WE'RE GOING ON VACATION!

AMS Adolescent Community guides and Eliott in Chicago - April 2010

One year! Hard to believe but yes, it's been a year.
Here's the news:
the year was crazy - crazy busy, crazy tough in some ways and crazy fun in others...
it's OVER! the paperwork is in, the rooms are clean and we are going away

Eliott & Betty both had an amazing year. Betty really stepped up to the plate of being a High Schooler and Eliott is moving into the Junior year of a 2-year IB program which is challenging and exciting too.
For the last 2 weeks of the school year, Betty went to Naples, Florida to experience Marine Biology hands-on, while Eliott and I went to Oaxaca, Mexico to learn about and build eco-friendly and sustainable green architecture in a local community. We built a water cistern that can hold 10,000 litres of rainwater to sustain agriculture and human needs. It was awesome!

The kids are now in Austin until Tuesday and we meet in Newark to fly "home" for the summer. We have plans to stay in the Loire Valley area with my mother, visit our really good friends in Brittany, and take a road trip to southern Spain

When we return in August, I will be moving into faculty housing at MHS because I am going to be the Director of Residential Life as well as the French teacher next year - which means that I get to figure out how the boarding component of the Montessori High School looks. It will be a lot of work, but frankly, what isn't when you choose to be a Guide / Montessori teacher?

We'd love to hear about your summer plans and we wish you all the very best,
Françoise, Eliott & Betty

SNOW DAY SNOW DAY LA LALA LA LA LA!

SNOW DAY - FINALLY!!!
Now I see what it takes ... read below...
Here, we got about 6 inches last night and it's still falling fast & furious.

Issued by The National Weather Service

3:54 am EST, Fri., Feb. 26, 2010 - Cleveland, OH

... WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS EVENING...

SNOW WILL CONTINUE TODAY... HEAVY AT TIMES. THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL
 LIKELY OCCUR THIS MORNING. BY LATE THIS EVENING SNOWFALL TOTALS
WILL RANGE FROM 6 TO 15 INCHES WITH THE HIGHEST TOTALS OVER THE
HILLS IN THE SNOWBELT.

BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL OCCUR AS NORTHWEST WINDS AVERAGE
20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 30 MPH. VISIBILITIES WILL BE POOR... BELOW A FEW
HUNDRED FEET AT TIMES... MAINLY IN THE OPEN COUNTRYSIDE WHERE THE
DRIFTING SNOW WILL BE SIGNIFICANT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

DIFFICULT WINTER TRAVEL CAN BE EXPECTED... ESPECIALLY ON UNTREATED
 ROADS AND SECONDARY ROADS. USE EXTREME CAUTION.

WE'RE GOING SLEDDING!!!!! 
If I can dig the car out, that is. 
Love,
Françoise, Eliott & Betty

WINTER!!!

Here is our school in the snow!

We returned home in January after "Texmas" (Xmas in Texas!!!) to around a foot of snow that had mostly frozen and it was murder trying to dig out our driveway and the sidewalk.

Let me tell you about the pictures:

The first one is taken through the front window, you can see across the street to the house opposite us; notice the parking meter and you will guess where the road should be...

Next - the parking lot, same day but in the afternoon - snow AND sun together - I love it! I was SO happy all day because snow is beautiful!!!

Third - To the side of our school building, the open lot where we had our fall gathering and picnic! The house in the back is the dorm, where 27 students live, and the little structure to the bottom right of that is the straw bale house that some students built last summer.

Anyway - things I have learned about winter: the 10 winter commandments

1. Never laugh if you happen to notice your colleagues' long johns drooping below the bottom of their pants

2. If you really MUST laugh, first check your own attire for said oversight

3. Just because 6 inches of snow have fallen overnight and the snowplow didn't get to your street yet, that doesn't mean you have a snow day (this means no school for those who don't live in the US).

4. When you get in the car, sit sideways and tap your feet together to get rid of the snow on your boots. Otherwise your car gets REALLY messy.

5. Shovel your driveway ASAP - the snow isn't going away by itself and the next thing that awaits you is... MORE snow

6. One shovel per family is NOT enough - 1 per family member is more like it

7. NEVER go out in your slippers - they were named that for a reason

8. Wear ALL your winter clothes at the same time if you don't happen to have a large selection

9. Do not attempt to clean your windshield with wiper fluid - you just get a ton of frozen mess on top of the previous frozen mess

10. Looking cool is WAY less cool than feeling warm

What's the weather like in your home town? Are you jealous of life in Northeastern OHIO yet??? Wanna come visit??? No hurry - the snow will be around for at least 2 more months - then we get slush - can't wait to blog about that!

Love to all,

Françoise

LET IT SNOW!

OK - you HAVE to hear this about Cleveland.

It's COLD AS HELL FROZEN OVER - today it has been downhill ever since the high of 24F this morning at 6am; now it's 16F (-9C) and the wind chill makes it -1F, or -18C

AND WE LIVE HERE!

This is scary.

We had a little snow overnight and for the first time I saw snowflakes that stuck to the windshield on the drive to school; didn't melt, just froze there and you could see the 6 branches, all the little spiky things and all.

