The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot.

I have to start off this entry first by saying that this has probably been the longest week for me since I have arrived in Doha. It was a three day week for the kids because Wednesday and Thursday were parent teacher conferences. I did an unbelievable amount of preparing for the two days where I met with the parents. Those two days are all that I have been thinking about all week- borderline obsessing over. What I wanted to address to the parents, discussing my goals for their child, what my objectives are for them by the end of the year- I like to have everything planned and organized. It is part of who I am and how I function best. I think it will be easier for me next year (and many years to come!) because now I have some experience with it and have some ideas of what to expect. I had my hefty binder stuffed to the gills with paperwork for each child.

You know nothing Jon Snow!

Here is what I had in the files for each child:
1.  Assessments: one for math, one for the alphabet, and one for sight words/reading level
2. Student work samples: this includes work that they have completed in class. I had one page that had some of their letters, one page that had sight words they had written, and one math page to show their written numbers 1-25 and drawing shapes
3. Glow and Grow worksheet. For the glow you write something positive about the child and the grow you write something that they need to work on.
4. Sight words flash cards. This way they can play different games and have that extra practice at home to help them learn and remember their sight words.
5. Number chart to 100. This allows the parents to practice counting to 100 with their child and they can use it for skip counting by 2s, 5s and 10s and make different games out of it.
6. Leveled book. Yay Fountas and Pinnell! I assessed them to see what reading level they were at and starting this week they will have a take home book to read each night. First the parents read the book to them a few times to get them familiar with the words and then the kids read it, with assistance from their parents as needed. Then each week I will rotate the books and they will get a new book every week.

The hefty binder! I am going to have the most boring and grown up
Christmas list ever. I want school supplies! More binders! And 3 ring binders.
They seem to only have 2 ring binders here. And other random stationary
supplies that you don't think about until you need them!

These Glow and Grow took a lot of effort but I am happy with how they turned out. They took a lot of time because you really need to sit down and focus on each child and what you want to say. I am very fortunate here at GEMS because the parents here are incredibly supportive and always ask how they can help and want to assist me in any ways they can. They want their child to have reinforcement at home to help them succeed and do their best in school. And some of them are so sweet that after I finished talking she asked, "You know, so often we get wrapped up in ourselves and talk about ourselves all the time. How are you doing and how are you liking Doha so far?" I feel very fortunate to have a strong partnership with such awesome parents.

This is similar to what I gave to parents at the conferences. It is no easy task doing 20 of these!
It gave me good preparation for report cards in December!

One of my favorite parts of the conferences was... when they were over! Just kidding! Kind of. One of my favorite parts was hearing the parents share what their child remembers from school. I love hearing stories about how they clap and cheer for different sight words (b-l-u-e blue b-l-u-e blue yay blue!). Or one mom told me her daughter was singing a song about the teen numbers- while she was trying to brush her teeth. Another told me about how when they went to the zoo and saw bats and their son excitedly said "That's a fruit bat!! They eat fruits like apples!" It just gives me a happy jolt in my stomach like "hey I taught them that!" You are the topic of conversation at home when you teach kindergarten. What also is really helpful is getting some back story to their home life. Some of the kids are so shy that I do not know much about what goes on at home. Then I am having a meeting talking with their mom or dad and I learn "What!?! They have 3 brothers?!" "They just moved to Qatar 4 months ago??" It really helps to fully paint a picture of who they are and why they might be acting a certain way.

Funny story time. Tariq, our manager of school operations, came into my room after I was finished with conferences. He just stared at me for a few seconds. He looked really serious and of course when someone looks all stern and pauses before saying anything your first thought is "I'm in trouble. What did I do?" Here was our exchange:

"We need to talk about your e-mail signature."

"Is there something wrong with it?"

"Your signature is perfectly fine. Except for the fact that the mobile number listed is my number."

"Oh my god I am so sorry! I thought it was just the school number!"

"It's ok! I figured you must've copied and pasted mine and forgot to change the number. I was getting some WhatsApp messages from parents asking for Miss Kellie. Sorry it took me a while to track you down and tell you. I just thought I should tell you so you can change it and get any messages you might have missed."

