Saturday, July 26, 2008

Friday, July 25, 2008

Pioneer Day!

We were able to get together with the Nielsen (My side) of the family and have a Pioneer Day party. It is always fun to get together with the family. To my count my parents have 17 grandchildren and in total we number 29. We had family pictures taken, had dinner and then played a few games. We were able to make pioneer yo-yo's, pin wheels, launch water rockets, stick pull, leg wrestle, and have a balloon battle. I hope everyone had as much fun as we did! I will update some photos as soon as I can get them downloaded.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Test Score

Yippee! I took my Praxis Elementary Content Knowledge test on June 14th and have been waiting ever since for the results. I got the envelope in the mail yesterday.

Drum roll please......................................................

Out of 200 possible I scored 178!
150 is required to pass.

Not bad for no study guide and prep. Now I just need to pass my Praxis Theorist test.
Next comes the question, "Do I really want to get my Master's Degree?"

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

A Career Change

I am starting a new job in August. I will be leaving my comfort zone. I have worked for American Express in Taylorsville for the past 7 years. I have been going to school for the last three years working on getting my teaching degree and it is finally paying off. I will be teaching at Mountainville Academy in Alpine Utah for the 2008-2009 school year.

This is what I have drafted for my bio on the school web-site:

My name is Lori Leavitt. I am very excited to be teaching at Mountainville Academy this year. I grew up in Lehi, Utah. I miss the days of my youth when Lehi was a small town, not the large city it has become. Even though I am not that old I remember the days when there were no stop lights in town, gas cost less than $1 a gallon, and Super Quality and Penny’s Variety store were the places to shop. I have a twin sister and am the fifth child of six.

My parents have had a strong educational influence in my life. My mother taught kindergarten until she decided it was time to stay home and raise a family. My father taught fourth grade for most of his teaching career and still substitute teaches today. (He says that he will stay in the classroom until he is forced to stay out!) I am excited to follow in his and my sister’s foot steps and teach the fourth grade.

I started college right after high school but put my career plans on hold to start my own family. I have a busy household consisting of my four children, three daughters and a son, our dog, and two guinea pigs. (If my youngest daughter has her way a couple of finches will soon be added.) I made a promise to my father and myself that I would complete my education once all of my children were in school, so once my son started kindergarten I enrolled at the University of Phoenix. He is now moving to the third grade and I have earned my bachelors degree. I look forward to a fun year at Mountainville Academy.