June brought endings and celebrations. I ended my first school year in Chicago Public Schools on June 13. I will be returning to the same school in the fall much wiser and stronger than a year ago. I've still been involved in some work during my summer "vacation." I have completed curriculum maps for the 9th and 10th grade science classes in this past month. My first quarter plan is due Aug. 18 and detailed lesson plans are due Aug. 25. The job can be quite demanding. My last day at work was going well. Students were dismissed at 9 am - they just came to pick up report cards, but some inevitably hang around (they feel safe at school so they find reasons to stay - often we put them to work and they happily oblige). So, I was frantically trying to get my room packed up for the movers that would be coming to move our things to the floor below. I was nearly done, when an impromptu meeting was called by the admin. During our meeting, two of the straggler students previously mentioned, J and K, walked through the meeting room carrying boxes for a staff member. They disappeared into her office, which adjoins to my classroom. When I returned to my room from the meeting, I found dish soap had been squirted all over the floor. I let out a bellowing, "DUDE!" and set out after J and K. I pulled them into my room and demanded an explanation. J (who is not a troublemaker) said only, "I'll help clean it up." K said, "How do you know it was us?" I told him all the adults were in the room with me and they were the ones who weren't - gotta teach deductive reasoning somehow! K reluctantly joined J in the cleanup. It was a rotten way to end the year, yelling at kids.
Sanjai ended his 2nd year of Orthopedic Surgery residency. His life has greatly improved. He will now only take primary call once a month. The rest of the time he is on back up for the 2nd year resident. The only sad part about his advancement is that our friends, Ben and Rob, who were chiefs, have now graduated. They will move on to fellowships that will take them away from Chicago. Rob heads to Duke for a year, then he'll be back at Rush. Ben heads to Africa for a year, then Gainesville, FL for a year, then back to the Midwest at a position in Iowa City, IA. So, we'll see these guys again, but Sanjai will miss them - they have been great teachers.
Finally, June also saw the end of our lease in the condo on the West Side. Hallelujah. While we enjoyed the people, the building and neighborhood were terrible. We are so happy with our new location and dwelling in the South Loop. I no longer have to frantically scan the sidewalk for broken glass to help Kaya evade. We're not woken up by our upstairs neighbor walking across the wood floor in heels at 2am. I've not had to call the police. It's fantastic! We are walking distance to so many attractions. We're both really excited for August to get here. My family is coming to visit for Lollapalooza, which is held at Grant Park only a few blocks from here.
Below are some pictures from the Graduation/End of Year Party that was held for Sanjai's Ortho program.
Ben, Noor, Nicole and Rob
with Reetu and Neil (we're going to their wedding in late Aug.)
with Noor and Ben (they're getting married this weekend!)
