Explorer Treasure Chests

We had our explorer treasure chest expo in the cafeteria on Friday.  The treasure chests were outstanding!  Did you have a favorite?  It's hard to pick.  Comment on any that you think were good!
Mrs. Cook and I tried to get everyone's picture.  I hope no one was left out.  Taking your photos is kind of like herding cats!

Native American Artifact Museum

It has been a long time since I've posted!  I've been horrible!!!!!

This year has proved to be a very busy year with teaching social studies 6, social studies 7, ASE 6 and ASE 7!  I am enjoying keeping busy, but this blog has fallen by the wayside....

Well, it is time to begin writing again, and our Native American Artifact Museum provides the subject matter!   You all did a great job with our museum, and I am very proud of all of your hard work.  Below you will see some photos I took.  Sorry if I didn't get one of you...it was too hectic in there!

Enjoy the photos....there are some "duplicates".  I was trying to get someone to smile for the camera!

Good luck not losing power....I just heard we don't have school tomorrow!

~Mr. McEwen

Another Year!

It sure is hard to believe that another school year is upon us.  This certainly has not been a summer that I will look back on fondly.  But, as we all know, time marches on.  Time for a new year, a new beginning, new adventures!

I will use this blog to post various happenings in class and with the Venturer and Navigator teams.  I look forward to meeting my new students, and to greeting my 7th graders that already know me.

When I left for the summer, I was slated to teach two 7th grade social studies classes.  Somehow that got changed, so now I am teaching one 7th grade section of social studies and one section of 7th grade ASE. 

I am also in a new room.  Even newer than the last one I had last year...and I have windows, so I lucked out on that.

I ran across a video from the group, The Script, the other day, and when I listened to it, I thought of all of the new beginning promises we all have in September.  Make this year count, be your best.  Do you realize we raised well over $30,000 for Relay for Life?  You all were amazing last year, and I think we'll be amazing again.

It's July....

Well,
July is in full swing.  I am still in a cast, still frustrated with not being able to drive or get around like I am used to doing.  I go to the doctor tomorrow, and I am hoping that my cast will come off and I will be able to have a walking boot.  I have a new appreciation for wheel chair ramps and curbs and stairs.
This certainly has been a horrible time for Mrs. Cook.  I have been so worried about her.  I will tell you that your cards and support have really helped her spirits and she has commented to me more than once how much it meant to her to feel your love and support.

She is going through a very difficult time right now.  Please keep her in your thoughts as you enjoy the hot, lazy, days of summer....

Have any of you had any exciting adventures?  

I cannot say that I've had adventures, but I have tried to keep my mind occupied.  I have been studying French daily, I've read a lot, I've watched more tv than I'd care to admit, and I've enjoyed watching the antics of my dogs.  The two photos below are of my beloved canine friends.  Kali is sitting with me on the ottoman.  You can see my casted leg with Venturer colors.  The next photo is Murphy giving my daughter one of his slurpy kisses.

Mrs. Stanley and Mrs. Cook came over to my house last week and brought me lunch.  Murphy kept putting his head in Mrs. Stanley's lap, and the hair around his mouth was wet from getting water...she didn't appreciate the feeling of cold dog water on her legs!  She has a dachshund, and is used to a little dog, not a gargantuan beast.  I enjoyed seeing the two of them, and we talked school stuff, as you can expect.  

Kali and I are watching tv...

Murphy and Erin sharing a "moment"

My New Cast

I have graduated to a cast.  This morning I had my first appointment since my surgery.  They took the splint off and put a cast on my foot.  I have never had a cast before in my life!  When they asked what color I wanted, I said, "lime green."  The nurse looked at me kind of strangely, but said, "lime green it is".  As they two nurses were wrapping my foot, one of them said that lime green was an interesting choice to make.  I guess she was trying to say that lime green was a weird color for an old man to choose.  She told me that I looked like a black or blue cast person....I told her that the color was my team color from my middle school.  I guess the Venturer team spirit lives in me even though I am not in school!

They x-rayed my other foot for the broken toe I had....come to find out I have two broken toes on my "good" foot.  The toes were taped up and I was sent on my way.  The doctor showed me my before and after x-rays.  They took off my bone spur, and found that I had a piece of it that was chipped off.  I guess that's why my toes were numb all of this time....They cut my achilles tendon, took out the bad tissue, then reattached it with screws of some sort.

Now I am in the cast, I still cannot put weight on it....in about four weeks, I graduate to a boot....where I can actually put a little weight on my foot.  I look forward to that day!

Have fun at the picnic Wednesday night if you are going!

After the splint came off, before the cast

My new lime-green cast!

Two Posts In One Day

My recuperation is moving along slowly.  I have actually been online and have been reading about other patients and their recovery times for the surgery that I had.  Probably not the smartest thing to do, but I have nothing BUT time.  Some people have stated that it has taken a year to get back to "normal".  I am hoping that my "normal" will come in August.

On a different note, please make sure you thank Mrs. Cook for the help she has given me since I have been absent from school.  I have thanked her and thanked her, but I would love it if you could thank her too.  She is in some ways doing two jobs, and the end of the year is crazy enough as it is.  Things that are simple to you like the auction or the REVO social studies SOL money continue because of what Mrs. Cook has done!

