Well the good new is that NONE of my nightmares about the first day of school came true!!
I absolutely LOVE this new school for many reasons. First of all, the science department here has been so welcoming and helpful. There are 15 science teachers and all of them have come to me and asked if I needed anything or if there was anything they could do for me. There is one guy across the hall from me that is new to teaching and the school. It has been awesome having someone else who also has no idea what they are doing.
Last week was teacher work week. I was able to set up my classroom. It is amazing! Smart board, projector, documentation camera, water hook up, 7 lab stations (each station has 2 student computers) I couldn't have asked for anything more. The whole science wing is renovated. I picked the right subject thats for sure! Also last week, I had a lot of staff meetings and department meetings. I didn't mind them because it was a lot of good information and I learned important things to know for the first week of school.
The administration at this school is very good at communicating. I knew what the schedule was for the first days of school, forms to give out and basically everything you could ever possibly need to know before school starts. Everything at this school seems just so put together and organized.
Yesterday, was freshman orientation. Fun Fact of the day: I teach a total of 100 9th graders!!!!
It was hard to keep up with them by the end of the day I had ZERO energy. It was so bad that I literally vegged out on the couch all night. Today was a normal "A" day which means I teach 3 90 minute sections of 9th grade science. 2nd and 3rd period went really smooth. I was overall happy with how it turned out. 4th period will definitely be my challenge class. (WHY do I have to have a challenge class!?! can't all my classes be super easy to teach for once?!) The problem with 4th period is that they have SO much energy and they are antsy at the end of the day/after lunch. I need to think of some better strategies for dealing with high energy students.
Tomorrow will be a "B" day which means I teach 1 90 minute section of 9th grade science and 2 90 minute sections of Forensics (11th and 12 grade!!) I can wait to meet my upperclassmen.
Until tomorrow...
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Nightmares about the first day
I don't know if this is normal for teachers before the first day of school...
but I have been having nightmares about the first day! Please read my ridiculous nightmare that I had last night..
It's the first day of school for students and my first day. I am wandering around the school building lost and trying to find my classroom. The bell rings and I am LATE to my own class. Finally, I find my room and it is NOT a science room. All of my students are waiting for me. I try to figure out how to hook up my computer to the projector and while I am doing this all of the students are running around the classroom going crazy. They are climbing in and out of windows, throwing things, and students are crowd surfing. The assistant principal walks into my room and gives me a video I should show since I am obviously not prepared. So I pop in the video and none of my students are watching it. I try to get the class under control but no one is listening to me. Finally, I step out of my classroom and the teacher next door to me starts yelling at me that I am a failure since I can't get them under control.
and then I woke up!
I am getting very little sleep now a days because I am anticipating what my new school is going to be like. AHHHHHH!!!
but I have been having nightmares about the first day! Please read my ridiculous nightmare that I had last night..
It's the first day of school for students and my first day. I am wandering around the school building lost and trying to find my classroom. The bell rings and I am LATE to my own class. Finally, I find my room and it is NOT a science room. All of my students are waiting for me. I try to figure out how to hook up my computer to the projector and while I am doing this all of the students are running around the classroom going crazy. They are climbing in and out of windows, throwing things, and students are crowd surfing. The assistant principal walks into my room and gives me a video I should show since I am obviously not prepared. So I pop in the video and none of my students are watching it. I try to get the class under control but no one is listening to me. Finally, I step out of my classroom and the teacher next door to me starts yelling at me that I am a failure since I can't get them under control.
and then I woke up!
I am getting very little sleep now a days because I am anticipating what my new school is going to be like. AHHHHHH!!!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Preparing for the first week
I have a LOT to think about over the next few days.
Today was my second day of New teacher orientation and I have learned many things. Since this is my second year teaching, I am not as overwhelmed but there is still much to do in order to prepare for the first day of students. So far I have been comparing everything I am doing this year with my new county, to everything I did last year in my old county. My new and old counties are completely different with how they run things.
Yesterday's introductory day was good in many ways. First of all, I got to meet a few new teachers from my new school. It was interesting to hear everyone's stories about where they were coming from. In the opening remarks, the head woman asked for everyone who was from out of state to raise their hand. Over 1/3rd of the new teachers raised their hand. Another interesting thing she said was "This county has a 93% new teacher retention rate". I thought that was amazing! In the morning session, I was with other High School teachers. This session was not as useful to me because it was geared more towards first year teachers. In the afternoon, we went to our high schools.
At my high school, I got to meet a lot of important people who help run the school. I was excited to see the science wing at my school. It is AWESOME! Newly renovated classrooms with computers, projectors, smartboards, nice lab stations with water hook-up..etc. I couldn't have asked for anything better.. (now I hope they don't throw me a curve ball and tell me I don't have a science room).
I also got to take a look at the science curriculum for the two classes I am teaching. Both Matter and Energy and Forensics are "project-based". Project-based means instead of giving tests each unit, the students have to complete a project. I LOVE LOVE LOOOOOOVE this way of teaching because instead of memorizing facts, the students are doing hands on activities which produce a product they can be proud of. During the entire unit the class works on the project and they are learning things along the way. For example, our first unit is about systems and their project is creating a rocket. So during the unit we talk about the scientific method, how systems are created, and how scientists use different methods to create something that solves a problem. At the end the students get to see if their rocket works and then they get to modify it and make it better. All things REAL scientists do. Project-based teaching is a lot more difficult to prepare because I can't just stand up in front of the class and lecture or hand out a worksheet.
