Just a Little Nervous (Day 111, Part One)

Friday, February 25 was Day 111.  While my students went through their usual Friday routine, I met with the person in charge of the Advisor program, met the teachers I hadn't met the night before at dinner, trekked to the Scholastic headquarters, and began a series of meetings on all sorts of topics relating to how teachers can use Scholastic more efficiently. 

Where do I start? 

I woke up that morning around 6:15.  I hadn't slept well because I was a bit nervous about meeting everyone, and it took a bit for me to get used to the noise in the city.  You know, sirens, horns, and...a jackhammer.  Yes, a jackhammer.  At 10, 11:00 at night.  (I remember griping to my husband that morning, saying, "Who on earth jackhammers at NIGHT?"  He, being the one of sound mind, politely reminded me that the traffic during the day is probably pretty busy, so the construction is done at night.  Sort of like when the crews are repaving a road or something.)  Oh well, I was still a bit cranky and sleep-deprived.  (If you haven't guessed, I'm a light sleeper.) 

So anyway, I got up, took a shower, and got dressed.  I didn't eat the yummy room service breakfast; I wasn't hungry.  (Nerves, I guess.  And about the breakfast, I'll post more on that later.  Just one word now: scrumptious!)

I went downstairs to meet CAROL, the person in charge of the Advisors.  I've tried to think of a way to describe her, and what I came up with when I talked to my husband was this:  "She's like an old friend you've never met."  Seriously.  When I got downstairs, she was sitting in a chair talking away to some of the other folks.  Whenever someone new came into the lobby, she would ask their name and give them their name tag, along with a hug you would expect from a long-lost friend.  No airs here, people.  She was genuinely pleased to see each and every one of us.  I don't know how else to describe her, except maybe to add in that she was sort of like a mother or grandmother.  She had something nice to say to everyone and constantly checked in on us throughout the weekend to make sure we weren't overwhelmed or tired or hungry or anything else.  She's funny, quick-witted, and a snappy dresser.  (She likes crazy socks just like I do, too.)

So after we met Carol, we trekked on to the Scholastic headquarters, which was a few blocks away.  It always amazes me when New Yorkers say "Oh, it's just a few blocks."  To me, a few blocks is like one or two.  This was a bit more, but worth it!

This is the Scholastic building from across the street.  (Sorry about the corner being cut off; I thought it was all in the frame.)  This is where the magic happens.

This is the view as you walk up the 550 block of West Broadway.  You can't miss it.

Here is the Scholastic mascot, Clifford.  The window was the size of a true shop window; I was nearly on the curb to catch this shot.

We walked in through security in the lobby and went straight up to the second floor, where we were greeted with various members of the Scholastic company and Clifford. 

The welcoming committee.

We were then shown into a conference room where we were greeted by even more Scholastic staff.  The room was huge. (Cue my nerves again.)  In the middle was a U-shaped series of tables where we sat, 11 on one side, 11 on the other, and various VIPs in between.  Behind the tables were several (three, I think) rows of chairs on all sides, from one set of walls to another.  Those were for the Scholastic staff who were going to be sitting in.  By the time everyone was in, there wasn't enough room for all the staff and quite a few ended up sitting on the floor wherever a spot could be found.

This is the view from the door, looking straight ahead.

View from the door, pointing into the room.  You can only see the beginning of the first of three rows on the right.  I was sitting in the seat with the giraffe bag hanging from it.  

Upon entering the room, we were greeted with a slideshow showing all of the Advisors from this year.  We were also greeted with an official Scholastic workbag, filled with goodies.

This is a map showing where the Advisors came from.  The little dots on the map were actually stars that kept flickering in and out, so I tried to get a shot with all of them lit.  There should be 22 little dots from the West Coast to the East Coast, North to South.



New workbag.  Snazzy!



Contents of the new workbag.  Very generous of Scholastic.  I especially like the blue bag in the middle.  It is a reusable bag that has the "Reader's Bill of Rights" on the reverse side.  Really neat.

More on Day 111 later; seems my computer has had enough tonight! Stay tuned!