Insane Life Update!

Well hello little bloggy world! I've been totally MIA for the past month, and I apologize. I knew that moving and starting a brand new job would be a lot of work, but I was not prepared for the intense amount of exhaustion that has occurred. A lot of people have sent me little facebook messages/emails/texts asking how things are going, and I feel so bad that I have not been able to respond to everyone. So here is a quick little update about life so far in AZ, and then I promise that I very shortly will return to my regular blog schedule that I used to do! ;)

My mom and I drove down to AZ with my car packed full on July 25, and arrived July 27. I immediately started work on July 28, and have been going ever since! I moved in with my wonderful cousin, Jim, and his amazing wifey, Erin...and, my new bestie, their dog Charlotte. Living with them for a month to get adjusted before I found the PERFECT place to live was such a blessing. Jim (as expected) was the protective, caring, and totally weird big cousin that I've always loved and looked up to - and its definitely awesome that I have a fellow Bears and Sox fan out here to watch games with! Erin has really been one of the biggest helps with my move out here. Welcoming me into her life - friends, shopping, food/drinking binges, girly talks, work rants, etc - with open arms. Erin worked in the same district as I now do, for 5 years. So it is beyond easy to chat with her about the frustrations and joys of my job and the students. Oh, and Charlotte? She's a licker. And a pervert. She kept my feet clean, and sniffed through my underwear drawer all the time. And yet she completely stole my heart. Her little ewok face and all!!

Work...ah, where to begin. How about the culture shock of it all? Spending the first 24 years of my life in totally white suburbia, with a few interactions here and there with minorities, I thought I was pretty open-minded, stayed clear of stereotyping people, and would enjoy the differences of working in central Phoenix. I do enjoy it, but I was NOT prepared for the insanity that my job brings on a daily basis. Do I love it? Heck yes. Am I happier than I've ever been in my life? By far. But that love and happiness are also welcomed into my life with the stress and frustration of working with 170+ thirteen and fourteen year old students that prefer to speak in Spanish to you because they know it confuses you and annoys you to not be able to understand anything. I need to buy myself a Rosetta Stone. ASAP.

Some of this may be true for all schools, some of it may not. So bare with me:

1. It frustrates me when you put so much work and effort into a lesson plan that you are sure the students will have fun with and learn a lot from...just to have several students tell you they are bored, or tell you they hate your class, or fail the activity.

2. I get stressed with the fact that I have roughly 170 students, which means I have 170 things to grade anytime I assign something. Sometimes, I feel like "ehhh, maybe I won't assign this so then I won't have to read all of them.." But then I realize that is ineffective teaching - why assign something if you're not going to use it as a tool for assessment of some sort?? Stressful.

3. Tiring that I wake up at 5:30 to get ready and head to work (30 min commute) by 7:45. School starts at 8:45 and goes until 3:55. I avoid rush hour by staying until after 5, so I don't get home until close to 6. By then, I am totally wiped, don't want to do one thing except get in pajamas, eat something that does not require any work to make, and pass out - although that doesn't happen until close to midnight.

4. Sad that there are just some students that will never ever care about what you say or do. They don't mind getting suspended, they talk about drugs freely, and don't understand the meaning of respect. (Note: this is definitely not ALL students, just SOME - but sometimes that minority affects your WHOLE day).


I realize these are all 1st year teacher concerns and that one day in the next few years, I'll have a better grasp of it all. But right now, it all just feels overwhelming. So what is my cure to it all? Well...there's a few things. Here is my current "happy list":

1. My new super cute apartment, that I am slowly working to make my own. Thank you, Home Goods and IKEA!!
2. Jersey Shore. Real Housewives of New Jersey. Basically, 75% of my free time is watching crazy people from Jersey and I'll buy into it all for as long as its on the air.
3. Skinnygirl Margarita and Skinnygirl Sangria
4. Discovering all the local restaurants in Scottsdale
5. Speaking of Scottsdale...FASHION SQUARE MALL. Enough said.
6. Skype with my family
7. All the awesome people I've met through Jim/Erin, work, randoms, etc...
8. St. Patricks Church - its my official new church, and it makes me feel at home.
9. Francesca's Boutique - in Fashion Square. A working girl's dream store.
10. Fry's grocery store. Seriously, I had no clue grocery shopping could be that fancy and fun. Wine bar in the middle of the store? Swanky book section with tables to sit at? Coldstone? You can bet your ass I bought myself a membership discount card the first week I arrived in Arizona.