Since my last weekend of freedom is coming up, I have been thinking a lot about what I am going to do the first day of school. Everyone always talks about how the first day is SOOOO important. If you give your students the impression that you don't care, or you don't know what your doing, or that your unorganized.. then the rest of the year is going to be a disaster.
One thing I want to do this year that I did not do last year is make the first day FUN! Usually, on the first day teachers go over the rules, syllabus, grading, safety... That stuff is so BORING. I want to do something fun that the students will remember. Now I just have to figure out what that will be.
Until next time..
Today was my second day of New teacher orientation and I have learned many things. Since this is my second year teaching, I am not as overwhelmed but there is still much to do in order to prepare for the first day of students. So far I have been comparing everything I am doing this year with my new county, to everything I did last year in my old county. My new and old counties are completely different with how they run things.
Yesterday's introductory day was good in many ways. First of all, I got to meet a few new teachers from my new school. It was interesting to hear everyone's stories about where they were coming from. In the opening remarks, the head woman asked for everyone who was from out of state to raise their hand. Over 1/3rd of the new teachers raised their hand. Another interesting thing she said was "This county has a 93% new teacher retention rate". I thought that was amazing! In the morning session, I was with other High School teachers. This session was not as useful to me because it was geared more towards first year teachers. In the afternoon, we went to our high schools.
At my high school, I got to meet a lot of important people who help run the school. I was excited to see the science wing at my school. It is AWESOME! Newly renovated classrooms with computers, projectors, smartboards, nice lab stations with water hook-up..etc. I couldn't have asked for anything better.. (now I hope they don't throw me a curve ball and tell me I don't have a science room).
I also got to take a look at the science curriculum for the two classes I am teaching. Both Matter and Energy and Forensics are "project-based". Project-based means instead of giving tests each unit, the students have to complete a project. I LOVE LOVE LOOOOOOVE this way of teaching because instead of memorizing facts, the students are doing hands on activities which produce a product they can be proud of. During the entire unit the class works on the project and they are learning things along the way. For example, our first unit is about systems and their project is creating a rocket. So during the unit we talk about the scientific method, how systems are created, and how scientists use different methods to create something that solves a problem. At the end the students get to see if their rocket works and then they get to modify it and make it better. All things REAL scientists do. Project-based teaching is a lot more difficult to prepare because I can't just stand up in front of the class and lecture or hand out a worksheet.
Since my last weekend of freedom is coming up, I have been thinking a lot about what I am going to do the first day of school. Everyone always talks about how the first day is SOOOO important. If you give your students the impression that you don't care, or you don't know what your doing, or that your unorganized.. then the rest of the year is going to be a disaster.
One thing I want to do this year that I did not do last year is make the first day FUN! Usually, on the first day teachers go over the rules, syllabus, grading, safety... That stuff is so BORING. I want to do something fun that the students will remember. Now I just have to figure out what that will be.
Until next time..
Friday, August 6, 2010
Things are coming together
Today is my LAST day of summer vacation. I can't believe how quickly the summer went by. Here is a recap:
J and I moved to Maryland. Right now, I am living with my parents (until I get on my feet with a job). I am trying to get J used to living in a new place. He has lived in North Carolina his whole life. Now he lives 7 hours from his parents in a new place, with a new car and a new job. I am sure it is a little bit overwhelming.
To do something fun.. we went camping with my sister and her fiance.
In July, 8 of us went to Disney World! (Mom, Dad, my sister Rachel and Kevin, J and I, and my brothers, Jake and Donnie). It was such a fun/relaxing vacation. We stayed in two different Disney resorts while we were there. For the first half of the week, we were at the animal kingdom lodge, Kidani Village. The resort was BEAUTIFUL! We were in a grand villa which had two floors and the balcony over looked a savanna with all sorts of animals. The second half of the week, we stayed at Bay Lake Tower which is part of the contemporary resort. It over looked Magic Kingdom and being close to the parks was really convenient. We went to the parks, laid out by the pool and played tennis. J and I went on a date to the Coral Reef restaurant in Epcot. The food was delicious! To top it all off, we had the best table in the entire restaurant (which was right next to the tank of fish). Just imagine eating dinner and watching a shark swim right by. It was awesome! "Date day" was one of my favorite days because J and I got to spend time wandering around Magic Kingdom and Epcot at our own pace. Here are some pictures from our vacation!
After Disney my job search was in FULL gear! I Finally got a job at a local high school. I will be teaching Matter and Energy (which is like physical science for 9th grade) and Forensic Science (an elective class!). I was told I would have a renovated classroom with new lab stations. I am really excited to get into my classroom and get the school year started! The best part of this school (as of right now) is that it's only 15 minutes from my house! No more hour and a half drive to work!
On Monday, I have new teacher orientation. I hope it will be filled with useful information. I also hope that I will get to meet some of the other new teachers that I will be working with. I will keep you posted!
Until next time..
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)