Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

Ok.  Actually it’s a pretty new school and not an Italian Restaurant, but Billy Joel never wrote a song about a junior high school, as far as I know.

I’ve spent some time this week moving into my new classroom.  The stuff is sitting in my garage and on my back porch, and I’m gonna have to move it in eventually, so might as well get it done now.

The bonus is that I’m learning some things about how the school runs and the physical facility.

Although the building looks quite institutional with cinderblock walls and cement floors,
at least there are lots of ways natural light can get into the rooms.  On the second floor we have windows in the halls,
a big set of windows at each end of the halls,
stairwells with two of the walls completely glass,
skylights in several places that let light into all 3 floors,
and even solar panels on the roof.

I’ve got a bathroom just one classroom away from my room,
a faculty lounge on each floor,
each one with it’s own copy machine,
not to mention the big machine in the main office that everyone is allowed to use.

There is an elevator that every classroom key works, which means that I won’t have to keep asking for the special key when hauling my stuff up to the second floor.

Weird, but inviting, little spaces with benches.

The lunchroom is nothing spectacular,
but students can go into the main hall during lunch
which also has a lot of natural light.

Now, if only the lunch ladies are at least tolerable.

Bonneville Salt Flats and my new digs.

A few friends and I went out to Wendover for lunch yesterday.   Wendover is 114 miles of 75 MPH freeway directly west of Salt Lake City, literally the closest spot in Nevada to my city.  Split in half by the Utah/Nevada border, it survives for one reason and one reason only; by providing gambling to the Wasatch Front.  About 40 miles east of the state line, I-80 descends onto the salt flats and does not rise up off them until a couple miles before entering Wendover.

Looking north from the I-80 rest area about midway across the salt flats.  As you can see, there is still a lot of water out there.

Looking north-east from the same spot.

Looking north-east from the Bonneville Salt Flats parking spot.  This area had pretty much dried up.

Today I went up to check out my new classroom.  My last classroom had only one window, and I had to bring that one from home (I took an old window, built it a frame and stuck a poster of a beach behind it.)  This is the view I’m going to have next year.

And the view when sitting at my desk.Yeah, a lot nicer than no view at all.