School TIme!

It's that time again!   School busses are all around, school supplies are disappearing from the shelves, and kids are going to bed earlier and earlier.

There is a fresh new feeling in the air.

May everyone have a great beginning to their school year!

Middle School Bash

Middle school kids are social.  Very social.

We had a Middle School Bash last weekend to get the students together before school actually starts.
This serves three purposes:

1. To help the new kids who are moving up into middle school develop a sense of belonging 
2. To create community between grade levels and amongst  the teachers 
3. To have fun  

I think we accomplished all purposes.  We had about 30% participation -- which I feel is good because of  vacations and such these last few days.  

The evening was full of water balloons, pizza, and kickball.  It rained for awhile, but we used that time to go in and have the pizza.   

My thoughts for the evening:  I was surprised at how much last year's 6th graders have grown over the summer.   I also hope that the new 6th graders will find that we teachers are approachable.  

I think having a bash should become an annual event. 

Do you do anything over the summer to engage with your students? 

Back in the Saddle Again

At the end of last school year I had decided to leave the school where I was teaching.  You can read about it here.   But during the summer, the school board contacted me to see if I would come back for another year.  The principal had resigned leaving things a bit topsy turvy and there were a few teaching positions to be filled.  They were looking for some consistency.  Since I did not have any other employment plans in place, I gave the offer a lot of thought and decided to return. 

It is a small private school.  It will be nice to keep the small classes, know the hidden culture of the school, and  know most of my students before the year begins.  There will be the same disadvantages as last year, but this year I will know about these going in.  

The awkward part is that people, both teachers/staff and parents, knew that I was leaving.  So I feel like there is room for gossip and rumor.  I do not want to participate in that.  Already I have run into people who ask me leading questions hoping that I will fill in the blanks.   

I am kind and courteous, but I am not offering any information that is not necessary.  

It has led to a few prolonged silences.  The good thing is that I am very busy trying to prepare, so the silence can be made brief as I make excuses to get back to work.  

I don't know what the year will hold, but I am excited about teaching the kids.  

 

Leaving

I have decided not to return to my school next year.

In my last post I briefly discussed some of the reasons for my decision.  I do not have anything lined up yet and I am not even sure if I will continue to teach.  I've got some serious thinking ahead.  
If nothing else, I can go back to subbing next year until I find something else.

I went back to my classroom this week and returned some items I had at home and I also picked up the last few items of mine that were still there.  It was sad going back into the room where I have so many good memories along with a few not-so-good memories.

The room looked so lonely and sad with all traces of me gone.

I will miss it.

End of Year Thoughts

Yet another school year is over.  We spent our last day together about a week ago.  This was my first year teaching in a private school.  There are definitely some advantages to this environment, but there are also some disadvantages.  

One big disadvantages is that numbers matter.  You want to have large enough classes so that the school is efficiently using resources, but you also want to have small enough classes for students to be able to get more individual attention.  It is a fine balance.  

Related to that is the number of teachers.  As class sizes ebb and flow, so do the teachers.  You may be out of a job because there are not enough students to require a separate teacher.  

Another disadvantage is the pay and benefits.  Compared to the public school system, private schools make a lot less money and benefits are usually not as good.  This year I made about 55% of what I made while teaching full time in the public schools.   I am lucky to have pretty good benefits, but I had more while working in the public system.  The trade-off is the smaller classes and environment.    

I've got some decisions to make.  Do I stay another year?  Can I afford to stay another year?  

I've got some thinking to do. 

Bloglovin

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 I have linked this blog up with bloglovin.  I used to use Google Reader to read the blogs I followed, but haven't found an aggregater that I like since that went away.  I have seen many blogs with the bloglovin button, so I decided to give it a try.

So if you are on bloglovin, look me up and follow me!

Do you use any kind of reader to follow blogs?  

A Change in Plans

Subbing last year was quite an education.  I enjoyed it most days.  There are advantages and disadvantages though to subbing.

Advantages:

• You can take some days off whenever you choose
• You see a variety of ages and a variety of teachers' classrooms
• You don't have to plan or take work home 

Disadvantages: 

• Unless you are able to pre-arrange your days with a teacher, you won't know where you are going to be until early morning
• There may or may not be adequate lesson plans 
• The pay is not so great

In all I believe it was a good experience for me, but I will not be returning to sub again next year.

