We finally added some pics from Kelly's Graduation weekend, so please scroll down to see them. Janice actually started the post several days ago, but didn't have the pics to display, thus explaining the date sequence (of course, being the male - I am to blame for that...)
This being our youngest, we can "stick a fork in it - we're done"!
Enjoy!
Ed
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Saturday, May 20, 2006
AHHHYYYYYIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!
Hello. I said I would update my Economics grade. The title says it all. I was 1 or 2 points away from a C and got a D+. So now I have to repeat this wretched course at UNK. Grrrr...that I cannot stand. My advisor told me that it's not a requirement for his program, instead to graduate from UNK. So yeah, he said that he has never heard of them substituting a course for it. So I'm DOOMED!!! DOOMED I SAY, DOOMED!!! O_o. Sorry, I am not very thrilled.
I might take the course at CCC next spring. I'm booked this fall. I'm doing my courses at UNK and bringing them back to CCC except for one class. I am going to do that so I can kill two birds with one stone and have the courses count at both institutions. Plus that way I can get all my classes done XD. I'll have my AAS degree next spring in criminal justice. I was originally planning on moving to Kearney and working at YRTC and have an apartment. But that has changed. I will just stay here and commute, live here rent-free and mooch money off of my parents (HA!). But the degree will come in handy in case I have to drop out of UNK or something like that. At least I will have a degree that means something in the real world! AA degree in Academic Transfer means NOTHING!!!
Well that is the economics news. I will start my Crimainl Investigation course on Monday. I'm very excited for that. Plus it's a professor I had this spring, so I know what to expect out of him. I know that he is not intimidating and very easy to approach. I really enjoyed his class this last spring. That was my comparative class. It was quite intriguing. Oh and he authors the text book to make that even funner :). I'm excited though. However, I dread the major paper I have to write. Maybe he'll take it easy on us :). I can only hope.
Well half way through the class, I will post an update on it and if I've had a major meltdown yet. I will probably be ready for summer finally after that class! Like I said before, I wasn't ready for school to get out. LOL. Internship is going well. I will be up in GI next Friday!
Okay, off I go. I have to rinse out a pitcher and make Kool-Aid since my parents are gone to an art show/wine festival. No, they aren't drinking that I know of. I was going to go until mom said I can't go get drunk for my first time there (Boo hoo). Anyway, I would like to taste some wine sometime in life. But I'll do that at a later date. Instead, I need to go get hyped up on sugar and go see if the mail is here. See ya later alligators :). Yes, I was joking about getting wasted. I would like to try wine though :).
I might take the course at CCC next spring. I'm booked this fall. I'm doing my courses at UNK and bringing them back to CCC except for one class. I am going to do that so I can kill two birds with one stone and have the courses count at both institutions. Plus that way I can get all my classes done XD. I'll have my AAS degree next spring in criminal justice. I was originally planning on moving to Kearney and working at YRTC and have an apartment. But that has changed. I will just stay here and commute, live here rent-free and mooch money off of my parents (HA!). But the degree will come in handy in case I have to drop out of UNK or something like that. At least I will have a degree that means something in the real world! AA degree in Academic Transfer means NOTHING!!!
Well that is the economics news. I will start my Crimainl Investigation course on Monday. I'm very excited for that. Plus it's a professor I had this spring, so I know what to expect out of him. I know that he is not intimidating and very easy to approach. I really enjoyed his class this last spring. That was my comparative class. It was quite intriguing. Oh and he authors the text book to make that even funner :). I'm excited though. However, I dread the major paper I have to write. Maybe he'll take it easy on us :). I can only hope.
Well half way through the class, I will post an update on it and if I've had a major meltdown yet. I will probably be ready for summer finally after that class! Like I said before, I wasn't ready for school to get out. LOL. Internship is going well. I will be up in GI next Friday!
