*Yawn* >>Stretch<< Welcome Back!

It is hard to believe that it has been so long since I last posted. On the other hand, it isn't THAT hard to believe because I have been a busy bee!

That being said, I now have 6 or 7 followers and I have neglected you all for too long, LOL!

So, let's get you caught up....

Zack is having another amazing year at The Gow School, which isn't a surprise. He has made honor scroll every marking period, found that he loves wrestling. Doesn't he looks like a skeleton in his singlet?









He also decided to try taking ADD meds for the first time in his life. This is something that we hesitated to do, dating back to his initial diagnosis for Dyslexia. We simply wanted to see how well he could learn to manage it on his own, with help from Gow. However, after two years there, he found that he was limited in his ability to take control, and so he started with meds. We are still working with the doctor to get the dosage right, but Zack reports that he does notice a difference, after our latest change. So, that's good.


Jacob continues to love 7th grade. He has been on the merit roll and honor roll this year and, is discovering that with a little effort, things at school are pretty easy to handle.  He was in the middle school production of "Through the Looking Glass" and thoroughly enjoyed it. He is convinced that he will be a famous actor, living in New York City, with a driver and a maid named Consuela. Oh to be 12 again!

My school year has been an amazing journey and it is hard to believe that it is already March. My students continue to amaze me, daily. I have had some challenges, but there are more days that feel rewarding than those that are challenging, so I'm calling it a win!

I have spoken at a couple of small group events about the Burmese refugees that I deal with and some of the challenges that they face. That talk has opened up some amazing doors for me, in terms of donations for the students. The good people at Ingram Micro donated all of their castoff office supplies and promotional items that they got from vendors. Thanks to Elaine, over at IM, we have behavior incentive prizes for the rest of the school year! We have also gotten a steady stream of donated clothing and household items for the kids and their families who are SO grateful for the kindness of strangers.

I am becoming more and more intrigued by a phenomenon that seems to be limited to our refugee population of students and, more specifically, the Burmese families. We struggle to get our Burmese students to do homework and their families simply do not seem to understand the importance of practicing their skills at home- that there really is a POINT to the homework. Furthermore, I have students who have been here for three years and still don't recognize the letters of the alphabet, despite handstands and back flips by their teachers. If anyone reading this (all 7 of you) has suggestions or connections to researchers on this subject, please share with me! One night, after searching, fruitlessly, on the interwebs, I actually reached out to another blogger, Angela Watson at The Cornerstone for Teachers, to see if she had any suggestions. That led to an invite to write a piece on our refugees, for her blog. I am hoping that sharing my experience will help others, and bring some answers as well!

In closing, I want to share a quick story about my experience with one family at my school. The boy, a fourth grader, who I will call A, arrived here from Iraq two months ago. He is a goofy kid, acting silly all the time, with very limited English skills. He also has quite a "unibrow" that makes him LOOK angry all of the time, but he really is quite happy. He is in a very small ESL group with students of similar abilities. His Dad is very enthusiastic about being in America and is not afraid to speak imperfect English. He is also VERY loud. After meeting him several times, he and his wife came to school one day asking for me. We spoke about their son's progress and they expressed a desire for A to do more homework. This is such a challenge because he cannot do much of the content area homework, and I can't micromanage what the teacher sends home. Anyway, Dad told me that A always speaks so highly of "Mrs. Eluh" (L) and that he loves me. They invited me to their home for a meal and time to talk. Dad then went on to loudly, emphatically, repeatedly, tell me that he loves me, LOL. Now, I know that he was expressing his gratitude for what I am doing for A. However, others who overheard the conversation grew concerned because, as I said, Dad can be loud.  But, it's a happy loud, and that is a good thing. So, long story short, I will be taking my son with me to Saturday school, after which, we will go to the home of these kind people and enjoy a traditional Iraqi/Arabic meal. It will be interesting and strange and fun, all at the same time. It will also serve to reinforce my belief in the importance of the work I do- even if there ARE days that I want to go home and back to bed!

It is Better to Give Than to Receive (most of the time, anyway)

Lest you think that I spend my entire life whining and begging...

My writing has been so focused on needs, of late, so I want to let you know that I *do* give in my daily life and I LOVE it! As I have mentioned, I am a teacher with Buffalo Schools. My school has a 94% poverty rate, and the students' needs are tremendous. Like so many, their families are short on time and money. Our school system works hard to limit the financial burdens that they put on families. My school has a uniform policy- students must wear a school shirt (navy polo) and uniform pants (navy.) This might not sound like it eases financial burdens, but the cost of two shirts is about $15 and two pair of pants from Target, about $40. Most families can get away with purchasing those 4 items, saving them money, in the long run.

However, for some families, that is even too much. My students are, almost, all refugees. They come with a couple of trash bags full of "stuff" (clothing, housewares, etc.) from their native countries. Catholic Charities and other refugee services do provide them with some basics, but they rely heavily on the kindness of others.

So, when I started at the school, last Fall,  I had a brainstorm. A co-worker mentioned to me that she tries to make sure that all of the students have winter coats, hats, gloves and boots. This led me to ask my friends and family if they might be willing to donate their "charity-bound" items to my students. Most were happy to do it... and our clothing bank was born. We made sure that every student that needed clothing items got them. At any time, students were able to come to my storage room and find items that they needed. If we didn't have it, we would ask for help from WearNShare, and they always delivered.

When I realized that students did not have toiletry items at home, I started using "super couponing" to get the items that they needed. No, I'm not one of those women you see who get 4,000 TV dinners for $0.12, but I can usually score shampoo, soap, etc for $0.25 and that little bit goes a long way.

The thing about all of this is that I LOVE giving. It probably gives me the same rush that shopping does for others. My dear husband often has to temper my enthusiasm, reminding me that we have serious financial needs of our own. His words don't keep me from giving- they just encourage me to shop even more frugally!

All of this is my way of saying that, yes, I do ask for a lot of the five readers that I have.  However, I am asking only that you share our story with YOUR five readers, and then they share, etc. until our plight gets to the right person. We are eternally grateful to all of those who have helped spread the word thus far. Every hit that we get at indiegogo (not donation, just clicking the link) moves us up the ladder for them to advertise us more frequently. So, Thank you all!