We have to do a signature for our school emails. Tariq sent out an e-mail explaining how to do it and provided a sample. Well I copied and pasted his sample, assumed it was just the school numbers, and did not think anything else of it. We were both cracking up and now of course my e-mail signature is fixed and has my number now! Tariq will not be bothered with messages from any KG2D parents anymore!! He jokingly threatened (at least I hope he was) to change my number into HIS e-mail signature and that I could screen his calls! Which I would definitely not want to do because I feel like as the manager of school operations he must have a never ending to do list with endless amounts of phone calls.

The past weekend was very fun. We celebrated one of my coworker's birthdays at the St. Regis on the beach because we are classy like that. We thought it was going to be reggae night- nope! Apparently we picked the one Friday night of the year that this classic rock cover band plays. We still had fun though because they play the music right on the beach and you are literally sitting at different chairs and tables and these pod things in the sand. You have to take your shoes off before you go and they stay on a rack while you relax barefoot on the beach listening to music drinking adult beverages.

The St. Regis is one of the coolest looking hotels in Doha. In my opinion. 

They have a full sized Olympic pool. The St. Regis is huge and absolutely gorgeous!

This is what it looked like from the beach relaxing in the sand. The chairs and tables were for people who had reservations. We sat more on the outskirts in these circular bed/pod things? It was really relaxing and I would do it again in a heartbeat. The atmosphere is so relaxing. And I want to go back when it actually is Reggae Night! 

This past weekend I also got to experience the awesomeness that is Lulu's Hypermarket. People in Barwa City have it good! Lulu's is much better than Ansar. They have a wider selection of food and different brands and labels that I recognize from home. Plus they have a Starbucks- yay for Pumpkin Spice!

Hello beautiful. You are what I have been looking for in my life. 

The barista even spelled my name right! Well
she also might have asked me how it was spelled
but it was still cool! And I love how they gave me
silverware when all I got was a muffin. 

There are a lot of fun things going on in Doha this weekend. Last night I went to a Turkish festival that was near the Museum of Islamic Art. It was really fun. I got henna done on my hands and wrists that turned out so cool! I was in awe and watched her as she quickly made all these swirls and different patterns. I think the kids will get a kick out of it when they see my arms on Sunday! There is also a jazz music festival at the Katara village and the Paralympic Games have been going on all week and end on Saturday. I will definitely be checking these out. But in the meantime here are some pictures from the festival, a bunch of my henna filled hands, and also some pictures of the skyline. A big shout out to my fellow GEMS coworkers for the pictures! Some of them went paddle boarding and on a cruise last weekend and got these awesome skyline shots.

My hands are small, I know but they're not yours they are my own… mine are on the right!

Ta da the finished product after I peeled it off! Sorry Jersey Shore but this beats
the hennas you get done on the boardwalk by a longshot. The flower is my favorite.

Waiting for the henna to finally dry took a while but totally worth it!

The henna lady got a little handsy with me. Let's give her a hand for such a great job! I am so punny, right?

Turkish festival 2015! They had so many different tents set up with things you could buy.
And all these booths with different Turkish foods and drinks. 

                                         I hope this video will work but this guy making
                                         ice cream and entertaining the kids was one of my
                                         favorite parts of the festival.

Yes I get to live here for the next 2 years. Aren't you jealous?

I love this shot. And look there are actually clouds in the sky! The sunsets always look incredible out here in the desert. 

This school week really ended on a happy note. I had so many different parents telling me that their child is so excited to come to school every day to learn and see me. Some even say their child likes our school more than their previous school. It just makes you so happy to hear that. When you have those long days where you feel like you are drowning in paperwork and assessments and trying to get everything done and planning all your lesson plans for that week and holding back tears and doing the best you can to keep your head up- it is those comments that make it all worth it. It reminds me that yes. This is why I am here. I always give my best effort and bring a positive attitude to work and it shows. I am still learning a lot but I just keep moving forward even when the days are tough.

My treat for the end of the week!
Treat yo' self!