Okay, off I go. I have to rinse out a pitcher and make Kool-Aid since my parents are gone to an art show/wine festival. No, they aren't drinking that I know of. I was going to go until mom said I can't go get drunk for my first time there (Boo hoo). Anyway, I would like to taste some wine sometime in life. But I'll do that at a later date. Instead, I need to go get hyped up on sugar and go see if the mail is here. See ya later alligators :). Yes, I was joking about getting wasted. I would like to try wine though :).
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Our big weekend from Janice
Family Letter
The Wiles are still in afterglow after a wonderful Mothers' Day weekend in Des Moines. Kelly graduated with honors with her Doctor of Pharmacy degree. Our party at the Botanical Center included all grandparents, aunts and uncles, Elissa and Matt, and many of her friends from her college years at Drake. (Zac was in a wedding in Lincoln on Saturday, but did join us for a few pictures on Sunday afternoon, along with new girlfriend, Stephanie.) I just don't know how it could get any better than that! To celebrate a great achievement surrounded by so many loved ones is a double blessing, indeed.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Update on Me
Well, I have one more week of freedom until school starts again. Trust me, I'm totally ready to go back. But yeah, I have 5 weeks of Criminal Investigation. It's writing intensive and that means that I will be most likely handing in a rough draft in 2 and 1/2 weeks after the class starts. Oh and I'm assuming that the paper will be a minimum of 16 pages long. It could be 20. I'm hoping he'll be easy and make it 10 to 12 :). I will be at UNK on Monday, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM. Then I will drive home. Ugh, maybe I should just live in Kearney. HA! So that is the story with my summer class.
I was waiting to post my grades. I still am waiting for my Economics grade because my teacher is gone to Austrailia right now. So he had to do a temporary run on my grade, which turned out to be an F. Hehehe. So I have completed the course and am waiting to hear on how that grade changes. It will either be a D (most likely) or a C. I'm really hoping for a C, but I doubt that I got it. That means that I will be repeating the course at UNK (cry). Otherwise, I earned an A+ in Intro to Corrections, an A in Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice, a B in Comparative Criminal Justice Systems. So I'm happy with how I did this semester. I chose a good class to transistion into UNK with because in Comparative, we just took notes and didn't have any papers or homework. So that was good. I will update when I know what my economics grade is.
I landed an internship this summer. I had to do one for my degree at CCC. I am working the parole office in Grand Island. I have to do 120 hours of internship to equal 2 credits. I started on Friday and it was a very interesting day. I am glad that I got this one, because this was my first choice. I hopefully will know by the end of the 120 hours if I want to do this as a possible career or not. At UNK, I will have 400 hours of internship to do, so I will be hopefully splitting them between Corrections (as a corrections caseworker if possible) and a probation officer. Therefore, I will know which one I want to concentrate on. But I am very excited that I landed this internship. It's not paid, so I am also working 20 hours a week at the library. Trust me, it's hard to do, but I will manage. At least my summer is busy! I am glad. But 20 hours of work, internship and 5 weeks of class,t hat will be interesting.
Okay, other than that, I don't think that this is anything else to tell you about. I made my own pancakes for lunch today. Yes, mark it on your calendars, I acutally cooked my own meal. Usually I just like to stick a frozen meal or pizza in the oven or microwave and nuke it and call it good. I have no patience to cook! LOL. But that is all the news on my end.
I just wanted to update you on my grades and my internship. Umm, I will post again once I know economics. But spring is done and I want school NOT to be over with! I'm bored! (Of course, keep in mind that I haven't had summer school yet) Anyway, I am out of here now. I have to go google up a cookbook I have checked out that I want to buy. Way too many good recipes not to copy! Talk to you all later!
Suz
I was waiting to post my grades. I still am waiting for my Economics grade because my teacher is gone to Austrailia right now. So he had to do a temporary run on my grade, which turned out to be an F. Hehehe. So I have completed the course and am waiting to hear on how that grade changes. It will either be a D (most likely) or a C. I'm really hoping for a C, but I doubt that I got it. That means that I will be repeating the course at UNK (cry). Otherwise, I earned an A+ in Intro to Corrections, an A in Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice, a B in Comparative Criminal Justice Systems. So I'm happy with how I did this semester. I chose a good class to transistion into UNK with because in Comparative, we just took notes and didn't have any papers or homework. So that was good. I will update when I know what my economics grade is.
