Day.Sixty.Six.

Well.. the day has arrived. Jury Duty. Grand Jury Duty to be exact.

I started the morning off checking in with my sub and making sure that everything was ready for the day. With my last sub's experience.. I was nervous. I knew it would be an ok day, but I still had a bit of nervousness. I made sure she was planned until after lunch, and then I thought I would be back. I also made sure that she let them know that the new Pete the Cat would be shared if they were making the best choices they could.

Off I went. To the courthouse. It is such a strange experience. I have never been in trouble with the law or do I ever foresee that happening. How do people who are in trouble, deal with this all the time. It is eye-opening. I headed upstairs to the waiting room area and it filled in pretty quickly. There were 44 people in the room. Keep in mind, I have NO idea how or what we would be doing. Would I get chosen? My chances of getting chosen were about 50/50. I chose to be on the May-June Jury list. Well... I was chosen.  Next thing I know, I am off to the courtroom. I was in the first 14, so I was automatically on the grand jury. As the day went on, it became clearer that there was no 'getting out of it'. I am glad I was chosen, now, looking back. I will get into that more later.

After we were sworn in and given our directions, we were sent upstairs to the Grand Jury Room. I was still very unaware of what our job was exactly. Now I know: To hear the testimonies/witnesses of the prosecution and we vote to decide if there is enough evidence to send the case to trial(indictment). Interesting! I won't be in the courtroom at all! Anyway, the prosecutor was getting us comfortable, and gave us a brief outline of our day, "brief training, lunch, then cases to be heard". At that moment, I panicked! My sub was only prepped for 1/2 of the day. EEEK! I called her immediately and let her know I would be there all day. So, on my lunch, I rushed to the school, explained the plans, and read PETE THE CAT! (maybe it was selfish of me, but I wanted to share it with them). Grabbed a quick lunch, then headed back to the courthouse. Crisis averted.

There are 14 people chosen for the grand jury. I am number 11. Jurors 1-9 are voting members. Jurors 10-14 are alternates in case one juror is unable to cast a vote. I still have to be there to hear all of the case and I leave when they vote. The alternates do not find out which cases are indicted until Friday, when we can read it in the newspaper.

Before we could vote, we had a brief training. The Delaware County Drug Task Force came to acquaint us with the drugs that are in the county. Talk about an eye opener! Yikes! I was astonished at the technicalities of drugs and pretty bothered by how prevalent it is in the county. Then we met with a S.A.N.E nurse (for sexual assault victims). I just happen to know her! Lastly, we met with victim advocates who are there for those who are mainly in domestic violence cases. I felt a bit more prepared and knowledgable.

All in all, I love jury duty. I miss being with my kiddos, but it is a really interesting to be part of. I have learned so many things, met some cool people, and am doing my civic duty. I have jury duty every week, every Wednesday for two months. I was initially dreading it, but now I look forward to it almost.

If you get called, I urge you to take advantage of it and learn from the experience.

-Alexis
*I am sworn to secrecy, so no juicy details to share, SORRY*

Day.Sixty.Five.

IT IS HERE!!!!! Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons!


Today was the day. After school, I headed to Barnes and Noble to pick up my reserved copy of the new Pete the Cat! As I was there, of course, I saw at least 10 books I would love to buy and use in my classroom. That is my true weakness.... book for my classroom. I love children's literature. Anyway.. back to Pete! So, as I was standing in line, a woman in front of me was talking to the cashier about how her daughter loves the books and she was excited to get her the next book. Well... she didn't have the new one. So, I thought I should tell her about the new release. She was grateful and went to buy the new one.

As soon as I got into my car, I couldn't just let it sit on the front seat as I drove home. I just HAD to read it and find out the ending. I am definitely a kid at heart. I couldn't wait. Well... I won't give away details, but the ending was FABULOUS! I chuckled a bit... and I know the kids will!

Tomorrow, I have jury duty. I should be able to be back in the room by the afternoon, so I will be sure to share it with my KSACC kiddos. They are going to love it!

Check it out online: http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/feature/petethecat/

Happy Reading/Listening!
-Alexis

Day.Fifty.Nine.

So I have had a twitter account for a while now. I don't know what possessed me to get one, but it seemed interesting. So I did. After attending the Dublin Literacy Conference this year, we learned about our presenters and their twitter names. So, I added them.

Well let me preface this story...
At the Dublin Literacy Conference, I met Eric Litwin and James Dean, the author and illustrator of Pete the Cat! I bought the first two books and had them signed. I couldn't wait to go back to school and share them with my kiddos. They LOVE LOVE LOVE to dance, and these are the perfect books for movin' and shakin'. Well, Pete quickly became a staple in our classroom. (end of preface)

Back to today. Well, on twitter I received a wonderful text. A NEW PETE THE CAT WILL BE ON SALE MAY 1st! I was just like a kinder... super, super excited!

Well, with news this great, I had to share with my kids. So, I found the clip on youtube that had a preview of the new book. They loved the new groove and started a count down on the calendar for the new one! I was required to go to the Barnes and Noble that day to get it!

I will keep you updated!

-Alexis