The roller coaster rolls on...

This week has been a true roller coaster with devastating lows followed by fantastic highs. When I wrote my last post, I was feeling like quite a failure as a teacher. One minute, I think things are going well and the next, I feel that they are irreparable. I long for stability and a predictable work environment. Does that exist in a school setting? Hmmm....

After pouring my heart out into cyberspace I ended up getting great advice from my mom (always the best) followed by great advice and encouragement from my fellow staff members. The next day, I stepped into class and did exactly what I do everyday. And...it went well. A few days later I told the girls that I would never give them compliments if they didn't deserve them. I asked them why they thought I would make that choice and after a bit of thinking, they realized that they would stop improving if I let them be complacent. Hooray.

Thursday night, good friends Meg, Rachel, and Nadia came over for dinner and girl time. It is always SO amazing to fellowship with these beautiful women and I leave being refreshed from the laughter and wisdom that is shared.

Nadia and Rachel brought me a beautiful bouquet of oversized roses from their garden.

Thursday night was the beginning of the roller coaster climb and Friday was a huge continuation of that climb. Friday evening was our Junior Senior banquet, so the upperclassmen were excused at lunch time. This meant that I was able to have a meeting with the sophomores in Chamber Singers. We sang together and rejoiced over their excellent sound. We brainstormed about recruiting and made a list of names of students who we should encourage to audition. And then...the best part: We dreamed about next year. I told the kids that nothing was too big and that we should make a list of every goal they could think of. The list was inspiring to say the least. I am thrilled with the positive attitudes, tenacious work ethic, and passion for music that these underclassmen show. It certainly will be interesting to see this group evolve.

Friday evening, Dave and I got dressed up to attend the banquet. Fun, fun!!

Saturday morning, I left my house before 5 am in order to take my kids to a choir competition at Six Flags Magic Mountain. The kids were excited even though many of them were running on only a few hours of sleep (JSB the night before). Both choirs performed well and we were relieved that our hard work showed on stage.

We spent the whole day in Six Flags riding the roller coasters. Quite poignant considering my journey with these kids and also my blog posts has of late. I ended up spending the day with three young gentlemen who I haven't gotten to know well this year. We had a blast. I am a sucker for a good roller coaster and Magic Mountain is the place to be. By the evening we were all exhausted and ready to go home. But before we could leave, we needed to attend an awards ceremony for all of the bands, choirs, and orchestras involved in the competition.

We came not expecting a thing. Little did we know that we were in for a real treat. My women's choir, Undivided, ended up getting 1st place their division. We were stunned. Later, we would find out that the Chamber Singers also got first place in their division. We were thrilled. One of our young gentlemen received the award for best solo of the competition. In the end, it came down to the trophy for best choral group over all of the divisions. And the award went to....Ontario Christian High School Chamber Singers. WOO-HOO!!!

Now, don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the success of our performance was based on a trophy. We had no control over who we were competing against. But I am saying that as tough as this year has been, the trophies were a welcome confirmation that we are headed in the right direction.

I have spent the entire year pushing these kids out of their comfort zone, right out demanding their hard work and they have fought me kicking and screaming the whole way. Our trophies say, "Wait a minute...you're saying that our hard work will pay off in the end?" I couldn't be more thrilled.

Champions!

The hardware

Dave has been full throttle preparing for a full two weeks of final exams which start a week from tomorrow. This last big push has been intense, but he has still managed to be the most supportive husband I could ask for. I definitely won the lottery when it comes to husbands.

I am headed into the final sprint with performances coming out of my ears. Tomorrow my kids sing the national anthem for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes baseball game and finish the week with a performance to an all-Spanish speaking audience. I am so proud of them and love watching them enjoy the fruits of their labor.

We are turning our attention now to music from the 50s and 60s for our Soda Shop concert in June. Should be fun.