The Catmage Chronicles
Andy thought he was going crazy when a talking cat showed up at his front door. He couldn’t have been more wrong.Goldeneyes is a Catmage – a cat with human intelligence and magical abilities. Andy is an eighth grader who is smart, impulsive, and trying to avoid the school bully at all costs. A prophecy threw them together. There’s just one problem: Goldeneyes can’t stand humans.The Catmage world is heading toward war. Goldeneyes and Andy must try to stop the enemy from getting stronger. And they must save a powerful Catmage who’s been kidnapped. For Goldeneyes, it’s personal. That Catmage is her grandmother.Andy and Goldeneyes must try to put aside their differences. If they can’t, the enemy will soon be too powerful to defeat…
Category Archives: Teaching
Winter break
School’s out for winter Continue reading
My life, my blog
I just paid off the last of my credit card debt accrued from years of under- and unemployment (not profligate spending). I am now officially debt-free, except for my mortgage. I am solidly in the black for the first time … Continue reading
Posted in Holocaust, Life, Site news, Teaching
6 Comments
Cat Shabbat
Look what I found while trying to find some old photos to put on a card for one of my former students (who is a bar mitzvah this weekend). I may have used that at some point, but I found … Continue reading
Posted in Cats, Teaching
2 Comments
Lessons from teaching
This weekend was Brandon and Brittany’s b’nai mitzvah. In my six years of teaching fourth grade, I had four sets of boy-girl twins. I was always struck by both the bond between them, and their attempts to hide it because, … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching
4 Comments
DonorsChoose.org: Salve for the spirit
Yes, the economy is tanking. Yes, the news seems almost all bad. But if you have a few dollars to spare, there’s an organization called Donors Choose that has a website where you can help children all over the country … Continue reading
They hate me! They really hate me!
The Jew-hating bastards on yet another Holocaust denial site (based in the U.K., there’s a surprise) have linked to one of my old teaching posts (and not in a good way). And they don’t like my No Israel-Bashing Zone policy, … Continue reading
Religious Jews: Giving ammunition to the enemy
Way to go, guys. Give Israel’s enemies ammunition to prove that Israel is racist, by being racist assholes. Four months after harrowing accounts of discrimination against Ethiopian students, Ynet has reported that the parents’ associations of the three largest state … Continue reading
Posted in Israel, Teaching
8 Comments
Daylight Savings Oops
Okay, I don’t watch the TV news very often, and I didn’t last night. I don’t listen to the news on the radio much, either. And, well, I completely missed out on a very important fact. Like, moving the clocks … Continue reading
Kol hakavod
Last Friday night, for the sixth time in my teaching career, my fourth graders led services. Every year, they get better and better at singing the prayers and psalms in front of their parents and the congregation. I’d love to … Continue reading
Posted in Religion, Teaching
6 Comments
Yiddishe nachas *
Not. And amid all this hype, Winehouse’s representatives said late Friday that she won’t attend tonight’s Grammys in Los Angeles. Although she resolved her visa issues with the U.S. Embassy, she’ll still appear via satellite from London. Winehouse apparently decided … Continue reading
Posted in Jews, Miscellaneous, Pop Culture, Teaching
1 Comment
What teachers live for
I was talking to one of my students’ parents today before class, telling her that her son is already proving to be one of the most knowledgeable in my class. She told me he came home last Sunday loving the … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching
3 Comments
First day of school
Today was the first day of religious school. It featured a new class, a new principal, new books, and an extra 30 minutes of class time. I am exhausted. It didn’t help that I was up an hour before the … Continue reading
Another bar mitzvah weekend
The last of my second-year students has his bar mitzvah this weekend. I know you’re not supposed to have favorites, but I confess that J. was always one of mine, even as he was one of my most challenging students. … Continue reading
Another school year ends
I have just finished the last of my students’ progress reports. That’s what they call report cards for Hebrew School these days. I am done with my paperwork obligations. Finished. Completed. All I have to do is get through two … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching
5 Comments
Teaching fourth graders
This is the time of year that drives me the craziest. The kids all have spring fever, and Tuesdays are the worst. They’ve been in school all day, and now they have to come straight ot religious school with barely … Continue reading