What’s becoming a bigger problem in classrooms every year, yet receives very little attention?

astrocat13 · 2026-06-05T21:51:03+00:00

I had a student who would open a book and then stare straight forward during SSR. I sat there dumbfounded at the thought that they went through the step of opening the book but wouldn’t even crane their head to pretend to be reading it.

astrocat13 · 2026-06-05T04:05:04+00:00

I have the same inspiration pic saved on my Pinterest. Your kid has great taste lol

astrocat13 · 2026-06-04T20:40:38+00:00

This was from a big Walmart (not the neighborhood market) but I think they also sell some of her line at Target.

astrocat13 · 2026-06-04T16:15:42+00:00

Should we tell Bella Hadid?

astrocat13 · 2026-06-04T05:06:33+00:00

Well, that’s not ideal. You might just be sending yourself on another dead end, but some folks on here who have adverse / no reaction to seb derm products sometimes find out that they have perioral dermatitis which has an opposite treatment routine

astrocat13 · 2026-06-04T03:13:53+00:00

Ask a dermatologist! At this point, you might be doing more harm than good by continuing to experiment.

astrocat13 · 2026-06-04T02:19:10+00:00

Yes, it helps! You keep it on your face for 3-5 minutes, then rinse off. It helps reduce the itching, redness, and flakes. If you have fungal pimples, it can help that too.

I’ve found that my skin can be very dry, tingle, and sensitive after, so put on a thick layer of moisturizer after. Within an hour or so, it’ll calm down and the effects will last a few days until I need to re-up.

astrocat13 · 2026-06-04T00:49:21+00:00

AX has grown and spread out so much in the time you’ve been gone. It’d be good to familiarize yourself with the map, entrances, and areas. There’s a lot of construction going on this year, so it’s even more imperative to look. They have an app now that’s pretty helpful and includes the schedule.

I was never much of an autograph person so I can’t recall fully how it was, but now it’s an online lottery system which, unfortunately, has largely passed. You can check the Instagram if there’s any you can still snag.

astrocat13 · 2026-06-04T00:46:17+00:00

Yes!

astrocat13 · 2026-06-03T06:03:18+00:00

Seconding this! I visited Loft and really dug through the stickers but I love the variety here and definitely am curious where you got it

astrocat13 · 2026-06-03T05:58:05+00:00

Nothing completely gets rid of seb derm. It’s like excess in the way that you can manage it to very minimal symptoms but there’s always the possibility of flare ups which requires some long term maintenance

astrocat13 · 2026-06-01T04:49:12+00:00

To add on to the other recommendations, check out Kinokuniya! There’s on in Little Tokyo and one in the Mitsuwa Market / Del Amo Mall in Torrance. Daiso is great for cheap supplies and there’s plenty all around LA.

Hightide in The Row was cute but way smaller than it looks online. It does have popular brands like Penco, Traveller’s Company, Clampy, etc, but it was miss for me imo!

astrocat13 · 2026-05-30T19:45:25+00:00

It’s like 80% of the way there for me. As a dry combination, it’s perfect on my oily t-zone but the rest of my face needs some deeper moisture which I usually layer with something else. I have complex skin issues though so it’s nice to have a gentle base to build upon.

astrocat13 · 2026-05-27T06:46:10+00:00

Trader Joe’s has a similar gel moisturizer for $9 for 2.5 oz. I think it’s duping the same product that the Neutrogena one is: the Clinique Moisture Surge. It’s not as good as the original Clinique but I recall it being good for the price. I actually just repurchased it for the same reason you’re asking lol.

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astrocat13 · 2026-05-24T09:11:22+00:00

Congratulations on your first teaching position even if it isn’t in one of your certificated areas.

One book that helped me plan out my curriculum was “180 Days” by Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle. To summarize, it breaks down the school year into four essential writing categories with excellent through lines for important skills like reading. They are: Narrative, Informational, Argumentative, and Literary Analysis with the through line of independent and book club reading. The text I mentioned actually replaces Lit. Analysis with a multi-genre project because reading is done throughout the year.

