2 are better than 1
There are many instances in which two are better than one.
And obviously, two cats are better than one. In case you missed my mass postings of black cat pictures, we have adopted another kitten from my students. Her name is Arrow, and she is a ball of energy and love. She starts purring when you pick her up.
The best part is that Arrow is Panther's sister cat! There was some sibling rivalry during the first week... lots of hissing, and we kept them in separate rooms for almost the entire week. Once we let them both have reign of the house, they completely turned it around in just two days. Now, they are inseparable. They chase each other around, groom each other, tousle, eat together, and sleep together. It's the cutest thing.
I worried that Panther would turn into a different cat when we got Arrow. I worried that Arrow wouldn't be as friendly and awesome as Panther. In the end, I really shouldn't have worried about anything! Panther is still Panther, and Arrow is, well, a mini Panther. Two cats means twice the snuggles! And... twice the poop to scoop from the litterbox. Meh, it's worth it.
My second year of teaching has already proven to be better than the first year. The first year is so much about figuring out your classroom discipline style, while learning at lightning speeds everything that goes on at your school, and then actually planning curriculum and learning how to teach the kids. Now that I know how to do all of those things, teaching is a lot more fun.
My teaching schedule has changed a lot between this year and last year, for the better! Last year, I had almost half a day of prep, every day. With that and Friday's off, I was about to go off the deep end. Free time and I do not get along.
This year, I am teaching K-5 general music, 5th, 6th, and 7th-12th combined band, 7th-8th choir, and 6th and 7th grade math. (One more math class than last year.) I am also supervising two periods of online classes; Spanish and Agricultural Education online. I have students in my classroom every single period, and no free time to twiddle my thumbs. I feel like a REAL teacher, scrambling to make sure I'm ready for my next class and squeezing in grading when I can. I know I was a real teacher last year, but this year I feel that much more productive.
Days are also flying by now that I am an assistant coach for the North Country Maverick's volleyball team. Between three class C schools, (Saco, Hinsdale, and Whitewater) we have 13 girls on the volleyball team. Unfortunately we have not had enough girls to put together a JV and a Varsity team because of a few injuries, but I am hoping we will have a chance to play some JV matches later in the season.
To be honest, I loved the sport growing up, but I had a lot of negative experiences related to volleyball. I did not have the best club experience, and some of you know I only played two years of high school ball. As a sophomore I was a starting varsity middle hitter, and now that I am coaching and playing with the girls I know why I made Varsity. Now I get to have just as much fun, but I can hit harder than I did in high school. Look at how teeny my arms were!
I quit playing in high school because of the coach. Plain and simple. I believe he just did not know how to coach girls. Yes, I was a sensitive kid who thought way too much about her errors, but he crossed the line many times. It saddens me to know the same coach is still at my high school, and even this summer (some eight years later,) girls are still trying to do something about his coaching.
As a high schooler, I went to the Athletic Director and the Principal about this coach, but ultimately nothing happened, and I quit and left my team out to dry. Of course, it was a huge high school, and they easily filled my spot. It just wasn't worth it to me or my family the emotional stress that volleyball put on me.
At the time, and even up until this year, I still let one coach ruin a sport for me. This second time around, as a coach, I am finally able to see the positives from my past experiences. In the first few days of practice for the Mavericks, drills and technique flooded back to me. Even though I didn't like my Varsity coach, I learned everything from my JV coach, and now I am able to pass on that knowledge to these girls. I care about this team!
Coaching a "small" (understatement) class C is an eye opening experience. It amazes me the talent that comes out of these small schools, and it makes me think of the potential that must be in EVERYONE, but in big schools not everyone is forced to live out their potential. In a school this small, everyone has to play sports, everyone has to play in the band, or there is no team, there is no band. For the first year, I looked at that as such a negative thing, but now I see what an amazing thing we have here in Saco, Hinsdale, and in Whitewater.
The girls on our team have a ton of skill, and wayyyy more potential than they give themselves credit for. If they can go the extra inch, the extra mile, and go for every ball, I believe we are unstoppable. But, we aren't quite there yet. Luckily, there is still lots of season left to play.
One of the "joys" of being in this sports co-op is that we rotate where practice is held every week. This means that every three weeks, we practice in Whitewater. Here is what Whitewater looks like on google maps.
Well, this week I took a suburban full of volleyball girls all the way from Saco to Whitewater, three times. On dirt roads. Trip number one was dusty - seemed like a ton of new gravel was on the road(s). Trip number two was better since it had rained, which packed down a lot of the loose dirt.
Today's trip was the doozy. We have had a lot of rain, I repeat, a lot of rain. There isn't a course at University on how to drive a suburban with eight volleyball players in it on a muck road without landing in the ditch. Luckily, I am an AMAZING driver, and got us there and back with minimal sliding.
For anyone from the hi-line reading this blog, I am sure you're laughing at me. You're used to the muck. I am a city girl who had hardly driven on dirt roads until last year!
I am learning a lot of life skills out here, and for that I am grateful. I am blessed to teach 45 or so amazing kids at Saco School, and I have an awesome team of teachers out here with me. Josey is having a much better year teaching than he did last year, and overall we are pretty much settled in and in the teaching groove.
Leaving Bozeman this summer was bittersweet, but I really am happy to be here. Josey has gone back to Bozeman for every home football game so far, and while I would love to join him, I am so happy for the opportunity to be with my players every weekend. My goal is to make volleyball a positive experience for all 13 of our girls, and to kick some booty while we are at it. Every girl on this team has a role to play, and together we can do awesome things.
