Seamus's Abyss
Children, Education, Community, Music, Relationships Melissa Rooney Children, Education, Community, Music, Relationships Melissa Rooney

Seamus's Abyss

Thanks for the positive feedback and informative responses to my last post regarding choosing between Berklee and UNC-Asheville for Child #2. We still have not received a financial package from Berklee. The Berklee admissions office told Seamus his official transcript was not received in time and that we should receive the financial details in a couple weeks. His decision is due May 1, mind you (exactly 2 weeks away).

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Is Berklee Worth it? Weighing College Options for Child #2

Is Berklee Worth it? Weighing College Options for Child #2

We are still waiting for my son’s financial package from Berklee, but our online research indicates that it will cost >4 times what UNC-Asheville has offered him. We know UNC-A is a great value. This year, U.S. News & World Report ranked it the seventh-best public liberal arts university in the United States, Forbes magazine ranked it #21 in the country for "Best College Value", and the Princeton Review ranked it within the top 13% of America's four-year colleges…

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Lesson Plan: Plants and Spring Planting

Lesson Plan: Plants and Spring Planting

Shortly after the Coronavirus quarantine started last year, my elementary-school 'pod' and I did a 4-days plants rotation … So today we planted the seeds of several spring vegetables … All three types of seeds are large and beautifully round, like tiny marbles. Using a ruler, we compared their sizes and found that …

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Regarding the County Manager's Contract and Upcoming Renewal

Regarding the County Manager's Contract and Upcoming Renewal

Below is the email I sent the Durham County Commissioners regarding the current County Manager's excessive contract. If you feel remotely inclined, please send your own concerns to your elected officials and feel free to cut and paste my letter (or any part thereof). Thanks for caring and sharing, Melissa

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Judy Garland's Ever Elusive Rainbow

Judy Garland's Ever Elusive Rainbow

Judy Garland first recorded “Over the Rainbow” for The Wizard of Oz with MGM on October 7, 1938. Since then, the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts ranked the song number one on the “Songs of the Century” list, and the American Film Institute named it the greatest movie song of all time on the list of “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs.” Somewhere Over the Rainbow was adopted in World War II by American troops in Europe as a symbol of the United States…

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Remembering Mr. Hammond

Remembering Mr. Hammond

My #ThemeSong today, once again, is Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes. It's one of my all-time favorites, and today the chorus calls to mind the life of SamHammond, long-time carillonneur at Duke University (53 years, daily(!)) and generous accompanist for Duke University String School (local elementary through high-school students, many on scholarship), who passed away recently. …

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Durham Elementary Students to Return to In-person Learning 4 Days/Week (!)

Durham Elementary Students to Return to In-person Learning 4 Days/Week (!)

My last post concerned the debate over whether Durham Public Schools should resume in-person learning in order to accommodate state legislation mandating a return to in-person instruction within 15 days (of the legislation's passing). Discussion on the topic has become heated and personal, which I find sad and incredibly frustrating. The simple question is this: After doing remote learning for nearly 12 months, why are we forcing teachers and staff back into classrooms mere weeks ahead of ensuring they are administered the vaccination we've all been waiting for?

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The Ironic Story Behind My Sweet Bessie Van

The Ironic Story Behind My Sweet Bessie Van

Eight to ten years ago, back when I lived in a South Durham Home Owner's Association (HOA), my neighbor across the street complained about the chalk drawings on our driveway, then my Obama signs, then our vegetable garden - all of which resulted in violation letters and my presence before the HOA board of directors to defend my actions…

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What’s in a word?

What’s in a word?

Recently a childhood friend posted on Facebook: “If I ever did anything that you thought was racist or that offended you, I’m sorry.”

“How can you apologize for something when you don’t even know what it is you’re apologizing for?” I responded.

Since then, I’ve thought a lot about how I may have facilitated the racism that is unavoidable in our world today, and one memory keeps surfacing…

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Teach Electricity (to kids as young as 4) using Elenco Snap Circuits
Children, Education, Community Melissa Rooney Children, Education, Community Melissa Rooney

Teach Electricity (to kids as young as 4) using Elenco Snap Circuits

…While the kids built increasingly complex circuits, including games they could play with one another, I spouted on about Ohm's law and the reasons their circuits were doing the things they were observing. You might think they weren't listening (I did), but when I asked them about Ohm's law during free time at the end of the day, each one of them told me how Voltage, Resistance, and Current are all related; and the two older ones actually remembered the equation…

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Why I'm Voting (Again) for Durham County Commissioner Wendy Jacobs

Why I'm Voting (Again) for Durham County Commissioner Wendy Jacobs

…Unlike me and since I first encountered her, Wendy has responded to situations that don’t make sense to her with calm, objectivity, and pragmatism: “How can we make this better for all of us in the long run, even if it takes time and a lot of work, and even if it's not perfect?” She also has stick-with-ed-ness…

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Children's Picture Book, *I Chalk*, Supports In-School Gardening Program

Children's Picture Book, *I Chalk*, Supports In-School Gardening Program

Purchase my children’s picture book “I Chalk” with a container of sidewalk chalk for a unique birthday, Xmas or "just-because" gift. The Amazon price is $12, but I can ship signed copies for $10 a piece (including shipping) if you contact me at melissarooneywriting@gmail.com. Any proceeds this year will be used to fund the in-school garden club I conduct on a weekly basis at Title-1 EK Powe Elementary School in Durham, NC. …

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*Proposal to SAVE THE CATSBURG STORE in Durham, NC*

*Proposal to SAVE THE CATSBURG STORE in Durham, NC*

I first saw the Catsburg Country Store on February 24, 2019, when I was on my way to Eno Valley Elementary School, shortly after we adopted a beautiful and intelligent black cat named Kale from the Durham APS. I pulled over, took a picture of the place, and made it my cover photo on Facebook with the following accompanying text: “At Hamlin and Old Oxford Roads. Someone must open a cat-prioritized local pet store and cat cafe here.”

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Durham Arts Council's Portraits of Durham Exhibit: A (Free) Multimedia Feast
Inspiration, Education, Community, Relationships Melissa Rooney Inspiration, Education, Community, Relationships Melissa Rooney

Durham Arts Council's Portraits of Durham Exhibit: A (Free) Multimedia Feast

It’s been too long since I last perused the free exhibits at the DAC, and I looked forward to seeing Marthanna’s work and the work of other local artists in the natural light of the windows that stretched from floor to ceiling past the second floor of the 113-year-old building. Today was the day, and I was not disappointed. Drawings, paintings, and multimedia artwork displayed well-known as well as little-known Durham people and landmarks in thought-provoking strokes, stitches, and colors…

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Rana Hablar (en Espanol)

Rana Hablar (en Espanol)

¡Feliz año nuevo! Pensé que publicaría aquí el primer borrador de mi libro para niños de lectores tempranos / desafiados. El libro demuestra la diversidad cotidiana y la cortesía entre múltiples especies de ranas que habitan en el mismo espacio de manera pacífica. Si las ranas pueden hacerlo, ¿podemos nosotros?

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