November 7, 2009 ~~~~ AHOY ST.CROIX ~~~~

[AverysMommy]

Last cruise I was on we had a contest to see who woudl get the most of the BIG posts - meaning the 100, 200, 300, 400 posts, etc

It was fun to keep track of who got the BIG posts as well as how much faster they came at us as we got closer to the cruise as more and more people started chatting -especially as we got closer to the time when you could start booking excursions.

So Post #1 was on December 4th, 2007

BIG POSTS
#100 - Jessalynn - October 16th, 2008
#200 - Jessalynn - November 27th, 2008

Who will get #300??

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

We are so tempted to go down to WDW in the new year with the pay for 4 and get 3 free deals....fabulous deals.

Any one else going?

Nope... having just been! We spent 7 days at WDW in addition to our 4 night Wonder cruise. We had a wonderful time. The airfare is the expensive part for us, coming from the West Coast. Although, we now have probably most of our airfare for the Magic cruise. We got bumped off our flight leaving WDW, so Delta put us up overnight, gave us not enough money for food (ugh), but most importantly- $400 credit apiece! And it's not like free tickets where there are blackouts. Just $400 each! Wahoooooo.

The kids and I, at least, would like to go back to WDW in 2010. We have been 5 years between our previous trips, but we don't want to wait that long next time! DH had a great time too- once he figured out he could just go back to the room, and didn't have to stay out park hopping or touring in the evenings. He's an early-to-bed kinda guy.

The deals are great that are being offered, though. One of my dear friends is going in March, and previously had AKL booked for 4 of the nights (she always stays at POP). Now she could move it to AKL for 7 nights, same price, AND get the $200 Disney gift card to use towards food/souvenirs. NICE!!! I am so jealous, I really want to stay at AKL someday. Even DH wants to...

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

You guys have to hear this new thing that our school is doing this year (sorry if any of you are teachers)....

Instead of having the Traditional Parent/Teacher conference twice a year - now we will have Student Led Conferences....what does that mean you ask?

Well my daughter Avery (6) will present for 30 minute the work that she has been doing at school this year. She will discuss how she is doing and what she is learning. Of course - thsi will all be the work that we discuss every night at dinner.

After she talks then we go home....no time with the teacher. Why you might ask? Well supposedly this will give the students and parents a better sense of accountability and responsibility for the student's learning. Now you might say what about the Teacher's accountability? Well I guess this means they dont need to be accountable anymore for their students' learning.

We go on Thursday night - it sounds like a great experience for Avery to present to us - that part I love. I just dont understand why we cant also talk to the teacher.

ANyone else have this at their schools?

Nope- I teach 3rd grade. We just have the regular Parent/Teacher conferences, once a year in October. Most of my students come to the conference as well as their parents. Do you get weekly reports sent home with Avery? At my site, most teachers (including myself) send home a weekly report each Friday, detailing homework, behavior, test scores for the week, etc. Parents sign it over the weekend and it gets returned on Mondays. So they've been seeing grades all along, at conference time it's really no surprise.

DD went to middle school this year, which is a whole new ballgame. She did have student-led conferences. Her teacher was there, and she did chime in at the end on some things. She just couldn't help herself! It went pretty well. In middle school, though, I wasn't seeing the grades weekly any more. They send a progress report every 3 or 4 weeks though.

I think it's kind of odd to do student led conferences for primary grades, but.... I do see how it would be good for the kids. I'd think doing at at the end of the year would be better, and a traditional conference at the beginning. If it were me, I would make an appointment to meet with the teacher, if you have more questions after the conference. She should be able then to more clearly outline what Avery needs to learn this year, and how you can help... at least more clearly than a 6 year old can! You're in Canada, so you get to NOT have No Child Left Behind! That's got to be a good thing. Let us know how the conference went.

 

[glindamood]

Page two?? No more.

