Had a fabulous day today. Accomplished so much in organizing and cleaning (you don't know how hard that last item is for me...). The biggest news is that I worked on our payroll today, and the good news is that we are all going to get paid. Three months ago, we didn't think it would happen for sure, but all is well. Wednesday we strike gold and will all go out to celebrate!
Spread your wings!
13 September 2010
07 September 2010
Week 1
All that work this summer, and we finally opened. I have been joking for the last month that I couldn't wait until school opens so we can all relax. That actually held true this week. The anticipation was crazy, and finally this past week we all started to settle into our daily tasks.
I feel like Vin Diesel: days are flying fast and furiously!
The Preview: The Grand Opening was awesome! We had over 250 people show to help celebrate the school's opening. Mayor Bateman, Councilman Maldonado, Yvonne Knowles, Robert Barnes, Stanley Levine, and any number of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, Montessori directors, friends, family, and neighbors showed up in support. There was a lot of laughter and a lot of tears (the good kind). Even the artist Romero Britto sent a congratulatory note and donated three of his new children's books! I've invited him down to campus in the spring--it would be wonderful for him to meet our children.
Day 1: the rain clouds opened and it poured 10 minutes before the children and parents were supposed to arrive. And then as if by some divine intervention, the clouds broke, the rain ceased, and we started school with only a handful of soggy feet.
The children are so happy they are chanting "Atala" and waking up early to get to school. Seriously, I know this sounds absurd, but I have had several parents tell me that their kids love school. Even my daughter Livya (age 4) is making up songs with lyrics like "Atala is a rock and roll school, it's so cool." Can't beat that!
We also have been recognized in the Miami Herald. The mention may be small, but we are very happy to have been one of two schools that represented Homestead: New school year means several new schools in Miami-Dade.
Week 2 is abuzz with fixing little things we didn't have time to do before we opened: hooking up the computer lab, downloading software, organizing pizza Fridays, and beginning the day-to-day activities in the classroom. The Labor Day three-day weekend was certainly a huge help. We all needed a little rest after working out tails off this summer!
Final note, I promise. In the last three weeks I have heard from any number of former students, colleagues, and friends all congratulating me on the new gig. I am speechless that there is so much support for leaving academia, jumping off, and taking a stand. I am so very, very happy to have made that decision and have had the love and support of Colby through it all. I'm sure it sounds cheezy, but it's true.
Spread your wings!
I feel like Vin Diesel: days are flying fast and furiously!
The Preview: The Grand Opening was awesome! We had over 250 people show to help celebrate the school's opening. Mayor Bateman, Councilman Maldonado, Yvonne Knowles, Robert Barnes, Stanley Levine, and any number of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, Montessori directors, friends, family, and neighbors showed up in support. There was a lot of laughter and a lot of tears (the good kind). Even the artist Romero Britto sent a congratulatory note and donated three of his new children's books! I've invited him down to campus in the spring--it would be wonderful for him to meet our children.
Day 1: the rain clouds opened and it poured 10 minutes before the children and parents were supposed to arrive. And then as if by some divine intervention, the clouds broke, the rain ceased, and we started school with only a handful of soggy feet.
The children are so happy they are chanting "Atala" and waking up early to get to school. Seriously, I know this sounds absurd, but I have had several parents tell me that their kids love school. Even my daughter Livya (age 4) is making up songs with lyrics like "Atala is a rock and roll school, it's so cool." Can't beat that!
We also have been recognized in the Miami Herald. The mention may be small, but we are very happy to have been one of two schools that represented Homestead: New school year means several new schools in Miami-Dade.
Week 2 is abuzz with fixing little things we didn't have time to do before we opened: hooking up the computer lab, downloading software, organizing pizza Fridays, and beginning the day-to-day activities in the classroom. The Labor Day three-day weekend was certainly a huge help. We all needed a little rest after working out tails off this summer!
Final note, I promise. In the last three weeks I have heard from any number of former students, colleagues, and friends all congratulating me on the new gig. I am speechless that there is so much support for leaving academia, jumping off, and taking a stand. I am so very, very happy to have made that decision and have had the love and support of Colby through it all. I'm sure it sounds cheezy, but it's true.
Spread your wings!
28 August 2010
Today is the day
Spread your wings!
I'll post pictures and comments about the Grand Opening tomorrow--
Kris
I'll post pictures and comments about the Grand Opening tomorrow--
Kris
26 August 2010
Count down
So much to do, so few days to finish. We're all in overdrive mode at this point. Everything is as done as we can get it. Grand Opening will be spectacular! Fabulous food, great friends, and beautiful children!
Oh...and in the midst of the chaos, cleaning, and we were all certified by the American Heart Association for CPR today. Thank you so much Patty and Amaury!
Can't wait for school to start. We are going to have an awesome cool year.
Spread your wings!
Oh...and in the midst of the chaos, cleaning, and we were all certified by the American Heart Association for CPR today. Thank you so much Patty and Amaury!
Can't wait for school to start. We are going to have an awesome cool year.
Spread your wings!
24 August 2010
check
Health Dept...check
City of Homestead...check
Awesome day, but totally exhausted...check
One more quick note: one of our contractors--Another Wire Guy (aka Mark Harris)--has been completely fabulous. Not only is he helping us finish off the big jobs on a low budget, but he has taken a liking to us so much that he is now volunteering his time. If you have a job that needs getting done (stucco, plaster, tile, painting, etc.), Mark is the dude. We highly recommend him!
Spread your wings!
City of Homestead...check
Awesome day, but totally exhausted...check
One more quick note: one of our contractors--Another Wire Guy (aka Mark Harris)--has been completely fabulous. Not only is he helping us finish off the big jobs on a low budget, but he has taken a liking to us so much that he is now volunteering his time. If you have a job that needs getting done (stucco, plaster, tile, painting, etc.), Mark is the dude. We highly recommend him!
Spread your wings!
23 August 2010
Teacher Work Week, Day 1
Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrgggggghhhhhhhhhh!
Too much work to do and not enough time. I need Hermione's time turner to add another month before we start. It's all getting done, but there's no time to think. Just need to keep moving forward.
Tomorrow, we conquer the Health Department. I'll keep you posted on how that goes. Should be fine.
Spread your wings!
Kris
Too much work to do and not enough time. I need Hermione's time turner to add another month before we start. It's all getting done, but there's no time to think. Just need to keep moving forward.
Tomorrow, we conquer the Health Department. I'll keep you posted on how that goes. Should be fine.
Spread your wings!
Kris
22 August 2010
The 100-mile drive
So we had our big inspections this week--lots of smaller ones, but the biggest was the Miami-Dade County Fire Dept. With the small exception of a new strobe that needs to be permitted and inspected, we passed everything. We officially have our Temporary Certificate of Occupancy. This was huge. I seriously thought I was going to throw up when the inspector came to visit. But he was totally nice and very positive. Only trouble was he gave us the wrong instructions on getting the TCO completed. So Yvonne (our expeditor) and I drove from Homestead to Doral twice before things were settled (thus the title of today's entry, the 100-mile drive). So we have 60 days to get everything finalized and then we have the final CO. 60 days is total overkill; we'll need a like 2 weeks to finalize everything.
In addition to Teacher Work Week, this week we head to DCF and the Health Department. The City should issue the operational license mid week this week. So it will be a busy week for sure!
Everything with Atala is fantastic! The rooms are being set up, the playground is moving (despite all the rain), the office is nearly, and all the grounds are being cleaned and prepped for our Grand Opening on Saturday. Can't wait.
[Sad news about ridiculous decisions from FIU. But that's all I'm going to say. Nothing can bring me down now.]
Spread your wings!
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