Job Update

Hey...I'll bet ya'll have been wondering what ever happened with the teaching job that I had ya'll praying for...

I went in for a 2nd interview with the chair of the Social Studies dept. and the Asst. Principal. It was a great opportunity to meet and interview with other people in the school system that have specific ideas. Unfortunately, neither of their ideas seemed to point to me....

They are doing some major restructuring in their Social Studies department in order to add two more AP classes and in order to do that well, they needed an experienced teacher.

The interview went well. I felt confident in who I was, what I was passionate about, and what I had to offer, but I am pretty sure they are going to go a different direction. I left the ball in their court to connect back with me (which was nearly 2 weeks ago now) because it seemed really sure that I was not what they were looking for. I might send them an email in another week to see what they were thinking. Who knows...they might still offer me the job, you never know.

I was a bit bummed that I will not get that opportunity, however I am still looking forward to begin student teaching in the Fall. I do not see not getting the job as a major setback. Student teaching does give me the opportunity to spend time with an experienced teacher and watch them practice their 'craft' of teaching and the mentoring opportunity to be alongside a teacher.

Another benefit....it looks like I am back on track (without the job) to graduate with both of my MA degrees next Spring 2010 and it still looks like we are looking towards returning to Colorado that late Summer. We will still see what God has for us out here and what doors he opens and closes for a future job...

Thanks so much for your prayers and concern. I should have updated you sooner, but as you noticed from Callie's recent posts, I have been sooooo busy finishing up the semester. I have hardly had a chance to breathe, let alone post...

Good Job...

...to Brandon for finishing his spring semester at Western!! It was a rough/busy/trying/hard semester but he has successfully completed his classes at Western for the spring and only has two more weeks until his Multnomah classes come to an end. I can't imagine balancing work/classes/family/friends like he has. He pretty much just rocks :) He has worked so hard and I am so proud of him for finishing well.
He offically has one week until his summer session starts with Western. We are going to enjoy this week :)
I love you, babe.

life happens

whether we notice it or not (or like it or not), life is happening all the time. Little moments and big moments. happy and sad. new and repetitive. Life has definitely been happening up here in Portland. I'd like to say that i take all these moments and soak them up....that i'm taking time to stop and smell the roses, but it seems that sometimes all we have time for is a quick glance at the beuatiful bud as i drive by. But don't worry! i'm still loving where God has us right now, it just seems that it's all flying by so quickly!!! (all of that was a big excuse as to why i haven't blogged in for-e-ver! haha)
without further ado, here a few snapshots of what our life has looked like for the last couple of weeks.
First, Joanna came and visited me all the way from Pennsylvania!!! We had an awesome time of sitting and drinking coffee...yup, that's pretty much all we did :) jk, we just didn't take pictures of anything. this was just about the only picture I snapped of her (with the delicious twice baked potatoes that she made!) She is one of my dearest friends and i was so blessed by her being here.

and last weekend, i flew down to Colorado for a suprise birthday party for my mom! it went perfectly and she was truly shocked. not only did i get to be there for her birthday, but also for easter sunday. one bad thing: it snowed on easter :( so much for wearing my easter dress! this is what it looked like that morning (aunt cathy, mema, mom and me)

of course, got to hang out with my little brudder

and this weekend i was lucky enough to go to this Beth Moore conference here in Portland. It was life changing. She is such a gifted speaker/teacher and I learned soooooo much! God met me where I'm at and I feel refreshed. plus, i got to attend with my sweet friend, Jessica and Titus (who is now 5 weeks old). such a good time!


and as i sit here writing this, Brandon is finishing up some reading and urging me to hurry because he needs the computer to finish up a paper....it's never ending. fortunately his semester is coming to an end soon and he will have a small time of a "light class load" before the fall begins. pray for us :)

thanks for stopping by! hopefully i'll be keeping in touch a little better from now on.

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. golden Sun....

I think it's official... spring has sprung! I know that the first day of spring was several weeks ago, but Portland just got the memo. We're making up for lost time though! Yesterday was 60 and beautiful. Today was 70 and amazing. And tomorrow is supposed to be 75 and terrific!!! Can you imagine? 3 whole days of blue skies and summertime! :) (a little disclaimer: it will not be like this until summer..but I take what I can get!)

And now for a little update on the DelGrosso home in point format:
-haven't started painting the living room--am terrible at making decisions
-Brandon is doing homework...nonstop
-Joanna (one of my best friends from highschool) is here visiting me!
-spent the afternoon with a dear friend at the waterfront, enjoying the SUN!! (which we both crave!)
-can't believe tomorrow is Monday already
-am now going to sit and read and enjoy the remaining moments of my weekend

Thanks for keeping in touch! Hope all of your weekends were equally amazing :)

Questions.....Questions

Thanks for your prayers for the interview. As an interviewee, if it was a basic interview, I think it went really great. I went in there confident and really felt like I got to share my heart for teaching, for history and for Bible. I was able to share that even though I do not have 'formal' classroom experience I have taught in many other venues (ministry) that could be comparable. I feel we connected as far as our hearts to see young people's lives changed. It was definitely a great opportunity. BUT, (as you can read from the title) there were a lot of questions coming out of the interview.

1. I need a Oregon State certified teacher in History or an Oregon State certified Administrator to 'oversee' or be the 'cooperating' teacher at the school in order for my 1st year of teaching to count for my Oregan State licensure. If this person is not there, my teaching experience is basically null for my state license. Currently the principal is not sure if there is someone that will meet those requirements. (This is his first year as Principal)

2. They normally only hire 'certified' teachers for all their positions. I do not have State licensure (obviously) but I also do not quite qualify for Standard ACSI licensure. I do qualify for Temporary or Basic licensure for ACSI (which I was not sure about in the interview). He was not even sure they would consider me for the position without it. I told him about the Temporary Certificate after the interview and I think it might help.

3. In order to get my license in Oregon I have to do both Middle School and High School. Oregon's license is ML/HS. Thus, I have to teach at least 1 class at the ML level and at least 1 class at the HS level. These details are yet to be ironed out. They are necessary for my state licensure as well.

These were the 3 big questions that we both came out with after the interview. They obviously are very important questions. The good news is that he said he would let me know within the week whether or not they would consider me for the next steps (i.e. willing to go with a Temp. Cert teacher). So, by Wednesday I should know if this job is even a possibility.

I trust that God has a plan in all of this and if this job does not work...I will definitely count it as a great opportunity to interview with an Administrator in a school.

Thanks for your prayers...and continued prayers. I will keep you posted.