Ee-aye-guh-hit

This is the 2nd Friday morning that Josh and I stopped at McD’s for breakfast before dropping the little guy off for school. One of the goals that his teacher has set for the kids this year is to master about 250 sight words. So, I figured that we could knock out a few of them while dining over our Sausage McGriddles.

Josh had little trouble with the first few words until we came to this one... EIGHT. One has to wonder what kind of medication was being administered to the lexicographer who added this one to our beloved dictionary. Well, after a fairly long stare-down with those dashing blue eyes of his, Josh belted out...ee-aye-guh-hit (complete with a mouth full of hash browns that sprayed across the table, I might add) I just about lost it. So much for phonetics, huh?

Back to School...

Here are some pics from the lab that I’ll get to teach out of this school year. The room received a complete overhaul this past summer, and is now equipped with 30 Intel Pentium 4 HT computers- complete with Compact Disc rewritable/ DVD drives and flat screen monitors. The coolest feature of the lab, though, is the Smartboard, which essentially turns the user into a "walking mouse", enabling you to manipulate a screen with your hands.

I’ll be teaching my Microsoft Office class in here a couple times a day, and then spend the rest of my time down in the Admissions office. We've got a number of upcoming activities that we've been working on since the beginning of August. Our first Open House is scheduled for October 14th, and then we have been registering students to take our first placement exam on 10-13, which based on last years turnout should number around 250. We're hosting a CYO welcome night prior to the Hoban v. Walsh football game, and already have over 50 8th graders who are planning on visiting the school in the month of October. Our first big publication is due out within the next week as well.

Prospective parents who call our school typically have a ton of questions, and certainly appreciate the fact that there is someone there who can engage in a meaningful telephone conversation with them. I truly had no idea that I would be spending so much of my day simply talking with folks who are about to send their kids off to high school within the next year. Within a 40 mile radius of Hoban, there are over a dozen quality private schools to choose from, so the initial contact that parents have with a school can truly evolve into a significant factor in selecting a school for their son or daughter.

Kindergarten Kahuna

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The car ride home...(to the best of my recollection)

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Me: "So...how was your first day in kindergarten?"

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Josh: "Pretty cool, but there are at least 5,000 more rules that I have to learn this year."

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Me: "Why do you think your teacher needs all those rules?"

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Josh: "I don't think she trusts us."

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Me: "That's probably a safe guess, son. So, what all did you do?"

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Josh:" Well, we went to the library, learned ALL the numbers (I'm guessing at least up through 10 million, or so), practiced writing some letters, and sang a rhyming song...fox on box, bear on big sofa, and stuff like that."

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Me: "Did you behave yourself? Did your teacher have to correct you at all today?"

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Josh: "Uh....what, did you say?"

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Me: "You heard me..."

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Josh: "I was almost perfect. I got a green card! I think Mrs. Cochran is going to really like me most of the time."

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Me: "Who do you sit by in class?"

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Josh: (sigh) " A bunch of girls, dad. They talk too much!"

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Me: "You mean more than you do?"

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Josh: "Oh, yeah...and Piper told me that she wants to be my girlfriend on Fridays"

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Me: "Well, there actually are some advantages to having a girlfriend only one day a week...it won't tie you down too much."

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Josh: "She's not tying me down! I'll tell the teacher on her!"

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Me: "So, are you ready to go back tomorrow?"

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Josh: "Yeah, but I don't know about all those rules..."

And who said the U.S. jury selection process isn't fair?

Did You Know…?

In 1983, Pope John Paul II made sweeping changes in the canonization procedure. The process begins after the death of a Catholic whom people regard as holy. Often, the process starts many years after death in order give perspective on the candidate. The local bishop investigates the candidate's life and writings for heroic virtue (or martyrdom) and orthodoxy of doctrine. Then a panel of theologians at the Vatican evaluates the candidate. After approval by the panel and cardinals of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the pope proclaims the candidate "venerable."

The next step, beatification, requires evidence of one miracle (except in the case of martyrs). Since miracles are considered proof that the person is in heaven and can intercede for us, the miracle must take place after the candidate's death and as a result of a specific petition to the candidate. When the pope proclaims the candidate beatified or "blessed," the person can be venerated by a particular region or group of people with whom the person holds special importance.