I had to do something to take my mind off the weather - I made creme brulee and we "torched" it at school (see photo of Betty doing so). I got voted BEST CLUB EVER (but that changes every day).

And here is a photo of our cat JESSIE. (Damn photos go where they want, not where I tell 'em)

So - any winter clothes you don't like - SEND'EM OVER

Françoise - 12/10/2009

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

HELLO!
Winter is on the way! It snowed 10 miles South of here... everyone says this is the mildest winter EVER, but I don't know what they mean. I bet we get dumped by next weekend. Meanwhile, we have been raking leaves (a TON of them) - you have to put them on the roadside and the city picks them up. Betty and I have been doing a ton of it. Eliott has promised to do his share... today... and it's dark in 45 minutes. He can always do it when he gets home from school, we have until Friday. We also bought our Winter Equipment - a shovel, markers for the driveway, a sack of salt, a scraper / brush, thick gloves and a huge tarp (that's to cart the leaves out to the street).

We planned to go away for Thanksgiving but it didn't quite work out, so we came back and spent a nice quiet few days at home. I hope all of you had great times with family, friends and pets... speaking of which, WE HAVE A KITTEN! She's about 5 months old and her official name is Jessie (but we might give her a French name...)

School is still fun, very busy and sometimes a little crazy... we're in our second year and have doubled in size from last year, it all takes some getting used to. We just had a Community Service Day and I got to hang out with the seniors and make meals for homeless people - mac & cheese, green bean casserole and brownies. Then after our school lunch, we took them all our left-overs too, that made a ton more (and may have been tastier too!)

Three more weeks until Winter Break and we are going back to Austin for that. Get a little tan maybe :-) and see Gilles & all our old friends (no - not that kind of OLD...).

Let us know what you're doing and what your plans are. Happy Holidays! This year let it be known I was the first to wish you all!!! GO ME!

All our love, stay in touch and stay warm!

Francoise, Eliott, Betty and Jessie

SCHOOL STARTED FOR REAL

Hello to all!

We started school "for real" yesterday, after 2 weeks of "ex-terms", or times when the students are generally out & about doing various activities. I accompanied (in the support van) a group of bikers who rode 450 miles in 8 days from Cleveland to Niagara Falls round trip! They were awesome and the trip was just amazing! During that time, Eliott & Betty stayed at the dorm and now they don't want to come home...

So, school started yesterday as far as actual classes, I just love the incredible team of people I get to work with, they are all incredibly dedicated, professional and also NICE PEOPLE!

I teach French to all the students, and I also got involved with a "Community Action Service " project as well as a business venture, tbd, probably involving either a local outlet for students' artwork or other products they make, or taking over the local food coop which is in a bad shape.

The students have a LOT of choice in how they put together their schedule - classes are offered several times and students sign up for their classes, organize themselves to get homework, lab work etc done and are responsible for figuring out what they should do and where they should be. It's all so true to the Montessori idea of education as an aid to life.

My students are really driven - one wants to own a vineyard in Perpignan (France), one wants to spend a year on a service project in Haiti, one is totally enraptured by Marie-Antoinette; these kids really put thought into what they are doing.

Eliott & Betty meanwhile are just loving it ALL. From their dorm days they have a ton of friends, today is Betty's birthday and everyone keeps giving her hugs; school is great for them too. So life is good!

Our house is quietly getting straightened out - I have neglected paperwork for so long that I am now tempted to just throw everything away, but other than that I am doing pretty well with getting organized. We are actually in a great, centrally located neighborhood, close to a great grocery store (Zagara), Whole Foods is 3 miles away, Coventry Village is walking distance for great restaurants and cool stores, and school is 2.5 miles down the hill. SO we got ourselves bikes, but I don't know how long it'll take me to get back up the hil after school carrying my MAC and all my school stuff...

I wanted to add some photos but I can't get them to add, so you'll have to imagine it all - and I'll send the photos separately.

I can't wait for news from you, your school adventures, whatever else you're up to, and photos of you.

All our love,

Francoise, Eliott & Betty

I'm done with training

Hi all blog followers!

Yesterday I took my exit interview and passed - I am now fully Montessori certified to teach at the High School!!! It was BIG WORK - intense, deep and very complex, just like our kids.

I made a lot of new friends, most of whom have gone back to their respective schools, and some who are my colleagues this year. This High School is an amazing place - check it out, you might want to send your kids here one day.

www.montessorihighschool.org

I am now getting organised for a week long IB training course in New Mexico, which I am going to treat as my vacation  (otherwise I dont get to have one) even if it's going to be work. It won't be this intense and I can just kick back and absorb (hopefully). 

I get back here on Friday 31st, close on our house on Aug 3rd and move in right after that. School starts August 10th (gulp!)

Eliott and Betty have just arrived on the Atlantic Coast for the beach leg of their vacation, after 2 weeks in the French, Swiss and Italian Alps. They had a blast and sent some photos of great hiking up in the mountains. 

Now they get to spend the next 10 days at the beach. Lucky them! They will have had a really great summer. They fly back here with Gilles on Aug 5th.

Keep in touch and let me know how your summers are going. 

Love to all,

Francoise