"Mess with the bull, get the horns! GO Mavericks!!!"
Love,
Chelsea
Two people are better than one, that's for sure. Josey and I are going strong in year two of marriage. We pick each other up at the end of tough days, and he keeps the house running while I am at volleyball practices, doing laundry and cooking for me. And fixing the fridge. He makes life so much better.
And obviously, two cats are better than one. In case you missed my mass postings of black cat pictures, we have adopted another kitten from my students. Her name is Arrow, and she is a ball of energy and love. She starts purring when you pick her up.
The best part is that Arrow is Panther's sister cat! There was some sibling rivalry during the first week... lots of hissing, and we kept them in separate rooms for almost the entire week. Once we let them both have reign of the house, they completely turned it around in just two days. Now, they are inseparable. They chase each other around, groom each other, tousle, eat together, and sleep together. It's the cutest thing.
I worried that Panther would turn into a different cat when we got Arrow. I worried that Arrow wouldn't be as friendly and awesome as Panther. In the end, I really shouldn't have worried about anything! Panther is still Panther, and Arrow is, well, a mini Panther. Two cats means twice the snuggles! And... twice the poop to scoop from the litterbox. Meh, it's worth it.
My second year of teaching has already proven to be better than the first year. The first year is so much about figuring out your classroom discipline style, while learning at lightning speeds everything that goes on at your school, and then actually planning curriculum and learning how to teach the kids. Now that I know how to do all of those things, teaching is a lot more fun.
My teaching schedule has changed a lot between this year and last year, for the better! Last year, I had almost half a day of prep, every day. With that and Friday's off, I was about to go off the deep end. Free time and I do not get along.
 |
| Saco School - top two windows are my room. Apparently I haven't taken any photos of the inside of it yet this year. |
Days are also flying by now that I am an assistant coach for the North Country Maverick's volleyball team. Between three class C schools, (Saco, Hinsdale, and Whitewater) we have 13 girls on the volleyball team. Unfortunately we have not had enough girls to put together a JV and a Varsity team because of a few injuries, but I am hoping we will have a chance to play some JV matches later in the season.
To be honest, I loved the sport growing up, but I had a lot of negative experiences related to volleyball. I did not have the best club experience, and some of you know I only played two years of high school ball. As a sophomore I was a starting varsity middle hitter, and now that I am coaching and playing with the girls I know why I made Varsity. Now I get to have just as much fun, but I can hit harder than I did in high school. Look at how teeny my arms were!
 |
| 2007 version of myself. |
I quit playing in high school because of the coach. Plain and simple. I believe he just did not know how to coach girls. Yes, I was a sensitive kid who thought way too much about her errors, but he crossed the line many times. It saddens me to know the same coach is still at my high school, and even this summer (some eight years later,) girls are still trying to do something about his coaching.
As a high schooler, I went to the Athletic Director and the Principal about this coach, but ultimately nothing happened, and I quit and left my team out to dry. Of course, it was a huge high school, and they easily filled my spot. It just wasn't worth it to me or my family the emotional stress that volleyball put on me.
At the time, and even up until this year, I still let one coach ruin a sport for me. This second time around, as a coach, I am finally able to see the positives from my past experiences. In the first few days of practice for the Mavericks, drills and technique flooded back to me. Even though I didn't like my Varsity coach, I learned everything from my JV coach, and now I am able to pass on that knowledge to these girls. I care about this team!
Coaching a "small" (understatement) class C is an eye opening experience. It amazes me the talent that comes out of these small schools, and it makes me think of the potential that must be in EVERYONE, but in big schools not everyone is forced to live out their potential. In a school this small, everyone has to play sports, everyone has to play in the band, or there is no team, there is no band. For the first year, I looked at that as such a negative thing, but now I see what an amazing thing we have here in Saco, Hinsdale, and in Whitewater.
The girls on our team have a ton of skill, and wayyyy more potential than they give themselves credit for. If they can go the extra inch, the extra mile, and go for every ball, I believe we are unstoppable. But, we aren't quite there yet. Luckily, there is still lots of season left to play.
One of the "joys" of being in this sports co-op is that we rotate where practice is held every week. This means that every three weeks, we practice in Whitewater. Here is what Whitewater looks like on google maps.
Well, this week I took a suburban full of volleyball girls all the way from Saco to Whitewater, three times. On dirt roads. Trip number one was dusty - seemed like a ton of new gravel was on the road(s). Trip number two was better since it had rained, which packed down a lot of the loose dirt.
 |
| The line at the top? That's Canada. |
Today's trip was the doozy. We have had a lot of rain, I repeat, a lot of rain. There isn't a course at University on how to drive a suburban with eight volleyball players in it on a muck road without landing in the ditch. Luckily, I am an AMAZING driver, and got us there and back with minimal sliding.
For anyone from the hi-line reading this blog, I am sure you're laughing at me. You're used to the muck. I am a city girl who had hardly driven on dirt roads until last year!
 |
| Lots of mud. |
Leaving Bozeman this summer was bittersweet, but I really am happy to be here. Josey has gone back to Bozeman for every home football game so far, and while I would love to join him, I am so happy for the opportunity to be with my players every weekend. My goal is to make volleyball a positive experience for all 13 of our girls, and to kick some booty while we are at it. Every girl on this team has a role to play, and together we can do awesome things.
"Mess with the bull, get the horns! GO Mavericks!!!"
Love,
Chelsea
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