UOS teacher meetings

Front: Jen Larsen, Me, Jessia Everett, Andrea Charlton. Row 1: Mindee Taylor, Paula Finlinson, Julie Baggaley, Julie Morales, Tara Criddle, Sheila Hamlin,  Summer Johnson.  Back row: Annett Eiting, Hollie Bybee, Marianne Shaheen, Deann Stratton, Brooke Brown, Laura Belnap

 It's that time of year again to head to St. George for Utahonline School teacher meetings.  We love getting together.   Our school does a really good job with culture.  IT's really important that we know, like and trust each other and want to help each other succeed.  I love being a part of this and have been since 2004-- when it was first housed in Davis school district.... then it moved down to Washington County..and I stayed on one more year with Davis and then moved down to Washington with Laura and Annett.  I've been doing this a very long time and it has been a blessing.  

I remember getting big envelopes full of student information to get them enrolled in our school.  There were stacks of them all over Laura's living room.  I had the job of inputting the info into a spreadsheet while someone read it off to me and double-checked. My first year I had 120 students-- really too many to do much.  We hired on more teachers.   We held staff meeting around Laura's dining room table.  There were a few of us teachers...Me, Annett,  Annette Pond, Kathy Erickson, my mom, Carolyn Black, Carol Brown for a year-- and some other teachers I can't remember their names.....and not much happening in St. George.  Carolyn would bring us snacks and breakfast foods for our dining room meeting.  Then we had Brooke Brown join us as secretary in St. George and Laura preached her vision everywhere...and we got bigger!  What started out small has really grown with her vision of an elementary school and a high school.  

We stopped meeting around Laura's dining room table and did it online with Blackboard and Whiteboard and then Webex classrooms.  We hired on more teachers, Shawnell, Cara ( they came and went pretty quickly) Gloria, Sara Souza, Meagan Johnston, Tara Criddle and Summer Johnson were St. George girls.   Everything was focused there even though we covered the whole state.   We would meet twice a year in a windowless room at the school district offices and we would learn to knit together or make other things.   We loved being together.  

We had to do the state testing which was required for every student...in person with pencils and booklets. This took days as we carted our books in and out of facilities, and then spent hours erasing and cleaning up the answer documents.  IT was a job!  Things eventually changed to online testing, which saved us a lot, but then we had to pull computer labs in and out of places for students to test on and still no opt outs.  Now many parents opt their students out of state testing, so its not so big of a hassle.    

I originally taught under my secondary license because we were a K-8 grade school. When the High School took over 6-12-- I either had to join them,  or get my elementary license... I recertified as an elementary teacher so I could stay with the K-5.  Annett Eiting became our elementary admin so Laura could be over both schools.   I don't have a classroom any more. I took over the private school partnering three years ago with Marianne Shaheen.  This has been a good change for me.  

We had Annett Eiting's retirement party today.  She's been doing this for 20 years, and teaching for 15 years before that in the Davis School District.  Annett is a dear friend to me.  We have gone through a lot, and our Max and Laila grew up together and remain besties to this day.  I will miss her so much. We expressed our love, gave a favorite thing gift and sang an original song that was created just for Annet-- the chorus is: Endless coffee in your hands.  No more rushed or wild demands.  Zero emails clogging your way, here's to no alarms today.  There were a lot of tears.  Annett has an uncanny ability to relate to anyone. She is a talker and she is interested.  She and I used to sit in the back and tease/harrass Laura as she tried to lead..we were the "peanut gallery" and made all of the funny remarks... now it's just me.  I try to be on task and focus, but it's hard when you have my brain.  

 I wanted to retire with Annett-- but she jumped the gun and I can't be done until I'm 65 because I hold our insurance and Wayne's business is non-existent at this point with all of the Trump-tariffs.  Oh well. At the party, some of our old teacher friends who have left us came back or zoomed in-- it was delightful to see everyone.   ( Carolyn Black, Kathy Erickson, Sara Souza, Meagan Johnston)

Some of the O.G.'s-- Me, Laura, Annett, Brooke and Kathy.