Only after one more miracle will the pope canonize the saint (this includes martyrs as well). The title of saint tells us that the person lived a holy life, is in heaven, and is to be honored by the universal Church. Canonization does not "make" a person a saint; it recognizes what God has already done. (http://www.catholic.org/)

Hoban High School, a Holy Cross sponsored high school in Akron Ohio as well as my place of employment, will be celebrating a major event on Saturday September 15th, 2007- the beatification of the Venerable Father Basile Moreau, founder of the brothers, priests, and sisters of Holy Cross. Beatification must always come before canonization, or sainthood, according the Catholic Church.

The cause for Father Moreau’s beatification was introduced in Rome in 1955. His Holiness, John Paul II, approved his beatification in 2003, declaring that, as a Servant of God, Father Moreau had “practiced the theological virtues of faith, hope and love towards God and neighbor, as well as the related cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude, to an heroic degree.”

Born on February 11, 1799, near Le Mans, Father Moreau experienced the devastating consequences of the French Revolution. Yet, he worked tirelessly throughout his life as a priest and as founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, transforming the post-revolution culture around him. Today, the men and women religious of Holy Cross minister in Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia. They are engaged in a variety of ministries fulfilling their commitment to continue the mission of Jesus in the spirit of Father Moreau.

Brady, Brady, Brady....

With flashbulbs popping all around the stadium, Quinn threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes in his first NFL exhibition game and looked better than any Cleveland quarterback in the Browns' 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions on Saturday night.

The former Notre Dame star, who isn't expected to begin the season as Cleveland's starter but could become a late addition to the club's ongoing competition between Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson, entered with the Browns down 23-7.

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As No. 10 jogged onto the field with 9:20 remaining, Cleveland fans welcomed Quinn with a roaring ovation, and many of them stayed on their feet after Quinn hit Chris Barclay on a screen pass that went for 30 yards on his first play.

Quinn completed five passes in a row before his first miss. On second-and-3 at Detroit's 4, he calmly rolled to his right and drilled a TD pass to rookie Efrem Hill, who got open near the sideline.

The next time Cleveland got the ball, Quinn drove the Browns 92 yards in 1:52, hitting Jerome Harrison with a 6-yard TD pass with 18 seconds left.

Quinn finished 13-of-20 — with three spikes to stop the clock — for 155 yards. (A.P. wire)

22:16:37 and counting...

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After listening to my daughter sing "the score" over and over again for the past year or so, Marie finally convinced me to sit down this evening to watch High School Musical...all in preparation for the debut of the sequel tomorrow evening on the Disney channel. Now I'm not necessarily ready to crown this show as the next Les Miserables, but it definitely has its moments as a kind of Romeo and Juliet/ Grease storyline for today's I-Pod/ text messaging/ Facebook generation of kids.

Watching this show tonight made me think back to my high school musical career which consisted of one of Charlemagne's henchmen in Pippin, a street urchin in Roar of the Greasepaint, Smell of the Crowd, and then finally Freddy in My Fair Lady. (I still remember being absolutely terrified of coming from behind the curtain to croon the tune, "On the Street Where You Live"...(I'm pretty sure that Lerner and Loewe rolled over in their grave while listening to my rendition of their song on that day back in 1985.)

Pretty much my only claim to fame is that the young lady who played my mother in my school's production of My Fair Lady was none other that Melina Kanakaredes - known for her performances in Guiding Light, Providence, and CSI. We remained friends throughout high school, but lost touch with each other as we both went on to college. (You'd think she would want to look me up to thank me for inspiring her to pursue her acting career! ha, ha)

Anyway, in lieu of watching my beloved Tribe tomorrow night, I promised Marie that we'll all sit down to watch Troy, Gabriella, and the much anticipated H.S. Musical II...

...it's the Yankee's I hate!

Not a good game at the Jake tonight...

Yo Josh...I'm the star of the show here...get outta' my photo shoot!

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Spidey and Josh

The little guy finally got around to using his birthday gift cards to purchase this new slip 'n slide...very cool.

Another Hard Day at the Office...

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One of the perks of my new summer Hoban gig is that I essentially owe the school 20 "work days" during the summer months, but I'm pretty much able to decide which days I'd like spend in my office. So seeing that the forecast was for 90 degrees and sunny, I opted to hang out with Marie at Geauga Lake yesterday (and make the Hoban day up next week)...We pretty much lounged in their lazy river/ swam in the tidal wave pool most of the afternoon before we treked over to the other side of the park in the evening to tackle some of the coasters.

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Don't let this picture deceive you...it's tiring trying to steer your way through the river...I think I ended up with a small case of inner-tube elbow. Good thing I don't have to go into work today either!