Pandemic at School Week 51

Pandemic at School

 

Week 51

 

Day 348 – Sunday, February 28, 2021

 

The start of another week, and the end of another month.  

 

Vanderburgh counties numbers really are looking quite good.  I think we will probably move down from “1” to “0.5” on Wednesday when the metrics are updated.  The metrics only go to 3, but around the beginning of the year, we should have been a 5, if it existed.  

 

It’s been two weeks since my second dose of vaccine, so my immunity is as strong as it can be.  

 

It rained a lot today, when I got up the plastic container that I’d set out with bird seed was overflowing with rain water, so we’d gotten at least an inch and a half overnight.  

 

I tried to use the kids’ Pandemic EBT card at Walmart today, but they wouldn’t work.  Hannah’s worked last week.  They all have money on them, so I think I will blame Walmart’s card scanner. 

 

Elijah has been having some long bouts of pleurisy which I’m a little concerned about.

 

Day 349 – Monday, March 1, 2021

 

Yay for March!  My favorite month of the year, though last year wasn’t fabulous with the beginning of the global pandemic and all.

 

We had a jeans month in February, and we are back to “professional dress” at work.  I like wearing jeans…

 

I had a very normal day at work, which is fine by me.  

 

Vanderburgh County only had 3 new COVID cases today, but there were only 21 tests.  I think it will even out a bit tomorrow.  

 

I broiled some burgers for dinner and deep fried some real fries.  YUM!  

 

Day 350 – Tuesday, March 2, 2021

 

I have a new kindergarten student who says the saddest and most unusual things.  The first day, I met her, she told me, “My mom’s name is Brooke Rosen, too”.  Yesterday, when I put a note for her dad in her folder, she asked me, “Is my mom still asleep?”  There is a lot going on with this kid and I feel badly for her.  She seems very sweet.

 

Ms. Butler’s class was very grumpy and scream-y today.  I’m not quite sure what was the matter with the four yellers.  I did hear a couple of funny teacher requests.  “Get that dinosaur out of your pants!” and “I’m not talking to myself, I want you to write your name on your paper!”

 

The rest of the day went well.

 

Hannah had her first Academic Superbowl meet of the year.  The did it differently, due to COVID, but she felt like they did really well. 

 

I made chicken tacos for dinner, then watched the episode of Downton Abbey when Matthew died.  I’ve not seen any episodes after that, so the rest will be new to me.

 

Vanderburgh county numbers did go up a bit, but still quite good.  Looks like we will be downgraded to “blue” (or is that an upgrade since we are doing better?)

 

Day 351 – Wednesday, March 3, 2021

 

Vanderburgh County moved down to 0.5 and blue for the state COVID metric.  The only way to get to 0.0 is if we have fewer than 18 cases in a week.  We are around 140 a week right now.

 

People 50+ in Indiana can sign up for a vaccine appointment AND !!!TEACHERS!!! can finally sign up since President Biden is pushing to get all teachers vaccinated in March.  However, teachers must get their vaccines at Walmart, Kroger, or Meijer in Indiana.  Seriously.

 

I did The Story of the Leprechaun book and Kahoot for my group lessons today.  The story is a little complicated for my students…. But I made it last year and never got to use it.

 

For dinner we had an EveryPlate meal of Ponzu Beef & Rice bowls.  They were really good, but I really don’t care for all the vegetable chopping.  

 

Day 352 – Thursday, March 4, 2021

 

Peter got his first shot, Moderna, today.  

 

Hannah’s academic teams (History, English, and Interdisciplinary) all won… by a lot.  

 

The weather was absolutely gorgeous today, sunny and 65.  

 

If we get another COVID stimulus check that’s as big as Biden says it’s going to be, I’m going to buy Hannah a used Corolla outright (the check will pay for half), and pay myself back $300 every month once my car is paid off.  Then when Elijah leaves for college, he can have the RAV4.  

 

COVID numbers are still in the teens per day in Vanderburgh county.  Texas, Mississippi, Iowa, Montana, and North Dakota have dropped their mask mandates, which is ridiculous with the new variants out there. Hopefully, with so many people getting vaccinated, we will continue to do well.  

 

Tonight’s EveryPlate meal was Pork Chops with Jalapeño Gravy, roasted carrots and potatoes.  It was fabulous.  I need to roast vegetables more often. 

 

Day 353 – Friday, March 5, 2021

 

I had a conference for a new student at Perry Heights that took longer than it should have, so I had a group lesson with Ms Butler’s class.  We listened to Bear Snores On and played a Kahoot.  About half of the kids really liked it.  The rest of the school day was pretty normal, though I did help contain one of Butler’s students during dismissal.  

 

I ordered pizza from Dominos and it was actually on time and hot.  Win!

 

Trent has thrown up at least a half dozen times since I got home at 4pm.  I don’t think he’s going to make it much longer.  However, I have thought that for almost two years now.  He only has a few more doses of his steroid, but it no longer seems to make much difference.  The vet said it was a very short term solution to help him gain a little weight.  I think his tumor/enlarged liver or spleen has gotten quite a bit bigger.    Poor kitty.

 

Yesterday, Vanderburgh county gave a little over 1000 first doses of vaccine to residents.  I’m impressed.  So far, 27,758 people in the county are fully vaccinated.  

 

Day 354 – Saturday, March 6, 2021

 

Today was a little busier than I like my weekends to be.  I started off by doing laundry, then I ordered a curbside pickup at Lowe’s for ten more bags of pea gravel, two bird feeders, and a hook to hang my dad’s memorial wind chimes.  I poured the bags of gravel, and twenty bags was nearly enough. I took Leah to Target to buy a birthday present for Penny, then took her to Penny’s house to spend the night.  I hung up the wind chimes in the Annex.  Elijah had dinner plans to eat hibachi with his friends at Ropongi, so Hannah and I went to Hobby Lobby, Panera, and Target while he ate.  Ropongi was PACKED, and they weren’t even seated for an hour.  

 

In my Facebook memories from a year ago, there was my first post about COVID… how I thought it had already gone through the school.  I was wrong, though it was a bad year for flu/strep/norovirus/etc.

 

Indiana teachers are starting to get vaccinated with the new Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine.