Keeping Busy

A Two-Day Job

Each year I am part of a team that is responsible for organizing a summer camp for gifted students. The camp is the culmination of our graduate students' four-course sequence in gifted education and provides them with a practicum experience. There are hundreds of details and it takes an entire year to get everything ready. In fact, the week after camp ends we begin planning for the next year. One of the biggest jobs is evaluating the units that our graduate students will teach during camp. The focus is on providing rigorous experiences for the gifted children, ones they will not have in the classroom. As part of the third course, our graduate students create the units. My colleagues and I spend two days going through each unit with a fine toothed comb. Each unit must be reviewed by two of us, but independently.

I know that our students put forth much effort in creating the units, so I believe I owe it to them to put forth much effort in the evaluation process. This is how I have spent my last two days. It is a monumental task and part of my job, so I am not complaining. However, I am glad this task is finished for this year!

Seder Meal

I am now heading up a committee at church and it is my duty to ensure that the Seder Meal comes off without a hitch. This is a learning process for me as I never have been responsible for purchasing, preparing, serving, and cleaning up for a large room full of people. There is a good reason why I am not a caterer! However, I do have a fine group of hard working people on my committee so I believe we can pull this off without a hitch. Here's the email I received from the minister:

Attached is an almost complete bulletin for the Seder Meal.

What is needed on each table: on Seder plate put roasted or boiled egg, parsley, charoset, horseradish, spring of parsley and small dish with salt water. In addition on each table:, dish for washing hands and hand towel, three pieces of Matzoh ( 6 x6) or whatever size is in the box, wrapped in white napkin, wine, grape juice, and ice water, white candle in candle holder and Spring flowers. The tables are to be covered in white tablet cloths.

Before the dinner several pieces of regular bread need to be hidden for the House Cleaning.

A possible charoset recipe:

1 cup of chopped apples (2-3 apples)

1 cup chopped almonds or pecans

1 tsp of cinnamon

1/4 tsp of ginger

1 tsp honey or to taste

grape juice to form a mortar texture

serves 8-10

We will need to get together to talk about menu. Something that could be a nice dessert touch would be a lamb cake with coconut. Anybody have a lamb cake pan?

Peace,

David

PS There may be a few additional small touches that I have forgotten to include.

So, that's what a Seder Meal is all about!