Just As I Said...

Here is the finished and framed mosaic the PTSA had commissioned.  Our fabulous head custodian called me just minutes after I finished my blog post yesterday to tell me the frame was done and they just finished hanging up.  Pretty cool.

Gifted Art

This is a sneak peek at the mosaic mural that the high school's PTSA commissioned at the end of the school year in May, as a school gift, to celebrate and commemorate the 100 years of our local high school.  It was created over the summer by a wonderful local artist, Lynde Mott.  The portion that the PTSA commissioned wouldn't have purchased even half of this size of a piece, but Lynde donated much more of her time and resources to create a stunning, colorful landscape of the "G" mountain that sits above the site of the school.  The cabinetmaking/wood working teacher is building a framework for it and the piece will soon hang in the front hall between the finance office and the attendance office.

I know it is hard to see here, but the colors are bright and engaging.  And uses shapes, colors and patterns found in nature.  It is coated in an epoxy so the kids can handle it and not hurt it.  It is light and airy and uplifting.

I'm not an artist, by any stretch of the imagination, but I really like this piece.  When they talked about and voted on commissioning a mosaic, I wasn't even sure what it might look like.  I had no vision for it, myself.  I am sure grateful for talents that others use to bless me.  This isn't something that I could envision or create, but I can appreciate it and enjoy it.  And I can't wait to get it up and then unveil it to the students and the community.

Today I'm "Likening"

We are told to "liken" the scriptures to ourselves to really learn the lessons the scriptures teach.  Well, this morning I was playing catch up and rereading some chapters at the end of Alma that I skimmed over about a week ago when I was pressed for time.  The two chapters that caught my attention--and I related to after "likening" were the epistles Nephite leaders Captain Moroni and Chief Judge Pahoran wrote to one another during the war.

While I am neither a Nephite, nor a leader during war, I got a lesson about giving others the benefit of the doubt.

Remember, Moroni was ticked that Pahoran had apparently neglected the needs of the armies.  But the truth was that Pahoran had been the victim of a political coup and wasn't even in the capital but had fled for his safety.  And he asked Moroni to come with a small group of warrior to help him regain his place so the government could re-support the armies at war.

These guys cold have been really mad.  In fact, Moroni's language is bold and forceful in his letter, but as soon as he he gets Pahoran's message back, learning the "why" behind the governments' apparent neglect, he softens and immediately gets things in line to go help Pahoran.

Wouldn't it be nice if we all could respond as Pahoran did?

He wrote that he was pained by the struggles Moroni was dealing with, and he was sorry for it.  But then he explained the hold up at his end and then asks for help.

I could take a lesson here from Pahoran--but also Moroni.  I need to be more understanding as I hear folks coming unglued about something that we all are dealing with, but I also need to be humble enough to ask for help where I need it after I explain myself calmly and gently.

The scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon, we've been told are written for our time.  I am seeing that very clearly today as I ponder this lesson.  I hope I am as quick as Moroni and Pahoran to learn it and cooperate to make things better.

In a Funk

Today I woke up and felt like I had the "blahs".  I thought I'd feel better as I went about my day.  But so far, not so much.  I am not sure if I am coming down with something, or if I need a therapist.  Probably both.

And it is only Wednesday.

Oh, and as PS to yesterday's post:  The charter school who was offering "swag" to students who registered before Sept 28th (and, according to their website as of yesterday, only had to be in school there until October 5th) has changed the wording of their offer as of today.  Guess what?!?  That October 5th dates is now removed.  What a surprise.  Not.

When WIll It END?!?

This is WRONG! And it makes me mad!

http://www.qrps.org/index.php?page=enrollment-program-details

 

All Quail Run cares about is getting funding ... note that students have to be enrolled through October 5, 2012 to redeem their rewards.  If you weren't aware, schools receieve their funding for the year based on children enrolled on October 1st.  Public Schools have to take children regardless of when they enroll, so any parent not happy with Quail Run on October 5th will be able to come back to their neighborhood public school and be educated all year for free.  They money will stay at Quail Run!  This is totally unethical to be advertising they need to stay through October 5th and shows the need to pass legislation regarding funding.  I'm not saying charter schools are bad, but I'm saying if you start the year there, you should have to commit and stay there the whole school year or let the money follow the student back to their neighborhood school.

 

Quail Run is a local Charter School.  Now a charter school, for those who may not be familiar, is a school which is funded almost identically to our neighborhood public school by our state legislature. 

According to our school district leadership "The WPU (weighted pupil unit--the amount of money per student allotted to each public school to educate that student) is the same statewide for any student who has membership for 180 days of school. Where it gets a little tricky is that charter schools have worked it out so that for charter elementary students the WPU is .90, for grades 7-8 the WPU is .99, and for high school the WPU is 1.2. Obviously they did this because of the added cost it is to run a high school with the different programs, etc.

"Membership reports are taken on October 1 - funding goes wherever the student is on October 1. If a student transfers to a public school from a charter school after October 1 - all of the money stays at the charter school. Obviously - if a student moves to a charter school from a public school after October 1, all of the money stays at the public school."

 

 

The fact that this school is advertising a bunch of "swag" for any student who enrolls long enough to be counted as theirs by the legislature for funding purposes is WRONG.  It is unethical and is not the way these charter schools were meant to be part of our "school choice".

I would love to scream about this.  But I don't have the energy anymore.  It feels like we have been beating our heads against the wall since they came into being.

 

Scattered!

Today was our first PTSA board meeting for the High School.  I conducted, I think.  The whole meeting was a little more than just disorganized.  I hate that feeling.  And usually I prepare differently to avoid it, but it was our first one and there was a lot to cover.  I just hate feeling so out of it...and I especially hate feeling that when I am sure there were some better ways of doing things, but I wasn't the only one responsible for our stuff today and this may have been a situation of "too many cooks spoils the soup".

I'm thinking of it as "One down....seven or so to go."

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