My youngest is a freshman in college but I can say that PT conferences here in our school system has not changed much. Mine always wanted to go and the teachers didn't seem to care so they came along. Once they got into high school, unless I called and scheduled one, we never got to talk to anyone other than maybe their physical education teachers. I never really understood - the kids had two half days off from school to do them so wouldn't you think we could have at least been scheduled with one of the teachers in their core classes. No offence intended to any PE teachers either - I wish that someone could have taught me to enjoy that class as much as my boys did. I finally gave up Drew's senior year and never even had one. And now that he is in college, the only person I have had any communication with is his soccer coach! But, he is doing OK so I am not going to fret.

And, speaking of him, I have to fight the road crowd to take him back to school later. Hot dog!! Have a good Sunday everyone.

 

[glindamood]

Last cruise I was on we had a contest to see who woudl get the most of the BIG posts - meaning the 100, 200, 300, 400 posts, etc

It was fun to keep track of who got the BIG posts as well as how much faster they came at us as we got closer to the cruise as more and more people started chatting -especially as we got closer to the time when you could start booking excursions.

So Post #1 was on December 4th, 2007

BIG POSTS
#100 - Jessalynn - October 16th, 2008
#200 - Jessalynn - November 27th, 2008

Who will get #300??

I have also participated in threads where it was "special" to get the first post at the top of a page.

 

[TiggerzFan]

Hey all! I thought I'd peek in and check on our cruise meet thread. Boy, go away for a month or two and you miss over 10 pages! Welcome to everyone that has hopped onboard.

We, too, were on the Nov 9th Wonder and had a great time. That was cruise #6 for us and it was all still just as magical! By the way, for those of you contemplating Deck 2, this was our first time there and we LOVED it. We were aft which meant a short climb up to Animators, Parrot Cay or a quick elevator ride to Deck 9.
As for shows, Toy Story The Musical is quickly becoming our favorite. The sets and character costuming is awesome. It probably helps that it's a newer show as we've seen Golden Mickeys and Disney Dreams many times. Oldies, but goodies.

I promise to get caught up on all the posts!

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

We missed Toy Story the Musical. We did see Golden Mickeys and Disney Dreams, though. Toy Story wasn't a huge priority for me, since *supposedly* that is what is replacing Aladdin at California Adventure. Not only are they replacing the BEST Disney show -at the parks or on the cruiseline- but replacing it with something already on a ship?? Blasphemy. This way, when I can't see Aladdin any more, at least I can't say I've already seen it on the cruise ship.

I'm okay with some of the other changes coming at DCA... but this one, noooooo! Sorry for my digression into park geekdom!

Christine

 

[TiggerzFan]

Sorry for my digression into park geekdom!

Christine

 

[AverysMommy]

Nope... having just been! We spent 7 days at WDW in addition to our 4 night Wonder cruise. We had a wonderful time. The airfare is the expensive part for us, coming from the West Coast. Although, we now have probably most of our airfare for the Magic cruise. We got bumped off our flight leaving WDW, so Delta put us up overnight, gave us not enough money for food (ugh), but most importantly- $400 credit apiece! And it's not like free tickets where there are blackouts. Just $400 each! Wahoooooo.

The kids and I, at least, would like to go back to WDW in 2010. We have been 5 years between our previous trips, but we don't want to wait that long next time! DH had a great time too- once he figured out he could just go back to the room, and didn't have to stay out park hopping or touring in the evenings. He's an early-to-bed kinda guy.

The deals are great that are being offered, though. One of my dear friends is going in March, and previously had AKL booked for 4 of the nights (she always stays at POP). Now she could move it to AKL for 7 nights, same price, AND get the $200 Disney gift card to use towards food/souvenirs. NICE!!! I am so jealous, I really want to stay at AKL someday. Even DH wants to...

we normally stay in Moderate - Caribean Beach, Port New Orleans.....but last time we stayed for one night at POP century and it was fine - the big difference I think is the pool....the modetates seem to have better swimming pools.

