Oktober--Short and Quick

My classes are going quite well and the numbers of students is manageable (less than 25 in all 3 preps). Most importantly, I feel a lot more confident than I did last year or the year before.

1st Day

Yay! The first day of school went very well! Here's a quick run-down of the positives and things that need to be worked on:

Positives

1. The school-wide signal to capture the students' attention works (3-2-1 hand raised--eyes and ears on the speaker).

2. The classroom television and light switch is fixed.

3. My students are respectful and genuinely want to do well.

4. The hallways are quiet and transitioning is easy.

5. No referrals to administration.

6. Everyone attempted today's classwork assignment.

Things to be worked on

1. Seating arrangement--there seems to be pockets of chatty students in each of my classes. I will (re) assign seating by the end of the week, either alphabetically or randomly.

2. Size of classes. I have approx. 25 students in my inclusion homeroom and little to no paraprofessional help. Within two weeks, this number should drop as students will be pulled out for the district remedial program.

3. Lack of a working computer. I'd love to start using the SMA.RT Board in my classroom, however I need a connected computer in order to do so.

Overall, I'm satisfied with how the day transpired. If anyone has tips on how to alleviate student chattiness (6th grade), please feel free to leave a comment :).

Special Ed Inclusion

We just finished our in-service planning at the school this week and I had a chance to look at my schedule & class roster. I knew that I'd be on a 6th grade two man team (I'm teaching ELA/SS, my teammate is teaching Math/Science). I also knew that the class would be special ed inclusion. What's puzzling is that my team teacher is listed as both the Math/Science teacher and the special ed teacher.

Is this legal? My other team mates and I listed our concerns to the administration in writing today. What they do with our list of concerns is entirely up in the air. I hope that I'll at least have a paraprofessional available to assist me. If not, I'll make it through the best that I can until I take maternity leave in January. Please pray that there won't be any angry parents shouting for my head this year!!

P.S. We're having another GIRL!! Yippee!!

P.P.S. Yesterday, I found out that I will have help during my Social Studies class(es).

Pre-planning: Year 3

This year, I'll be teaching 6th grade ELA & SS (inclusion/two-person team). Our in-service starts approximately 3 weeks from now and the students come back to school Sept. 2nd. I'm very anxious this year because I'm due in mid-January and I haven't had to balance a newborn and job responsibilities in a long time (my only child just turned 12)!

I'll probably notify my principal of my intentions this month. Ideally, I plan on taking 12 weeks maternity leave and come back to school around mid-April. It all depends on my family finances and the baby, of course!

My areas of focus for school year '08-'09 is consistency, consistency, consistency. I know what I want my classroom to look like, what rules and expectations I want my students to follow, etc. I just have to make sure that I hold up my end of the bargain. This'll definitely be my 'make or break' year as this still doesn't feel like the 'right' thing for me to be doing right now. Onward and upward!

News that just might affect my teaching

The last day of school was June 18th and I've been on straight cruise control ever since, lol! My principal let me know that she'd like me to teach 6th grade ELA and SS for next year, which is cool. I'll also be on a two-man team which is a bit of a change but I'm sure that I'll adapt quickly.

The news that just might affect my teaching this year? I'm almost 10 weeks pregnant! My husband and I have been trying for quite some time; as a matter of fact, I was scheduled to have surgery on June 24 to fix some defective 'equipment'. Obviously God has other plans in mind!


I've only told 2 very close coworkers as it will be quite apparent in the fall that I'm expecting anyways, lol! I'm slightly concerned about maternity leave (the baby is due on January 20th) but I'm sure everything will work out in time.

Post Break

This is our 2nd day back from Spring Break and all is well. The children were a bit rowdy on Monday but we seem to be getting back into our routine. I finally passed my state's certification exam for English/Language Arts (woohoo) yet I feel slightly nervous about next year--I'm trying to stay put if I can help it!

There's a lot that I'm thinking about as we get closer and closer to the summer:

--Should I work (part-time) or just enjoy the break?
--What if my Principal doesn't hire me for the 2008-2009 school year?
--How do I become the best ELA teacher ever?


In the meantime, I'm looking for cool ideas to implement these final weeks of school (we've started "Holes" any suggestions?)--only 8 more weeks and counting!

Post Break

This is our 2nd day back from Spring Break and all is well. The children were a bit rowdy on Monday but we seem to be getting back into our routine. I finally passed my state's certification exam (woohoo) yet I feel slightly nervous about next year--I'm trying to stay put if I can help it!

There's a lot that I'm thinking about as we get closer and closer to the summer:

--Should I work (part-time) or just enjoy the break?
--What if my Principal doesn't hire me for the 2008-2009 school year?
--How do I become the best ELA teacher ever?


In the meantime, I'm looking for cool ideas to implement these final weeks of school (we've started "Holes" any suggestions?)--only 8 more weeks and counting!