Praise to Success Rightly Earned

The Meadows in Temecula, CA

Recently we attended our Springs Charter School Gala to honor deserving employees, hand out awards, and most of all, demonstrate where former students had gone, what they had done with their lives. All had either become successful in education, creating businesses, and achieving what had once seemed impossible.

Not succeeding in traditional schools, many students and their parents seek alternatives, with Springs Charter School being one. Having been a traditional teacher in a public school, I can see how this alternate education would have benefited many former students.

It is listed as one of the most successful sixteen charter schools in California.

A growing successful school option

 One might think I am boasting, but it is merited in this case.  Awesome results.

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Okay, you are waiting for my usual twist and surprise ending, so here you go.

Being a people-watcher, I gazed around, amazed. Too many women my age were struggling with weight (more than struggling), to extreme levels, and I mean jiggly bulging fat. And they wore dresses that should not have been worn by anyone with that much flesh stretched over, down, and around.

I viewed them mostly from the back, and I prayed that my butt did not resemble theirs.

AND THEN there were the young women.  Sigh.  A few of them wore girdle-like dresses, and all I could think was Spanx was doing big business tonight. Other attendees were  really skinny women with spray tans, who wore cocktail/nightclub dresses and teetered on stiletto heels.  None of them could possibly sit down or bend over, seriously.  Since I was eye level with their butts, I know this to be a fact.

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The buffet was truly well done and the decor was lovely.  Kudos to the special people from the school who arranged this.

Great entertainment, I must tell you.  An auctioneer who sold off donated baskets of good stuff garnered amazing amounts to support school programs.  Awesome man, and I know my auctioneers, having spent time at farm auctions. Donated baskets containing really nice stuff were auctioned off, as this man coerced big money with his wit and talent.

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I cut into the perfect prime rib, scooped some sauteed peppers and zucchini.  It was all that one could hope to eat at such an event.  About 15 minutes into the meal, my colon started battling with itself and abdomen swelled up to that of a five month pregnant woman.

The ladies' room was a good number of strides away, and was a "one-seater".  No relief, several women waiting.  I went outside where lovely misting hose provided some relief from noise and odor.

But oh I tell you what.  The five month belly was heading to six as we drove home.  I rolled down the window.  We got home and I raced to our dinky master bathroom.  It and I grew to be fast friends.

So here I am today, having taken much of the day with the battle raging.

What was it?  Heck if I know.

All in all, a memorable night.  A good time was had by all.

Take care of your teeth and they will take care of you!

Dental Care

Jane Anne Dapper had spent years and years to reach an executive level at Smith and Kline, LLC, producers of Prime Mouthwash and other fine products.  Jane remembered what her father had told her frequently, "Always brush your teeth and never question authority." Those years of his advice were finally paying off. She had arrived.

Jane Anne's position was one of quality control, where she had to determine if the undrinkable mouthwash was acceptable.  To do this, Jane Anne was required to gargle copious amounts of this product to determine if it met optimum standards.  The 25% alcohol content was a negligible consequence.
At the end of Jane Anne's first week, she collapsed, dead before she hit the floor. Mouth wash covered her.

Coroners determined Jane Anne died from alcohol poisoning.  CEO Mark Smith swore, shouting to Fred Kline, "This is the 3rd one this year!"

Kline suggested second woman in line to take over Jane Anne's job. Smith agreed and called personnel to send up Fannie Schimmel.

mouthwash contents

This week's Wednesday Words have been provided by River.  The bold underlined words are this week's words.  Bloggers: Go grab these words!  Write something outside your usual genre, stretch your writing wings and fly!

School's out for Summer!

The stampede

The last days of school are filled with stress on students and teachers alike.  For the teachers, it is a sprint to finish report cards, say "good-bye" to students, clean out classrooms, return texts to the library, and everything else.  It was truly a sprint, because all the tasks were a finish line that depleted teacher resources, both physical and emotional.

Hard on the students?  In what possible way could leaping into summer vacation be difficult? Daylight-filled soccer games with friends? Time to ride bikes through neighborhoods?  Eat watermelon?

That is a small percentage of student populations enjoying summer with those activities.

But the last percentage, summer is horrific.

These students live in small apartments, surrounded by relatives from Mexico.  There might be 20+ people sleeping on the floor, with children in corners on a blanket.   Postage size green play areas cannot accommodate all the children from those apartments.  Green grass is trampled to dirt. Parents take them to a park?

Really?

Parents are working two jobs.  Cleaning houses, picking produce, working as maids in hotels, and other low paying jobs.  Food?  Slim pickings there.  Who watches the little children?  The bigger children watch them.

Once school ends, so does the free breakfasts and lunches.  Students had come to school, having not eaten since the last school lunch.

Once school ends, a structured classroom, which provides friends and learning, disappear.

How to change these conditions?

Once school ends, students may move back to Mexico or out closer to the produce fields, where they can also pick strawberries, beans, melon, and just about every food product that they cannot have in their house. Side by side with their parents, students learn to pick quickly. Depending on the policies of the produce companies, students and their parents may or may not keep or eat some of the produce.

Those students, those precious students have tears in their eyes when they leave the school grounds.  And so does the teacher.***

***There are programs that provide free food, clothing, and activities, but not every family can access them.