 

[AverysMommy]

Nope- I teach 3rd grade. We just have the regular Parent/Teacher conferences, once a year in October. Most of my students come to the conference as well as their parents. Do you get weekly reports sent home with Avery? At my site, most teachers (including myself) send home a weekly report each Friday, detailing homework, behavior, test scores for the week, etc. Parents sign it over the weekend and it gets returned on Mondays. So they've been seeing grades all along, at conference time it's really no surprise.

DD went to middle school this year, which is a whole new ballgame. She did have student-led conferences. Her teacher was there, and she did chime in at the end on some things. She just couldn't help herself! It went pretty well. In middle school, though, I wasn't seeing the grades weekly any more. They send a progress report every 3 or 4 weeks though.

I think it's kind of odd to do student led conferences for primary grades, but.... I do see how it would be good for the kids. I'd think doing at at the end of the year would be better, and a traditional conference at the beginning. If it were me, I would make an appointment to meet with the teacher, if you have more questions after the conference. She should be able then to more clearly outline what Avery needs to learn this year, and how you can help... at least more clearly than a 6 year old can! You're in Canada, so you get to NOT have No Child Left Behind! That's got to be a good thing. Let us know how the conference went.

Well I got to say - the Student Led Conference was actually very good. Avery was given a little clipboard with a list of things to show us and then took us aroudn the room doing all these little activities. She showed us some of her work books, then took us to the reading corner and read a book to us for a while, then over to the experiment area and directed us through an experiment. She felt very important and very proud of what she had been doing. Probably took about 30 minutes to walk us through it all.

However, I had insisted that we get a Parent/Teacher conference afterwards so the Teacher met with us for about 15 minutes too. We just went over some plans on how Avery will keep growing and learning.

What does "No Child Left Behind" mean? Does that mean you are not allowed to FAIL kids? In Canada, it can be done if the parents agree to it and it doesnt happen very often but it can happen. For example, my neice who is a Special Needs child was help back for 1 year in Grade 5.

It sounds like you guys get a lot of reporting from the school - we get 3 report cards a year - one at the end of November, one in mid March and then the end of June. Personally, I just try and touch base once a month informally to stay close on any issues.

I am quite lucky this year - Avery's Grade 1 Teacher and Spencer's Grade 4 teacher seem to be excellent......kids really respond well to them and they are excellent at returning calls to answer Mommy's questions.

I feel for teachers ..... I think they have tough jobs ..... as a Soccer coach I see that not all parents are supportive of their kids. I would think that is hard for teachers to see happen. When i hear about parents that cant even be bothered to read with their kids - I feel very sad

 

[AverysMommy]

Page two?? No more.

My youngest is a freshman in college but I can say that PT conferences here in our school system has not changed much. Mine always wanted to go and the teachers didn't seem to care so they came along. Once they got into high school, unless I called and scheduled one, we never got to talk to anyone other than maybe their physical education teachers. I never really understood - the kids had two half days off from school to do them so wouldn't you think we could have at least been scheduled with one of the teachers in their core classes. No offence intended to any PE teachers either - I wish that someone could have taught me to enjoy that class as much as my boys did. I finally gave up Drew's senior year and never even had one. And now that he is in college, the only person I have had any communication with is his soccer coach! But, he is doing OK so I am not going to fret.

And, speaking of him, I have to fight the road crowd to take him back to school later. Hot dog!! Have a good Sunday everyone.[/QUOTE

Same thign for us at high school - my neice and nephews who have lived with me in the past never got much of a Feedback session - I think at that point they are supposed to be responsible to share with parents on their own.

How far away is your son's school? What is he studying?

 

[AverysMommy]

I have also participated in threads where it was "special" to get the first post at the top of a page.

I can pull that info together too!!

thanks for the idea

 

[AverysMommy]

Lets keep count on who gets the special Top Page Post.

Keeping track so far:

AverysMommy - 9
SillyLittlePixie - 2
iamdaisyduck - 2
Grumpymakesmehappy - 1
lanand3 - 1

 

[AverysMommy]

Hey all! I thought I'd peek in and check on our cruise meet thread. Boy, go away for a month or two and you miss over 10 pages! Welcome to everyone that has hopped onboard.

