Massachusetts Bound.

Hey there everyone,
So just like the beginning of every big move, the insanity sort of comes 2nd nature which has been... well... overwhelming... exciting... and a lot of craziness. just to name a few. I mean, where to begin really.
So I know a few of you knew that I left Johnsonburg up until basically last minute, on a Friday August 13, post dinner, and moved out here on that Saturday. (which wasn't a genius move but whatever.)

to give you the low-down, I work at a coed boarding school called Northfield Mount Hermon School out in Northfield, MA. which is basically the last town in Massachusetts before hitting the VT and New Hampshire border (depending on what side of the connecticut river you go on). The school is about 664 (accurate count for the 2010-11 school year) students, about 100 of them are day students and the rest reside here until the end of the school year.

so. I guess I could go on a bunch of tangents. I moved into a ranch house on campus, basically right next to the Headmaster's house with 2 other girls also newly hired - I included them in one of the pictures enclosed. One is Teryl Scott who teaches French (we share a last name. and because the houses normally go to families, people have asked us if we are partners.) and the other is Rosey, who is in mathematics. and my cats. we're a pretty awesome little family. :) So getting back to it - we moved in (see pictures of the place enclosed) and new faculty orientation started not long after - which resulted in extremely long days and nights.
so the upside being that generally, everyone really gets along well and its starting to feel like an amazing community. the downside is that I barely had any free time last week. so. still learning the balance that a bit.

the start of this new week has been amazing. Overall, although I don't live in a dorm, my responsibilities include still being on dorm duty - my particular one is an all boys upper class dorm of about 47. I share this dorm with 3 other staff members and a few Student Leaders, who are essentially seniors who have been hired to be so. They basically do all the menial tasks each night, check in after curfew, room checks, similar to an RA except without the punishing authorities. aside from that, I have about 7 students from this dorm who are my personal advisees, and act like a 'mom' to, check in with, am essentially the go-to person when they skip class, etc. and a liaison between the school and their parents. my group this year (I will meet them on Thursday) are all 11th grade boys, one's a day student and one's an international from Asia (not sure exactly where yet). rest are all from america. in various corners.

I teach about 5 classes, which meet twice a week based on block scheduling (so for 2 hours each interval), which include the subjects: drawing I, design theory, digital photography and the new 9th grade visual arts foundation class (one of the other guys Craig in my orientation class is doing the performing arts section of this). and then a co-curricular (takes the place of when fall sports have practice) of Landscape drawing (this class is pretty sweet. and should I mention completely goes against Johnsonburg's supervision rules. I can take all these kids in my car and drive anywhere. I can take them to my house. I can be in their bedrooms for whatever reason. just saying. its kind of feeling wrong.) I am also going to be the JV Head coach for swimming this winter, and my wife... er.... roommate Teryl is my assistant coach. which makes me laugh because the last time I was even remotely swimming a real stroke was when I was in high school, though I also know that I am the most qualified out of everyone here. kind of sad, really.

so after a bunch of dorm staff meetings and whatever else, I am feeling. oriented. and my student leaders are great. the kids themselves move in later this week and we, as a school faculty, take them hiking up Mt. Monadnock for the day. and we have HogOlympics that evening - sort of rotating around community and allowing kids to get familiar with the school. (oh yeah, our school mascot is a pig.)

and I am still learning things - found myself out in Keene, NH to check out the closest Target, but mostly relying on the favorite grocery chain Price Chopper. and Market Basket. really great little places to eat in interesting, artsy hippie towns like Northampton, MA and Brattleboro, VT. I am really loving small town New England. I can see myself making a home here. it's really beyond exciting.

thanks again for the ongoing support and love from you all - I promise to keep the updates coming and the lines of communication open. and with that being said, you are absolutely always welcome to visit if you're around or want to flee your side of the country a bit.