The End of the Semester

This may be my last posting for the semester. I want to thank all of you for being such a kind, cooperative, hard-working, and fun class. I looked forward to coming to work every day because of you. Whether you are skipping to the college, moving to LINCC level 4, or repeating level 3, you should all know that you have all made great progress in your English skills. It just takes some people a little longer than others. Some people are just better at learning language than others. Other people have more opportunity to read, write, speak, and listen to English outside of class. Don't start to think that you're "stupid" if you didn't advance as quickly as one of your classmates. Congratulations to all of you for a great semester! Keep in touch. You all know my email address, but here it is again: soffere@ncc.edu.

Today's Party and The Next Couple of Days' Tests

I had a wonderful time at the party today. There was no doubt about it -- our class was the liveliest class there. Thanks to all of you who brought food or drinks and music, and thanks to all of you who came and made it so much fun.

Try to keep your happy moods into the next couple of days. Don't try to study for the tests. The best thing you can do for yourselves is get a good night's sleep and come tomorrow refreshed and ready to think.

See you tomorrow!

Mother's Day

I totally forgot to mention Mother's Day today in class. As many of you know, in the U.S., we celebrate Mother's Day this Sunday. Do you celebrate Mother's Day in your country? Naturally, it's my favorite holiday! We're going up to Boston this weekend to see my older daughter, so I'll have both my kids with me for Mother's Day. I'm very excited! I hope all of you have a great weekend, and please wish all your mothers Happy Mother's Day for me. See you Monday for the beginning of our last full week!

Email Prize

Did each of you check your NCC email this weekend? Did anyone win the prize? Let us know if you did.

A Simple Life (Part 2)

Something funny happened this morning connected to living simply. I wanted some cereal, but all the cereal bowls were in the dishwasher. I must admit I felt a little angry with my husband for not turning on the dishwasher the night before (it's usually his chore). As I was talking with him about this, he apologized and said, "I guess you could wash a bowl." I then realized that it hadn't even occurred to me that I could solve my problem by washing by hand the one bowl I needed. That is how much I am now used to having the dishwasher. I guess I still have a long way to go in my search for a simpler life!

Simplifying My Life

In an attempt to see what it was like to simplify my life, I didn't turn on my computer AT ALL yesterday. I must say it was a delightful experience. I took a walk, hung out with my husband and daughter, watched part of a movie, etc. When I turned on my computer this morning, I thought maybe there would be all these urgent messages waiting for me and that I would feel guilty, but nothing the least bit important was waiting for me on my work or personal email accounts. It seems both the rest of the world and I can survive without my computer. Does that mean I'll turn it off more often? Probably not!

This Week

I just want to tell all of you what great people you are. You have really banded together this week to help one of your classmates who needs you. I'm very proud to have you as my students.

Vacation So Far

How are all of you enjoying your vacation? So far, I've mostly cooked and seen a lot of friends and relatives. We've had visitors from California and Missouri whom we haven't seen for a long time, so that's been wonderful. My daughter was home for 2 days, but she's back at college. We went to see a movie called "Adventureland." I liked it. It's about people who are in their early 20's who work for the summer in an amusement park. Thewriter of the movie is from Long Island and based the movie on his own experiences working at Adventureland, a real amusement park in Farmingdale on Route 110. I've been to that park many times with my kids. If you get a chance, see the movie and let me know what you think.

My Vacation

I'm Jewish, and this week, there's a Jewish holiday. It's called Passover. It's one of the most important holidays in the year for Jews. During the holiday, we are supposed to remember when Moses took the Jewish slaves out of Egypt and brought them to the land that is now Israel. We get together two different nights with relatives and friends and have a huge feast. I always have a wonderful time. Unfortunately, I have both of these meals at my house, though. That means I have to do a lot of cooking and cleaning between now and Wednesday night. The food we eat on this holiday is complicated to make, so I'll be busy. Who wants to come help? Just kidding! I hope you all have great vacations! I'm looking forward to reading about your activities on the blog.

The First Week

I just wanted to tell everyone how much I've enjoyed our first week together. You are a really wonderful class. There's a lot of energy, but not too much! I'm glad many of you are asking me a lot of questions. Keep it up, and those of you who aren't asking questions, please start! I'm looking forward to the rest of the session. Thanks for making me feel so welcome.

Welcome to My Blog

Hi, everyone! I'm excited that you're my students now. I am looking forward to getting to know you over the next seven weeks. I know we will learn a lot from each other. I hope that writing on your blog helps you improve your English. I also hope it's FUN! It's only as fun as you all make it, though. If you think of the blog as an enjoyable way to communicate with your classmates, it will be a better experience. The more you all write on your blogs and comment on each other's, the more fun it will be. Happy blogging!