I landed an internship this summer. I had to do one for my degree at CCC. I am working the parole office in Grand Island. I have to do 120 hours of internship to equal 2 credits. I started on Friday and it was a very interesting day. I am glad that I got this one, because this was my first choice. I hopefully will know by the end of the 120 hours if I want to do this as a possible career or not. At UNK, I will have 400 hours of internship to do, so I will be hopefully splitting them between Corrections (as a corrections caseworker if possible) and a probation officer. Therefore, I will know which one I want to concentrate on. But I am very excited that I landed this internship. It's not paid, so I am also working 20 hours a week at the library. Trust me, it's hard to do, but I will manage. At least my summer is busy! I am glad. But 20 hours of work, internship and 5 weeks of class,t hat will be interesting.
Okay, other than that, I don't think that this is anything else to tell you about. I made my own pancakes for lunch today. Yes, mark it on your calendars, I acutally cooked my own meal. Usually I just like to stick a frozen meal or pizza in the oven or microwave and nuke it and call it good. I have no patience to cook! LOL. But that is all the news on my end.
I just wanted to update you on my grades and my internship. Umm, I will post again once I know economics. But spring is done and I want school NOT to be over with! I'm bored! (Of course, keep in mind that I haven't had summer school yet) Anyway, I am out of here now. I have to go google up a cookbook I have checked out that I want to buy. Way too many good recipes not to copy! Talk to you all later!
Suz
Saturday, May 6, 2006
Thanks, Nancy, for the update - Suki
Hi All,
Just wanted to say hi and respond to Nancy's note of the reasons for her pending job change. Wow. It must have been tough to go to work each day knowing you had to report to the "work bully" with the professionalism of a fork. Sounds like things are moving forward now and the ultimate goal of what's in the best interest of children will still be addressed. Good luck working in Milford, Nancy.
News from Nancy
Good morning, all,
I'm delaying my Saturday cleaning to write this AM b/c I sense a great deal of curiosity about my job status out there. I appreciate your interest, dear family. Here's the story; it's a long one, but I'll try to condense.
I started my administrative career in 1980 with a special education cooperative (Geneva Support Services Cooperative--GSSC) in 1980. It should have been part of ESU 6 but the ESU at that time did not want to provide direct services to students. In 2001, the ESU finally responded to the Superintendents' long-standing requests that it be the governing body and we became part of ESU 6. At the same time, a new SPED Director was hired at the ESU and my nightmare began. I had never even heard the term "workplace bully" but I lived it for two years. The person hired would send emails without subjects so I never knew if when I opened it, it would be filled with messages written all in caps with multiple explanation points that were ordering, borderline threatening, sometimes sarcastic. At other times, when I had done what she had directed, she would write sickeningly sweet thank yous, again filled with explanation points.
The first thing she decided I should do is shut down the three preschools in three different counties for children with disabilities (TYKE--serving 60 children at the time). The state is responding to the federal push for children to be educated in their natural environments (community preschools) rather than school-based programs. She could not/would not understand my position that most of the towns we served had no preschools at all, so TYKE was all there was to offer to our students. Besides, I have a philosophical difference with the position that all you have to do is put disabled children in a "natural environment" and they will learn as much from their peers with a non-certificated teacher as they would from a Master's level teacher with a degree in Early Childhood Special Education. We have some non-disabled peers in TYKE, but the most important factor, in my opinion, is the skill of the teachers and paras. Anyway, we locked horns on that right away and I drug my feet to keep them open.
She also did not like the SUCCESS programs for students with moderate to severe disabilities, but did not go so far as to order me to shut them down. My position on that was it was healthier for the students to go to a regional program where they could participate in Special Olympics, get vocational training at job sites, learn functional life skills at our SUCCESS apartment and not be a group of one (usually taught by a para) in their tiny districts.
She did not treat just me like this; the people at the main office tiptoed around in fear of one of her face to face rants that were often followed in the same day with her trying to get the person to join in her very loud (some called it screeching) laughter. Needless to say, that wasn't often successful.
