Thursday, December 17

7:00 a.m. - Last night after supper and then this morning, I went for a ski-walk around the village.  It was a "Christmas Eve" atmosphere...cold, no wind, quiet, and really no activity - cars, people, grain bins...nothing.  The temps were in the teens, and clouds of my breath filled my head lamp as I made my way around in the stillness.  It was great!  Today and tomorrow I'm going to try to get assignments scored and entered in Lumen to limit the amount of stuff I have to do next week.  Tonight I get to get on a basketball court and do some officiating which is always good.  I can't do anything this weekend because of my Covid test prep stuff for my upcoming colonoscopy procedure.

3:13 p.m. - This afternoon saw a flurry of students being quarantined from school or choosing to go full remote.  I had 11 notices today, and now of 88 students officially enrolled in English III, 44 are remote learners as of tomorrow.  This news, combined with today's numbers reported from Rock Island County now have me a bit worried that the late Midwest post-Thanksgiving surge may be underway.

Things to do for school

• score and enter FRW grades
• score and enter blogger grades
• score and enter E.B. White Grades
• enter grades for Khan Test #3

• Daily
• edit today's agenda on the Stream with recorded class session
• create the next day's agenda and schedule post to stream
• add assignments/activities/resources to Google Classroom as needed
• score assignments and record into Lumen as needed
• respond to student/parent emails and update grades
• TUES - schedule FRW assignment for Wed.

Things I Could Do or Need to Do In the Future

• Listen to Google Tribe podcast
• Listen to IF podcasts
• order a IGHSAU basketball officiating shirt
• Dec. 17 - 6:00 p.m. at DeWitt (freshman)
• Dec. 22 - noon colonoscopy (prep on Dec. 21)
• start prepping 8 p.m. on Dec. 21 - follow directions
• COVID test on Dec. 19 - 6 a.m. - take order with me...
• Jan. 8 - 8:30 a.m. Dr. Wang biopsy
• Find out if insurance will cover procedure - I think it does
• Find out if insurance will cover shingles vaccine - I think it does
• Fix the green door.
• Check gmail messages.
• Have shin guards fixed somewhere?

Things that I NOW think about with the coronavirus. (12/17)

It seems that in the Midwest, there wasn't an extra surge following the Thanksgiving holiday, which is great news.  I wonder if we can continue to keep the cases flat through Christmas and New Year's.  Apparently, Iowa is indeed returning to youth sports play, which I don't really understand.  I would think making it through the holidays would be important...why increase the risk of exposure now when vaccines are going out to healthcare workers?  Isn't the return to play a little too soon?

UPDATE...I just punched in today's numbers, and I don't like what I see...all numbers are increased, which is a change from previous days this week.  I've always said the Midwest seems to lag behind other parts of the country on surges, so I hope I didn't speak too soon earlier this morning when I indicated that numbers were flattening out.

• ILLINOIS PREVIOUS DAY
• hospitalizations - 1,057

• ILLINOIS YESTERDAY
• hospitalizations - 1,045
• ILLINOIS TODAY
• hospitalizations - 1,063

• ROCK ISLAND COUNTY
• YESTERDAY
• RI County - 10,085 positive cases; 181 deaths
• 61284 - 166 reported positive cases
• TODAY
• RI County - 10,179 positive cases;  184 deaths
• 61284 -  169 reported positive cases

Holy Spirit...

Help me have... 

    a pure heart, that I may see;
    a humble heart, that I may hear;
    a heart of love, that I may serve;
    a heart of faith, that I may abide in the spirit.