So this happened. I'm in shock. Is this real? It can't be. My first day back to school and I planned to meet someone from our PR department to get my photos taken teaching students for the Maryland Teacher of the Year awards ceremony coming up on October 8th (on MPT, tune in!!) I'm just standing at my circulation desk computer, preparing resources for my classes that day - you know, normal teacher-stuff... and in walks Dr. Michael, our superintendent, with a few other important people. Suddenly my principal is standing in the room, and they are all smiling at me and they have balloons... and I'm just completely clueless as to what's happening... Yep, they surprised me again. Just like the last time. I must be easy to deceive. This whole thing is totally surreal. FINALIST! What an honor to be selected from such an amazing group of educators across the state - and I couldn't be more proud to represent the library media department of Washington County Public schools, as well as librarians across the state. My interview is tomorrow, and we'll find out live on MPT on October 8th. Regardless of what happens, I am so humbled to be on this journey. It was truly an honor just to be nominated... this is so much more than I ever expected. 💖
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My new library has several perfectly serviceable book trucks - 4 small ones and one larger one (like the one above). While they are functional, they aren't exactly aesthetically pleasing. They are that boring, industrial greige/putty color. Again, serviceable, but not very fun. After looking into the cost of replacing them, I quickly decided that it would be more cost effective to paint them to match the colors I wanted. Here's how it went! STEP 1: Transport said ugly book carts home. I am well aware they didn't really need to come home with me, but it was definitely easier to work on them at my house instead of at school - I have all the painting tools here, and the commute is a little over an hour round-trip if I forget something. STEP 2: Rough them up a little bit. I used a palm sander with fine grit sandpaper to rough them up, then hand-sanded the parts that I couldn't reach with the sander. My neighbors probably think I've lost it - I was out there sanding at 7:30 am because I was trying to get it done before the July heat set in for the day! STEP 3: Prep. After sanding, I wiped the carts down with a damp cloth to get the dust off. I also taped grocery bags around the wheels to protect them from overspray. Step 4: Prime I used Rust-oleum Professional Primer in a matte gray color. It worked beautifully. It took me two cans for good coverage on each smaller cart. I let the carts dry and "cure" for 24 hours before I did the next round of paint! One down, one to go! All primed, ready for paint! STEP 5: Paint! Finally - the moment I was waiting for ... time to transform these ugly greige carts into gorgeous, bright, beautiful lime green carts! YAY!!! Goodbye greige, hello COLOR! Key Lime, to be exact, in Rust-Oleum "Painter's Touch" Gloss. Well, here goes nothing! First coat down, and already it looks AMAZING!! And the finished product! 3 cans of spray paint later and they are this GORGEOUS shade of lime green.
Total project cost: Primer - $14 (2 cans) Spray Paint - $12 (3 cans) I already owned a palm sander, had the painter's tape and grocery bags to protect the wheels, and had the fine grit sand paper on hand. For about $26 and a two hours of my time, these formerly grey carts are now transformed. I am taking them back to school to finish curing before I use them for books. I will update with how they hold up over time! Now... about those OTHER ugly carts I have.... ha ha! And just like that, year 16 of teaching is a wrap! What a wild ride! If I went back in time to August 2019 and told past-me what June 2020 would look like, I definitely wouldn't believe it... who would have believed that this school year would in such an altogether weird way. I logged into the library portal to finalize my library book inventories today and discovered that my transfer is officially official - I'm the Boonsboro Middle School media specialist as of today! Even though the paperwork and position change was approved months ago, it never really felt "real" until I saw my name on the Boonsboro library portal page. Here's to new beginnings and new adventures! Can't wait to see what challenges the 2020-21 school year brings... new school, more distance education(?), and WCPS Teacher of the Year... it's sure to be one to remember! Challenging school year ends for Washington County Public Schools article from the Herald Mail newspaper, featuring yours truly! (I don't think I'll ever REALLY get used to this media attention!)
