Introducing Miss Ottenbacher

Meet Miss Ottenbacher,

Central High School's newest Family & Consumer Science Teacher.

Here she is with her new school computer.

I was privileged to spend the afternoon with her on Friday.

She is smart and well prepared. 

She had a list carefully thought out questions.

We visited about the curriculum.

She will teach all foods classes, so

we talked about what has been done in the past...

and she will bring creativity and fresh new ideas to the program.

We also talked about student concerns.

Miss Ottenbacher has a kind and caring spirit,

wanting to consider the needs of others.

I am so excited for her, 

and I can't wait to see how she makes this classroom her own.

I couldn't be more confident to turn the reins over

to this young, energetic teacher.

Congratulations, Miss Ottenbacher.

You are going to be a great teacher!

Take care,

~Natalie

What'cha Workin' on Wednesday ~Bringing Closure to a Career

With students no longer in the building,

I can focus on cleaning up and cleaning out.

Months ago, I began the task of throwing away

lesson plans, curriculum materials, and student projects.

This is actually harder than it sounds.

Years of developing, and then,

updating and revising these class activities went into the dumpster.

Sometimes I felt like I was throwing part of myself away.

So, cleaning the appliances was the easy part.

Three refrigerators and an upright freezer...

done.

Demonstration cooktop and microwave...

done.

(A student helped inventory my textbooks.

Thank you, Connor.)

That left the seven student Food Preparation stations.

The students cleaned their labs on the last day of school.

Those of you that live with a teenager,

 know that some are better than others at cleaning.

Plus,

 inappropriate and disrespecful behaviors of three young men,

changed my focus from what I wanted to accomplish,

to working with administration to investigate and deliver consequences.

In my dreams, I had wanted to walk out the last day with everything in place.

However, by Thursday afternoon, I knew that I had to give up on that plan.

Thank goodness for self-cleaning ovens.

With multiple ovens cleaning, I started the vents, 

and used the two-hour opportunity to clean out my network files.

I wasn't the only one hard at work!

Today, I will return to wipe out those ovens.

And by the weekend, I hope to be enjoying the sunshine

with my new retirement cat.

Take care,

~Natalie

What'cha Workin' on Wednesday ~Turkey Time...Just One More Time ~These are the Times I will Miss the Most #lovefamilyand consumerscience

My days are numbered...now with single digits.

My potted plant, a retirement gift from the school board,

graced our dessert buffet table on this big day.

This team so efficiently prepared all the turkeys for roasting.

Sometimes, though,

 you just need to call on a young man to do the messy work.

78 pounds of turkey for 90 students...

...waiting, along side the desserts,

in the refrigerator overnight.

Yes, that is 5:40 A.M.

First block turkeys were roasting at 350 degrees.

It wasn't long until the students were busy preparing their side dishes,

as our State Champion Debate Coach, Mr. Konda 

and School Resource Officer Carlson

 did the honor of carving the birds.

A brief message from our guests before we serve.

(Does it look like all boys here?)

Here are the girls (with a couple more guys).

The next block brought SRO Carlson back, along with 

Probation Officer Rau.

We have all worked together for years.

Officer Carlson speaks about family and learning your family's traditions...

on a serious note, he shares about his mom passing away in December.

He misses being able to call her and ask about how a special dish is prepared.

Our last block enjoyed the presence 

of Teacher and Coach, Mr. Hansen.

His message about family and traditions was pretty special.

I'm not going to lie,

I shed a few tears.

This was the perfect ending

to a pretty perfect day!

Take care,

~Natalie

Our School District Retirement Party ~Thank you for the Classy Farewell

Every year, our school district hosts a retirement party.

This year a dozen staff members were honored.

Tables were adorned with a planter, a gift, 

and gift bag to receive cards.

Families are invited to sit with their retiree.

No reception at Central is complete 

without Shelly's cupcakes.

The retirees and spouses had a chance to visit 

before the doors opened to the public.

My principal stopped by with well wishes.

(Yes, I was teaching at Central when he was a student!)

And this special photo is 

with one of my first students.

Her memory is better than mine, 

as she reminised about our FHA Chapter 

going on a trip together.

I am going to have to look through the old scrapbooks!

I am so proud of her, as she is now a teacher.

Despite being the first night of league golf,

hubby made my day by deciding to accompany me to the reception.

Even better, he came home from work to change clothes...

and came out from the bedroom wearing a Blue and Gold tie!

A generous gift from the school district...

a Seiko Mantel clock.

It is a keepsake, for sure!

Upon returning home, I read through my gift bag of greetings.

Some included gift cards,

and most included a personal message.

Thank you, everyone.

So, my most frequently asked question...

"are you counting the days?"

Actually, I didn't start counting until recently,

as I truely love my job.

However, it was fun to bring out this slate.

It was crafted for us by a family friend.

I hung it in our foyer when our daughters lived at home.

I have sweet memories of us counting down together.

This year, the final days seem to be flying by.

(I'll be back to show you the highlights of this week.)

Take care,

~Natalie

What'cha Workin' on Wednesday~That's a lot of Bread #lovefacsclasses

Today we baked 21 batches of Cinnamon Rolls...

and noone killed their yeast!

Most of them were picture perfect...

and "melt in your mouth" delicious!

Yesterday, we made dinner rolls.

18 batches turned out...

One group killed their yeast.

One group used too much flour.

One group mismeasured their salt.

That's an 86% overall.

I guess we can't get an A every day!

Before the yeast breads, 

we prepared the four types of Quick Breads.

Pour Batter, Drop Batter,

Soft Dough, Stiff Dough,

along with a couple of variations on the Quick Bread theme.

Learning skills for a lifetime.

#lovefamilyandconsumerscienceclasses

Take care,

~Natalie