Her work history was long and varied, with the longest job lasting three years and the shortest six months. I held on to the hope that she would maintain that pattern and she did, leaving at the end of two years. Good thing, b/c I had many teachers who were updating their resumes, as I was doing.
I know you're wondering how she ever got hired anyplace and here's the answer: she had her doctorate, she was very attractive and well-spoken and came across as quite knowledgeable and polished in some settings (interviews, obviously :}
After she left, ESU 6 and 4 (Auburn) tried to share a SPED Director and that started my healing. Ellen Stokebrand is a delightful person who knows special education, knows how to treat people to get the most out of them, valued want I had done for the last 20+ years and we've done lots of good things together. The ESU 6 board did not like the arrangement, however, so it will end at the end of three years (now). So ESU 6 was in the market for a SPED Director and I applied b/c I knew that I could not spend the last 5-6 years of my career hunkered down trying to protect what I've worked to create for the last 26 years. I am grieving having to leave the programs and the teachers and paras I've hired, but thought I had to do it for their sake as much as mine. We've hired someone (after extensive background checks :) who will be fine.
I will move my office to Milford and be more involved in staff development across the ESU and ultimately responsible for SUCCESS and TYKE b/c I will supervise the new person.
So.........that's the story. I hope none of you ever have to experience anything like what happened to me. I did learn a lot, though--what not to do, how not to treat people, how not to act, etc. etc.
Now, must get to the cleaning. Thanks again for your interest.
Love,
Nancy
I'm delaying my Saturday cleaning to write this AM b/c I sense a great deal of curiosity about my job status out there. I appreciate your interest, dear family. Here's the story; it's a long one, but I'll try to condense.
I started my administrative career in 1980 with a special education cooperative (Geneva Support Services Cooperative--GSSC) in 1980. It should have been part of ESU 6 but the ESU at that time did not want to provide direct services to students. In 2001, the ESU finally responded to the Superintendents' long-standing requests that it be the governing body and we became part of ESU 6. At the same time, a new SPED Director was hired at the ESU and my nightmare began. I had never even heard the term "workplace bully" but I lived it for two years. The person hired would send emails without subjects so I never knew if when I opened it, it would be filled with messages written all in caps with multiple explanation points that were ordering, borderline threatening, sometimes sarcastic. At other times, when I had done what she had directed, she would write sickeningly sweet thank yous, again filled with explanation points.
The first thing she decided I should do is shut down the three preschools in three different counties for children with disabilities (TYKE--serving 60 children at the time). The state is responding to the federal push for children to be educated in their natural environments (community preschools) rather than school-based programs. She could not/would not understand my position that most of the towns we served had no preschools at all, so TYKE was all there was to offer to our students. Besides, I have a philosophical difference with the position that all you have to do is put disabled children in a "natural environment" and they will learn as much from their peers with a non-certificated teacher as they would from a Master's level teacher with a degree in Early Childhood Special Education. We have some non-disabled peers in TYKE, but the most important factor, in my opinion, is the skill of the teachers and paras. Anyway, we locked horns on that right away and I drug my feet to keep them open.
She also did not like the SUCCESS programs for students with moderate to severe disabilities, but did not go so far as to order me to shut them down. My position on that was it was healthier for the students to go to a regional program where they could participate in Special Olympics, get vocational training at job sites, learn functional life skills at our SUCCESS apartment and not be a group of one (usually taught by a para) in their tiny districts.
She did not treat just me like this; the people at the main office tiptoed around in fear of one of her face to face rants that were often followed in the same day with her trying to get the person to join in her very loud (some called it screeching) laughter. Needless to say, that wasn't often successful.
Her work history was long and varied, with the longest job lasting three years and the shortest six months. I held on to the hope that she would maintain that pattern and she did, leaving at the end of two years. Good thing, b/c I had many teachers who were updating their resumes, as I was doing.
