceled school today (temps are exactly the same they were yesterday morning, when she didn't cancel... see previous post for how I felt about that!).

I guess the mob of angry teachers and angry parents wore her down!

Attempted Poetry: Angry Teacher Edition

The Cold Shoulder

It began with a wind chill
Of minus twenty-three
All the teachers thinking:
"Yippee!"
For surely, school will be closed.

We turned on the radio, the TV,
And the net
All the teachers thinking:
"What a sure bet!"
For surely, school will be closed.

Awaiting our cancellation
Turned to frustration
So many school closings
We all were supposing
That we would be next!

We're the county exception
To this freezing vacation
All the teachers re-thinking
Our job situation
For surely, this isn't fair.

Totally Unexpected

Our two hour delay due to icy conditions turned into a school closing right as I was about to leave the house!


more animals

Early Christmas Present

Yesterday was an interesting day. For once, I had no behavior issues to deal with (it's a Christmas MIRACLE!!). Then, everyone was abuzz with the very good possibility of a snow day for the next day. People were beyond hope. The imminent snow day was assumed. Teachers sent home snow pants and snow boots with the kids. Kids brought in their presents for their teachers. Everyone was saying "Merry Christmas and see you next year" at the end of the day. I was pretty sure the local weatherman would be flooded with hate mail if we didn't get our snow day.

Then, after school, we had our Christmas staff party. This year, instead of our district buying us a fancy three course meal and sending us home with 40 bucks each in gift cards, we decided to adopt six needy families that go to our school and make their Christmas merry! Our district gave us gift cards to spend on our families and we went out as grade levels and shopped till we dropped! It definitely felt more fulfilling than our usual self-indulgence. After the shopping, we came back to the gym and wrapped everything and sat down to a dinner of soup and salad. It was very fun!

And of course, as everyone assumed we'd be having a snow day today, people wished each other a Merry Christmas before we all drove home.

And I know that everyone breathed a sigh of relief (like I did), when we got an automated phone message from our principal, who said:

"Well, I don't know if it was the spoons under your pillow, the backwards pajamas, or if the stars aligned just right, but you've got your snow day! Have a great break and see you in January"

But it was a little hard to hear the specifics, because all I could hear was:

There's No Shame in Begging

Dear Mother Nature,

In looking at the ten day forecast, it seems unlikely that we will get a snow day this week. There's maybe a chance on Tuesday or Wednesday but it's too early to tell how great of a chance it is.

Here's the thing. I really, really, really need that snow day. Not just to sleep in, but to get stuff done, too! I didn't realize that I only had this weekend and next weekend to get the Christmas shopping and present making done before we hop on a plane to visit my parents for the holidays!

So if you could trouble yourself to dump a bunch of snow, ice, and strong winds right over my school, that would be MUCH appreciated. Or, if it's easier, you could send an electrical storm our way and make sure that the power is down at school... that would be just as acceptable.

I know you have lots of potential weapons of danger and destruction in your power. If you could just use some of that to ensure an extra day off this week (or the next; I'm not picky), I would be happily indebted to you.

Sincerely,
Sarah

PS: PLEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe Next Time

Last night, sensing that there wasn't enough snow falling in order to produce a snow day, my body decided to take matters into its own hands, and made a rash decision to get sick in order to stay home.

First, it hurt to swallow. Then, my body started aching. Next, I only slept for a few hours last night as I lay in a pool of sweat, feeling nauseated. Finally, I started dry heaving after I woke up.

Checking the internet and realizing that my school would definitely be open today, I called my vice principal to tell her I was too sick to come into work today (that's our sick day procedure in our district) At 5:25 A.M, I had clearly woken her up.

VP: "What time is it?"
Me: "It's 5:25; I'm so sorry for waking you up!"
VP: "That's okay. I was really hoping we'd have a snow day today.... "

I'm disappointed too. It turns out that a sick day is MUCH less fun then a snow day!

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

This year, I am very thankful that Thanksgiving has come late!! This means that there are only three more weeks until Christmas break instead of four! Woo hoo!

Also, my hopes are up for possible snow day tomorrow. We're supposed to get between six and eight inches in the next twenty four hours or so. I'll be throwing ice cubes in the toilet and wearing my pajamas inside out for good luck just in case :)

It Just Keeps Getting Better

What's better than one snow day?

Two snow days in a row!!!!!

Hope Pays Off

Never in my life have I ever felt so fondly toward ice...

SCHOOL IS CANCELED!!!!!

I Can't Help It

As it turns out, we're an optimistic bunch here at my school. There was a decent chance that today would be a snow day, and everyone (staff and students alike, but mainly staff) was reminding everyone else to sleep tonight with their pajamas on backwards and inside out. I don't know if that's just a Michigan superstition, or what?!? In any case, there was a lot of hope in the air yesterday... a good amount of it coming from me.

I'm sure Max will tell you that last night I was practically giddy with hope at having my first snow day ever. He, on the other hand, was completely intent on squashing said hope by saying such foreboding things like "I went a whole year without a snow day", and "don't get your hopes up!", and "you're not getting a snow day". What is it with pessimists that they have to bring everyone down to their level? Oops, did I say "pessimist"? I meant "realist".

In the end, it doesn't matter if you're an optimist or a pessimist/realist: either it's a snow day, or it isn't.

It wasn't.

Not only was it disappointing not to get that super-special phone call, but I had gotten up twenty-five minutes earlier than usual in anticipation of the snow I would have to scrape off of my car. You know, because I'm responsible and like to get to work on time. Imagine my dismay when I looked outside and there was NO SNOW. Instead, there was what looked like a very light dusting of the tiniest amount of powdered sugar on the ground. Disappointment became exhaustion in the blink of an eye.

Some of you would think that I have learned a valuable lesson about "not getting your hopes up", or "listening to your husband who's always right", or "commuting an hour each way to work". But those people would be wrong. Because, Sunday? Sunday night we're supposed to get freezing rain. And I'll be wearing my pajamas inside out and backwards all weekend long.

Snow Daze

Every night, I pray for a snow day. I check the weather before I go to bed, hunting for signs of any precipitation. I sleep lightly in the wee hours of the morning, waiting for a phone call that would deliver the glorious news.

But it doesn't happen.

This morning came close. One of the other districts next to ours closed today. But we still had to show up. I got really excited on my way to work, though, when I got a phone call... Even at 6:45 when I was halfway to school, I still had a glimmer of hope that I would be able to turn around and go home. But it wasn't to be... it was just one of the aides informing me that her young kids went to the school that was closed today and so she wouldn't be able to make it in!

Lucky.

Let's Just Skip Winter

This morning I got up a little earlier than usual because I knew I had a big day today (what with my first "real" day servicing kids). And it's a good thing I did, because when I stepped outside, I discovered frost all over my car. At first, I thought it was just a little frost... nothing a swipe of the windshield wipers couldn't take care of. But then I looked closer. I rubbed my finger against the window.... FROST!! It took me a long time to come to the conclusion that it was frost because it has literally been years since I've seen the stuff on my car.

Anyways, at this point, I had a small moment of panic. Here I am, I'm in sandals, and only wearing a hooded sweatshirt for warmth, and I'm not sure if we have a de-ice-er-thingy in the car (see how long it's been? I've even forgotten the right word for it!). I opened the trunk to check, and sure enough, waaaaaayy in the back was a de-icer. When I picked it up it even stuck to the carpet a little, as though resentful of the need to be used. It will have to get used to being worked hard again. *Sigh*