We, too, were on the Nov 9th Wonder and had a great time. That was cruise #6 for us and it was all still just as magical! By the way, for those of you contemplating Deck 2, this was our first time there and we LOVED it. We were aft which meant a short climb up to Animators, Parrot Cay or a quick elevator ride to Deck 9.
As for shows, Toy Story The Musical is quickly becoming our favorite. The sets and character costuming is awesome. It probably helps that it's a newer show as we've seen Golden Mickeys and Disney Dreams many times. Oldies, but goodies.

I promise to get caught up on all the posts!

What is basic premise of the Toy Story musical?

Good to hear about Deck 2 - I am looking forward to staying on the PARTY DECK in 2009

 

[AverysMommy]

OK all caught up......Its been crazy at my job lately......last Wednesday I let my team (140 staff) know that they were being outsourced to another company.

Good news is that they keep their jobs and only about 15 people have to move locations (to about 10 minutes away). they are guaranteed that the new company will not lay them off for at least 1 year......but it was still a tough message to deliver. Some Tears, Some Anger, Some Shock......but we are arranging some Personal Change Management training to help people to cope.

It was such a long week with minimal sleep - I was exhausted by Saturday and Thank God, I got some needed sleep. I still feel sad but I know that they are going to a VERY good company that will treat them very well.

Jessalynn

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

It was such a long week with minimal sleep - I was exhausted by Saturday and Thank God, I got some needed sleep. I still feel sad but I know that they are going to a VERY good company that will treat them very well.

Jessalynn

Oh man, that sounds horrible. I can't imagine having to give those folks that news. At least they'll still be employed, but still... what a rough week, no kidding.



What do you do at your job?

Christine

 

[glindamood]

How far away is your son's school? What is he studying?

By car he is about 90 minutes away, give or take, in good weather. His original plan had been to major in Chemistry (wanted to work in a lab for a drug company) but I think he is rethinking that as he didn't have a very good time in that class this quarter. I tried very hard to instill in all our children to pick a career doing something that you enjoy - he had a great time in Chemistry in high school, especially lab but not so much in college. But, he is also a freshman, it is his first class so we shall see how organic chemistry goes next semester. Alma is a liberal arts school so we shall see where that takes him. They do a mock UN which he is taking next semester so heaven only knows where the boy will land.

 

[glindamood]

Bump

Hope everyone is doing well and are preparing for the holiday. The tree is up here but the cookies I baked are almost gone so that is my project for this weekend - or until I run out of flour...

Have a good weekend!

 

[AverysMommy]

Oh man, that sounds horrible. I can't imagine having to give those folks that news. At least they'll still be employed, but still... what a rough week, no kidding.



What do you do at your job?

Christine

Well it was a fun week.........overall the people seem to be taking it well. Lots of discussion pensions, vacation, etc but people seem to be accepting. To be honest - they dont get much of a choice as they dont get a severance if they dont go.

I am a Director at a Bank in Canada - responsible for Records Management.

 

[AverysMommy]

By car he is about 90 minutes away, give or take, in good weather. His original plan had been to major in Chemistry (wanted to work in a lab for a drug company) but I think he is rethinking that as he didn't have a very good time in that class this quarter. I tried very hard to instill in all our children to pick a career doing something that you enjoy - he had a great time in Chemistry in high school, especially lab but not so much in college. But, he is also a freshman, it is his first class so we shall see how organic chemistry goes next semester. Alma is a liberal arts school so we shall see where that takes him. They do a mock UN which he is taking next semester so heaven only knows where the boy will land.

People always start college with one idea and come out with another.....its all about learning.

They are seeing the next generation will truly be a flexible generation with very few people staying in one career for life as the world will be changing so quickly. That sounds exciting but also scary when you are a parent as you want to ensure they are prepared - but how do you get prepared when you dont know what the future holds