I know you're wondering how she ever got hired anyplace and here's the answer: she had her doctorate, she was very attractive and well-spoken and came across as quite knowledgeable and polished in some settings (interviews, obviously :}
After she left, ESU 6 and 4 (Auburn) tried to share a SPED Director and that started my healing. Ellen Stokebrand is a delightful person who knows special education, knows how to treat people to get the most out of them, valued want I had done for the last 20+ years and we've done lots of good things together. The ESU 6 board did not like the arrangement, however, so it will end at the end of three years (now). So ESU 6 was in the market for a SPED Director and I applied b/c I knew that I could not spend the last 5-6 years of my career hunkered down trying to protect what I've worked to create for the last 26 years. I am grieving having to leave the programs and the teachers and paras I've hired, but thought I had to do it for their sake as much as mine. We've hired someone (after extensive background checks :) who will be fine.
I will move my office to Milford and be more involved in staff development across the ESU and ultimately responsible for SUCCESS and TYKE b/c I will supervise the new person.
So.........that's the story. I hope none of you ever have to experience anything like what happened to me. I did learn a lot, though--what not to do, how not to treat people, how not to act, etc. etc.
Now, must get to the cleaning. Thanks again for your interest.
Love,
Nancy
Friday, May 5, 2006
Monday, May 1, 2006
Happy May Day from Mary Jo
I just read the most recent posts. Suki, the party was great and thanks for including the picture...feel free to send more. I knew Ed was busy, but 320 pictures! What a treasure.
Yes, Nancy, what is the news with you? I didn't know anything about you leaving your job, either!!?? We're all waiting with baited breath for your next post.
Paul's been busy planting things around here, and this time of year, before the grip of hot weather gets us in its hold, things look so good. We do need to spray a pre-emergence (for crab grass) on our buffalo grass patches (you do it all a little later that blue grass. I wish I could hire my nephew/owner of Shamrock Lawn Service to do that nasty little job...
Today, Paul and I celebrate our 35th anniversary. Since he's got his hemoglobin built up, he has so much energy you'd think he was 10 years younger than me instead of the actual 4-years older! We know we have so much to be grateful for. We plan to go to Grand Island for "Mongolian Grill", which we both really enjoy, and is a semi-healthy way to eat out.
By the way, several posts back there was talk of trips to Arizona. Janice's reminiscenses sounded familiar. We flew there for our honeymoon, a 10-day trip from Phoenix, to the Grand Canyon, back through the painted desert, down to Tucson and over the border to Nogales, Mexico, and back to Phoenix. It was a wonderful trip (and really, one of only two big vacations we've had in 35 years), but we were also surprised to find snow and cold weather some of the time. Especially since we had just left beautiful spring weather in Nebraska!
Please write, everyone. I love hearing from you. Nancy, don't keep us all in suspense....
Yes, Nancy, what is the news with you? I didn't know anything about you leaving your job, either!!?? We're all waiting with baited breath for your next post.
Paul's been busy planting things around here, and this time of year, before the grip of hot weather gets us in its hold, things look so good. We do need to spray a pre-emergence (for crab grass) on our buffalo grass patches (you do it all a little later that blue grass. I wish I could hire my nephew/owner of Shamrock Lawn Service to do that nasty little job...
Today, Paul and I celebrate our 35th anniversary. Since he's got his hemoglobin built up, he has so much energy you'd think he was 10 years younger than me instead of the actual 4-years older! We know we have so much to be grateful for. We plan to go to Grand Island for "Mongolian Grill", which we both really enjoy, and is a semi-healthy way to eat out.
By the way, several posts back there was talk of trips to Arizona. Janice's reminiscenses sounded familiar. We flew there for our honeymoon, a 10-day trip from Phoenix, to the Grand Canyon, back through the painted desert, down to Tucson and over the border to Nogales, Mexico, and back to Phoenix. It was a wonderful trip (and really, one of only two big vacations we've had in 35 years), but we were also surprised to find snow and cold weather some of the time. Especially since we had just left beautiful spring weather in Nebraska!
Please write, everyone. I love hearing from you. Nancy, don't keep us all in suspense....
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