The 2011-2012 academic year has been off to a great start. My students have accomplished so much in one semester. I am very proud of them all. I really do have the best students on the planet. They are respectful, they WANT to learn, and they are extremely talented. Here are a few of their accomplishments:

• SkillsUSA Chapter Formation
• Designed academic posters for the District
• Ninja-design-skills in Pixelmator
• Sports photos and video
• Getting me Snickers and Dr. Pepper on tough days
• Selling Basketball Posters
• 1000 Word English Paper (their favorite assignment ever)

My students are so great that AZ State Superintendent John Huppenthal is visiting our class in February! These students deserve some attention. I can’t wait to show off all the cool things they are doing.  Like I said, they are the best!

So I finally finished seasoning my cast iron skillet. I want to be ready for our camping trips this summer. It is never too early to plan for the camping season.  It’s my goal to become an expert at cast iron cuisine. I’m not entirely happy with the final results, but actually cooking with the beast should determine wether or not the seasoning method worked. It was a 16 hour process. In order to get a really smooth finish, the next time I will completely strip the skillet using oven cleaner. Here are the before and after shots:

The full scientific explanation and process is on Sheryl Canter’s blog if you want to give it a shot. I’m going to experiment with the oven cleaner on my smaller cast iron to see if I get different results.