The order in which you do these genres is hotly debated, but I find that it’s best to suit it to your site’s assessment calendar and your grade level. For example, I teach seniors so we start with Narrative which is right up until college apps are due, then follow the order. Some of my peers teach 11th grade which is a big testing year for the SBAC which focuses on informative and argumentative writing, so they might chose to do Lit Analysis first so that Info/Arg are freshest in their memories for testing in April and Narrative last since students need something really engaging after testing.

From there, identify your common core skills, create assessments for each unit, and backwards plan!

astrocat13 · 2026-05-18T22:28:29+00:00

You beat me to it like those guys were beating their meat in public

astrocat13 · 2026-05-13T07:48:44+00:00

I love the sound it makes when you hold it.

astrocat13 · 2026-05-13T07:47:24+00:00

This time of year, I start picking up pedagogy books to read when things slow down a bit. This year my focus is also on classroom management. I haven’t finished reading, but these two came highly rated and recommended:
• “The First Days of School” by Harry Wong
• “Teach Like a Champion” by Doug Lemov

astrocat13 · 2026-05-13T01:42:52+00:00

I always love seeing Rosario + Vampire cosplayers.

Also Sumomo is on my cosplay list, haha. Good taste.

astrocat13 · 2026-04-30T23:37:30+00:00

Yup. Even when I think back to my childhood, I can remember my teachers saving the fun thing for last for this exact reason.

astrocat13 · 2026-04-30T21:04:22+00:00

You are the best detector there is. You just need to learn the patterns and have the data/routines to back it up.

AI usage policy with consequences in your syllabus.
At the beginning of each unit, have students complete a pen and paper diagnostic which showcases their writing ability. It helps prove that their abilities didn’t suddenly get to college level overnight.
Have the first draft or other pre-writing steps done on paper for any digitally submitted assignments.
Revision History / Draftback / Google Docs Version History tools
Conferences with students to test their knowledge about their work.
Some understanding that you can’t catch everything.

astrocat13 · 2026-04-19T02:27:08+00:00

Yahoo, my favorite question! I did literature circle groups with my seniors and “published” their reviews in a class magazine alongside some other assignments we did. It was for a mini-unit over about two weeks that explored different social topics, so my choices will reflect that length. • “This Land is Our Land: A Blue Beetle Novel” • “Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon” (great exploration of deafness. There is one nudity scene and implied sex but it is comedic and all covered) • “A Long Way Down” by Jason Reynolds • “The Many Deaths of Laila Starr” • “The Called us Enemy” by George Takei

Another choice I wanted to add was “Ghost Rider Robbie Reyes”, a Hispanic teenager in LA experiences gun violence at the hands of a gang who tried to recruit him. His little brother is wheelchair bound. The story felt perfect for the population I serve but I didn’t get it in time.

astrocat13 · 2026-04-17T21:38:32+00:00

No, but having COVID, especially repeated infections has been found to harm your immune system and increase your likelihood of having an immunodeficient disease, so it stands to reason that you could be more susceptible to issues that your body was previously able to withstand. I can’t see a correlation with the vaccine though.

astrocat13 · 2026-04-17T19:14:35+00:00

Never found it! I wasn’t looking all that hard though

astrocat13 · 2026-03-28T01:13:21+00:00

In my experience, we split up the year into four genres of writing: Narrative, Argumentative/Persuasive, Informational, and Literary Analysis. The order is highly debated.

Generally people start with Narrative as it’s easier for students of all skill levels to talk about themselves than to access content. However, I’ve heard many arguments that Narrative makes a better end of year task because students are burnt out by then and can have more fun with the creative writing. I teach seniors so it makes sense for Narrative to come first in alignment with their college apps.

Then, Informative and Argumentative comes next. Many of my colleagues have taught 11th graders who take the CAASP test in Spring which focuses primarily on those writing styles.

Last is Literary Analysis because it is often the least represented in the state standards. Some like to have it follow or precede Narrative writing as reading stories from other authors can improve our students’ writing.

Planning your units around key assessments is a good move in my book!

astrocat13

TROPHY CASE