An example...when you go to Robious Elementary, be on your best behavior.  My role in previous years was to be the crowd control guy with the students in the back of the line as Mrs. Cook was getting things straight.  Please do not take advantage of the situation, show her that you can be responsible and mature.  Both of know that you have it in you because we have seen it in DC, at the pasta dinner, and during class.

Keep in touch...

~Mr. McEwen

Biz World Booths

Below you will find some Biz World booth pictures that Mrs. Cook took with her camera.  She sent them to me and I thought I'd put them on the blog so that you can see them.  Mrs. Cook has come such a long way with technology.  Just two years ago, if someone had said to me that Mrs. Cook took a picture with her cell phone, then sent them to someone, my jaw would have dropped.

Her family getting her an iphone has changed her technological life.  Another testament to the beauty of apple products!

Good luck with your sales next week.  When you get a chance, drop me a note and let me know how your company did...

Electrify

Star

Tembo

Flare

RB Bandz (I will never remember how to spell/say your comapny name!)

Recuperation

I am not sure who will read this.  I think most of you don't read the blog anyway, but I kind of like keeping a historical record of my years at Robious.  The history isn't necessarily accurate since it is told from my point of view, but nevertheless, it is still history.  Remember, I have always told you that history is the one subject where everyone could possibly have a different "right" answer.

Speaking of history, Mrs. Cook has phoned me the scores from the SOL, and you all did great.  There were a lot of 600s out there!  I will be sending grades early next week so that you can see how you did.

Since I am not in school, I am going to write about my surgery.  Why?  I have nothing else to do!  I am on a pseudo bed rest cycle until next Monday.  I must keep my foot elevated, though I don't do it all the time.  That is impossible.  I am not the kind of person who can just sit around, and it is killing me when I cannot have the freedom of mobility that I once did.  Murphy has been a challenge when I am home alone.  I simply leave the door to the deck open, and he comes in and out as he pleases.  It makes it easier, though I have a mosquito bite from the other night....the sacrifices one makes for a pet.

I took a picture of my foot...I know it is weird, before I had surgery to "remember" the bump on my heel.  It looks kind of gross, but I wanted to remember it.  I have been leaving with this for a couple of years, so it was time to get rid of it.  And to be able to wear "real" shoes again....

 My surgery was interesting.  It is amazing how medical science and technology have progressed in my lifetime.  I waited a while to get in, but once I did, everything went very quickly.  I had two types of anesthesia, a general one, and a block on my leg.  The anesthesiologist came and explained the process to me.  While he was doing that, the nurses were trying to find a vein for my I.V.  I was trying to listen to the man, as they were trying to find a vein...it took two nurses and multiple attempts.  The bruises on my arms are still very evident.  The nurses were absolutely great despite the fact that my veins weren't cooperating.  The block was the weirdest thing.  They used a sonogram to locate the nerve, and the last thing I remember is falling asleep.  I have a red mark where the numbing stuff, for lack of a better term, was placed into my nerve running down my leg.  When I woke up, I was in the recovery room.  I do not remember anything else until getting home.  My leg had no feeling in it at all.  I didn't get feeling back in my leg until the next night.  I guess that was a good thing.

A couple of complications....I was on a good dose of pain medicine which made me kind of loopy.  I was heading out of the bathroom, towards my bed, and as I crossed the threshold of the bathroom, into the bedroom, I tripped and fell forward.  I caught myself from falling the whole way down, but in the process I broke a toe on my good foot.  Unbelievable.  It didn't hurt though because of the pain meds.  The toe was the one next to my big toe, and it was totally crooked.  Somehow it reattached itself....and it is swollen, but getting better.  The pain medicine also did a number on my stomach, so I dealt with a bit of nausea too.

Thankfully, that is all behind me now, and I am just itching to get back on my feet.  The dogs have kept me company, with occasional licks and stares.  Remember, I have always said...think of what dog is when it is spelled backwards....

One of the reasons that I wanted to get this surgery done the last three weeks of school is that I knew that the recovery time would be quite lengthy, and I didn't want to begin the next school year incapacitated in any way.  As it stands now, I will not be driving until around August if everything goes according to plan.

I also need to go to upstate NY in August and to Boston to see my family.  I have not been home in two years, and I haven't seen my sister in three years, so I must make the journey north.

 I didn't mention this to many people before I left, but my stepfather was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in May, right before our relay event, and I must go home to help my mom with all of that, and I need to have both feet working!  His doctors have suggested that he has six months to live.  This happened all of a sudden, and it strengthens my resolve to continue to do Relay for Life.  Hopefully his last months will not be painful, due in part to research done over the years with money raised from people all over the world through the Relay for Life organization.  It is amazing, but we raised over $30,000.  I still cannot believe it.  I still sometimes stare at that number and wonder how we all did it, but we did.

I am very proud of you for working towards a cure for cancer, and giving back to the community.  I am not sure if we can ever raise that much money again, but we will certainly try.

I have some pics to share below.  Most of them are from Relay for Life, one is of my station in the family room.  Good luck on the last week and one half of school.

~Mr. McEwen

I am so bored that I am taking pictures of my feet

Survivors Lap

The Benos Family

Miz Relay

High Fund Raiser!

Miz Relay Award