NEA Foundation's Salute to Excellence in Education Gala 2012

The Smiths clean up pretty well when we need to.  We headed to the National Building Museum for the Gala and we were blown away with how lovely it all was.  I wish you all could have seen just how elegant the setting was. Fancy dresses, flowers, champagne, and lots of oooh la la made for a very special evening.

It was a celebration of education, teachers and the work we do in our unions.  I was proud to represent Education Minnesota and am grateful for all of the professional opportunities I have had in the organization.  Denise Specht, Tom Dooher, and Paul Mueller make up our Executive Board and are a hard working bunch. As you can see, they clean up pretty well too.

Luke Merchlewitz and his family were there to celebrate too.  Luke is the 2011 National Teacher of Excellence.  Luke's enthusiasm fills any room on any given day, last night was no exception. He was so happy to meet up with his traveling buddies and fellow honorees from 2011.

Karl Aaro is the Executive Director of Education Minnesota and a really cool guy. He is so kind to me and always interested in my stories of life as the MN TOY. We both struggled to finish our spinach last night. I was afraid that it would stick in my teeth and everyone would spot it on the jumbo tron. I am not sure what Karl's excuse was.

I wonder if my loyal blog followers will recognize....guess....take a stab at it....keep trying.....yes!! It is Jeanne Del Colle, the 2012 New Jersey Teacher of the Year! It was so great to see her again.  We had dinner tonight and got all caught up on our lives since we met in Dallas.  She is rocking it in Jersey like I am in Minnesota.  Both of us feel so lucky to have the opportunity to represent all the great work teachers and students do in classrooms everyday. I think Minnesota misses us, she sent a hello today in the form of a crazy, windy, wintery day here in DC!

Our Nation's Capitol

Yeah! A chance to take in some sights.  Matt and I headed straight to the Capitol.  It is a stunning building full of stories, history and beautiful art work. In the interest of time (I couldn't miss the ball), we took the tour. The rotunda is breathtaking and I was wishing I had lugged my big camera to Washington to capture it better.

The clock was ticking but we took our chances of finding Ms. Elizabeth Frosh at work.  Liz is one of my surrogate daughters from Winona.  She has been Amanda's friend since middle school.  I did my best not to cry when she gave us a tour of Senator Klobuchar's office where she is a legislative assistant.  I am so proud of her!  It was so great to see her and I waited until we were out of the building to cry. Thanks Liz, I will try not to call you Honey Bunny in front of your co-workers when I see you again in April!

A Flurry of Activity in DC!

To say that it has been a wild ride would be an understatement.  I have just come back to the hotel after three days of training with my fellow NEA Teachers of Excellence.  We have been in classes to prepare us for our trip to China this summer.  Most of us are shocked and stunned by this amazing opportunity to travel as Pearson Global Fellows.  We were asked to think long and hard about a guiding question as we travel to bring the trip focus and relevance to our classrooms.  I have some pretty interesting ideas that I will need to ponder but I think my focus will be on play and the connections that parents make with their children through it. Last night the group from Education Minnesota invited us, Matt, Erin and me to join them for dinner. That's Tom Dooher, President of Education Minnesota with us.  I keep trying to talk Tom into extending my year because I am having so much fun and just hitting my stride.  I wonder if he knows that I am serious?! 

What a treat to be at Famous Luigi's for dinner on a Thursday night, they have a violinist! When he found out my name was Katy he sang "K-K-K-Katy" not once, not twice, but three times!!!  I haven't heard anyone sing that song with such gusto since my dad died.  He brought me champagne adorned with fireworks to make the evening a real celebration!  I am off now to see a bit of the city before I meet the rest of the awardees in the lobby to head over to the gala.  A GALA!!  I can hardly believe that this is all happening to me.  I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

Ball Gowns and Skinny Jeans

I would do just about anything for those daughters of mine.  Last weekend, the mission was ball gowns.  As it turns out, being the NEA Teacher of Excellence and the Minnesota Teacher of the Year has some wardrobe challenges.  My wardrobe consists of pants that toddlers paint and shirts that babies spit up on.  I don't own a ball gown but needed one for the ball in Washington DC this spring.  My daughter, Erin will be joining Matt and me in DC this week for the National Education Gala.  She was needing a ball gown too. I picked up my pal Karen and we headed to the mall to meet up with Erin and go ball gown shopping!  Erin nudged me to try on dresses that, on the hanger, were way out of my comfort zone.  She urged me to keep trying things on.  I have spent many hours in stores with daughters holding up clothing I am certain they would look fantastic in only to be shot down with giant eye rolls. No eye rolling this trip, thanks to Erin and Karen, I had a ball gown!



And oddly, a pair of SKINNY jeans!  Both Erin and Abby (pictured above) insisted and wondered how on earth I have gotten by all these 51 years without a pair. Erin does a crazy, jumping dance to get into skinny jeans and showed me how it is done. Once in them, I wondered if I could count the experience as a workout had I put them on at the YMCA!

I am heading to Washington DC this week!  This trip will not include meeting the President but I am counting the days. I will meet the Pearson Learning Fellows I will be traveling to China with this summer. How cool is that!? I will be busy with classes to prepare me and will blog along the way.

Preschool Backpacks

This picture was taken last Wednesday, February 1st! When backpacks are lined up outside, it gives parents a heads up to pick their kids up on the playground.  The playground, on February 1st! This has been a weird, warm, snow less winter. I am curious about the line up of backpacks.  I wonder if the kids or the parents picked them out.  I wonder if they are hand me downs from big brothers and sisters.  I wonder if it is possible to find a plain backpack anymore that isn't an advertisement for a television show, a movie or a line of toys.  I wonder how long it might be before I see a "Glee" backpack in front of preschool.

Pumped in Pine Island

It's always hard on me when great parents leave our community. Marlo and her family moved to Pine Island a few years back and when she heard that I was headed there, she offered to buy me dinner before my community presentation.  Thanks Marlo, it was great to catch up with you!

My congratulations go out to Mr. Mish for being honored as Pine Island's Teacher of the Year!  Thanks for letting us gather in your room and good luck to you.

It was great to see so many Pine Islanders at school on a Thursday night to talk about childhood.  We shared our concerns and our hopes for children. Each one of us seemed to leave the room energized to take on the task of designing a childhood that honors the important skills that children learn as they prepare for school and life. It was an engaging community conversation.

Miss Kelly and I have been friends for a long, long time.  She has been inviting me to Pine Island for about eighteen years to speak to groups of parents.  She, like so many ECFE teachers all across the state, is so excited about how my award has validated the work we all do with small children and their parents.  ECFE is a great place to find support, great curriculum and the cutest kids in the state.

Our Sweet Guy

When my dear friends John and Caer were pregnant with their fourth child, we had six girls between our families.  When Caer found out her fourth was a boy, she promised to share him with us. Jonathan is a gift that keeps on giving.  Here is that sweet guy of ours during his winter break (which seemed to last about two years).  I love so many things about him and especially love how he listens to Matt's stories again and again with steadfast enthusiasm. My busy schedule has kept us from visiting him at college.  I am  hoping a gushy shout out on my blog will make him smile.  We are crazy about this boy! Do you think it is a coincidence that the famous Winona Chiefs sweatshirt has made another appearance on the blog? Nope, no coincidence. Seriously, he wears it ALL THE TIME!