The last few weeks have been difficult. I can't stop thinking about the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many other BIPOC. We have to do better. We cannot continue to stand idly by, secure in our privilege, and do nothing. In times of difficulty, I have always found solace in books. I will curate a list of book recommendations, websites, and other resources. May we find the strength to stand together for our black and brown community members and begin the process of healing our deeply divided country. May we listen to the BIPOC in our communities that we can understand what they need. May we end the ingrained, systemic racism in our country and bring about equality for all. Anti-Racism Resources
This library, and this librarian, will always stand with you against racism, against bigotry, against hate. ALWAYS.
The WCPS Library Media Team put together an elementary and secondary book pass videos. Check out what we're reading while we are teaching from home! The Elementary Team: The Secondary Team: What are YOU reading during quarantine?
During distance learning, it is more important than ever that our students practice good digital citizenship. The folks at CommonSenseMedia.org have generated many amazing videos, activities, and discussion starters for our students and families. I compiled them into a PreK-12th grade list of resources that you can feel free to access below:
There are three videos and three family activities for each grade level band, divided grades PreK-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. I hope you will find these activities useful during this period of online learning!
Maryland Public Schools will remain closed for the rest of the year.
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the shutdown that started on 3/13 would last the entire school year. I miss my students. I miss my classroom. My heart hurts. Please stay safe, stay home, and stay well, and know that you are loved. </3 You guys. I won. I won the WCPS Teacher of the Year for 2020-21. I.WON.TEACHER.OF.THE.YEAR. Who... how... what... I can't .... yeah. So that happened. I'm in shock and disbelief. That ACTUALLY happened. Here's the proof: Typically the TOY ceremony is an evening event at the local country club. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were under very specific guidelines of no more than 10 people at a time together. We had to keep our physical distance from one another, wear a mask at all times unless we were on camera, and all the facilities were sanitized before and after the event. The entire event felt surreal. To say that I am honored is an understatement. I am just one of more than 1,800 teaching staff within WCPS, all of whom work hard to create the best learning experiences possible for our kids. I'm a library media specialist - the second one ever within WCPS to honored with this title. The first was Mrs. Pam Rubisch, currently the LMS at Rockland Woods Elementary. I had to get my picture taken with her! What an honor to represent the library media department for WCPS! As author Neil Gaiman said, our future "depends on libraries, reading, and daydreaming." I couldn't agree more, and I am proud to have been selected to represent WCPS during these uncertain times. I was awarded $1,000.00 for being a finalist and $5,000.00 for being the winner! I can't wait to select new and innovative materials for my classroom! WOW! I also received a year's worth of Chick-Fil-A meals, a variety of technology gifts from Sprint, and the use of a 2020 Honda Accord for one year from Hagerstown Honda! Can you believe this? I can't! The Herald Mail Newspaper ran a story on the front page, and WDVM called me for an interview (below). It's all surreal! None of this could have been possible without my amazing husband, Ben. He's an elementary computer science teacher with WCPS, and together we are a nerd force to be reckoned with! Check out his CTforKids.com site! So what's next? Winning the WCPS TOY award makes me our representative for the Maryland TOY award!! The process begins now! Thank you again to everyone for your love and support. I am truly honored and blessed.
WCPS provided almost 6,000 protective face shields for local healthcare workers by using 3D printer from secondary schools across the county and at Washington County Technical High School. I had the honor of helping set up the 3D printers and later printing face shields, volunteering many hours to make sure our frontline healthcare workers are safe! Check out this awesome video that WCPS produced highlighting our work! Note: All social distancing protocols were followed during the printing and filming. A message to our Cougar students from the SPMs staff: "Hey Cougars! All the teachers here at Springfield Middle school love all our awesome students very much and want you to know how much you are missed." Stay safe and keep reading - we'll be back soon! <3 |
About the AuthorHi! Welcome to my blog! My name is Christine Hurley. This is my 17th year of teaching - I've taught Kindergarten, 4th grade, elementary media, and now I am in my 6th year of teaching middle school media! Archives
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