Okay, that is a bit of an update on life so far. The frustrations, and the happies. Amidst it all, I've never felt more content and at peace with where I am/where I'm going in life. It's an amazing feeling to know that I have my own classroom and my own home. Thank you all again for the well-wishes, prayers and congrats. It means the world to me! I'll be back in Chi very soon to visit all you lovelies :)

Back to the regular posts soon...

xoxo

19 days into Arizona living!

Well, I know it's been a while since I've blogged, but life has been super crazy busy! I'll get caught up with some pictures...

There was venturing into the city with cousins...

Reuniting the whole Olivieri crew, sharing lots of laughs and love...

And soaking up every last second with the most important people in my life...

And then came the drive to Arizona...

After 3 days in a car, I arrived...

Was welcomed by my awesome roomies

And started work as a teacher...

...and survived my first day as a teacher :)

 

 

Lots more adventures to come, xoxo

Last Lecture

My time is up. At Lincoln-Way that is. It is really hitting me that I will not be walking the halls of good old LW this fall. Lincoln-Way has been a part of my family forever. Alot of my family are graduates from LW, I student taught there, taught summer school right afterwards, and then got a job as a permanent sub. I also coached track for 2 seasons, volleyball for 1, and was the freshman/sophomore class sponsor. Lincoln-Way has been a huge part of making me who I am.

This summer was an exception, however. I really had the greatest class ever. And I never ever thought I'd say that about Freshman. I always thought I liked the upper-classmen the best, but this group of incoming Freshman took the cake. They were so willing to learn - all 30 of them. I asked them to get into groups, and their little desks would click together in such perfect harmony with no arguing or hesitating - it was such a beautiful sound to a teacher's ears. I'd give them a time-frame for work to be completed in, and they would finish it without getting off-task at all. Really, I could not have lucked out any more than I did this summer.

One day, we somehow got WAY off track (but it was right after a test, so I'm okay with giving them a brain-break from history for a few minutes before we switch gears during our 5-hour summer session days), and we started talking about the Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. One of my students raised his hand and asked me "what would you talk about if it were YOUR last lecture?" I was taken back. As a teacher, sometimes you feel like what you say goes in one ear and out the other - especially in history, so it was crazy to think that a student was interested enough to ask me a personal, deep question. My response was "Well, there a few things I think I would want to try and impart onto my students, but I don't really know what I'd say until I got there." And then another student had an idea that literally made me shake in my wedge-pumps.

"Ms. Caschetta, you're moving. Your last day here is kind of like your last lecture. For us at least."

So we came up with a plan. After their final exam on the last day, instead of watching a movie, I would give my last lecture. Incredibly nervous? Heck yes. What would I say to these 14- and 15-year-olds that could possibly help them out in their future? Do I even have enough experience in life to be qualified to do something like this???

Without further ado, here is my "last lecture" that I gave my amazing class - the rules of life that I try to remember every day. (I wrote this all down on note cards, didn't really have a speech, so I elaborated on my main points with what I actually said to them.)



1. It's not easy to find out who you are meant to be in life, but when you do find out, OWN who you are and be proud of it.

2. Negativity gets you no where in life. Even when things are tough, I promise you that it will get better. The easiest way to get through the rough part is to stay away from the negativity and remain positive.

3. Live with no regrets, but never put yourself in a position to regret what might happen.

4. If you work really hard, and are kind to everyone, amazing things will happen.

5.  Treat others as you want to be treated. If you want respect, give it. If you want to be heard, listen to others. If you want to be loved, love others. If you want knowledge, you must be willing to learn from others. If you want your life to be fulfilling, give back to others.

6. Life is too short. Tomorrow is never a guarantee, so make sure that you always give thanks, and are happy with the choices you've made each and every day.



xoxo