Why, you ask? 

I accepted a position teaching middle school students at a private school this year.  

I am excited and somewhat overwhelmed. 

What are you doing this year?  

Putting on a Program

I'm working at a private school this year teaching middle school.  It has been a bit of a learning curve and that is why I haven't posted in awhile.  Anyway....

My class was responsible for putting together a short program this week.  We started discussing what to do about 3 weeks ago and my students got very ambitious and wanted to write a skit.   We did some research and figured out a theme and they got all excited about performing.  But...no one was willing or offering to write a script.  I think they expected me to do it and I just didn't have time.

Last week I suggested they come up with some songs or something because I truly didn't think we had time to write out a script, cast it, learn lines and practice ....all in less than a week. 

But they dug in and got it done.  A couple gals wrote the script and I edited it only a bit.  I compromised  and gave up a little bit of class time so they could practice.  I gave them some extra homework to make it up.  

Things did not flow smoothly--- people got their feelings bruised because they didn't think they got a big enough part,  and we had some absences that made us scramble.  The final touch was some snow and slick roads the morning we were to perform--so getting to school on time was tough.  

But.....they did it!   And it was great.    

What did I learn?  Don't underestimate students.  Always expect the best. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.  

 

Something to think about ...

"Education is the most powerful weapon 

which you can use to change the world."

~ Nelson Mandela                 

 

Library Time !

Earlier this year I had the great opportunity to sub as an elementary librarian-- now titled as a Media Specialist.

Media Specialists do not just read books and talk about books, but they must do everything media related.   On my day as a Media Specialist, I taught several classes in the computer lab.
I always feel like a kid in a candy store when I visit a school library.  There are so many good books!  You sometimes even see a bookworm !

A Teacher's Prayer

I saw this prayer poem framed and sitting on a shelf behind a middle school teacher's desk the other day.  I would think it is a good reminder throughout the day to keep the teacher's attitude correct.

Dear Father, hear me as I pray, 

for ever child that I teach today.

That each small face may be to me

A cherished photograph of thee. 

With patient sweetness let me guide

Each precious soul with love and pride.

That when I make a record sheet

No space may be left incomplete. 

Then grant me grace, each mind to give

A clear-marked rule by which to live. 

And they, dear Father, I beseech

That I may keep the rules I teach. 

Author Unknown                         

Planting Seeds

Don't judge each day by the harvests you reap 

but by the seeds you plant. 

~Robert Louis Stevenson

Building Roller Coasters

I spent time subbing in a middle school science class this week and they were working on a STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Math] project.  The concept had to do with energy.  The last time I had been in this particular class they learning about potential and kinetic energy.  Now they were putting everything they had learned into practice.

In teams of 3-4 people, they were given a task to design a roller coaster that was safe, worked, and was fun.  They teams were given a budget of virtual money and they had to purchase or rent the supplies needed to build the roller coaster.  For instance, tubing cost $1.25; marbles were 25 cents; and a measuring tape set them back by 50 cents.  If the team decided to use a prop of some kind, like a wall or a box, they were charged a dollar.  However, as the team made refinements to their plan they wrote it down and modifications earned them 50 cents for each one.

Most groups worked extremely well together.  They had already done their beginning planning and were going to build the day I was subbing.  I was amazed at the creativity.  There were loops, and double loops, hills, and jumps on these roller coasters.  Students were engaged as they tried their roller coaster out with the marble and then made any adjustments needed to make it better.

   

   

What a fun day watching our future at work !  

"We are in a Zoo!"

That is the comment I heard from a couple of  7th graders when I spent the day as their science sub.  The regular teacher had added a snake to her classroom animal collection and the kids had just seen it.  

The newest member, the snake, was out and about in his cage slithering around.  He got a bit shyer ( or perhaps was just tired) when I went over later to take his picture. 

The turtle looked like he was stuck in the log!  I think he may have just been chilly--although he did have a heat lamp nearby.  

The iguana basked under a heat lamp all day on his branch moving nary a muscle as far as I could tell. Must be the life!   

What classroom animals have you seen? 

Marshmallow Models

I spent time in a middle school science class this week and they were studying chemistry.  The teacher had set up the class the day with some background knowledge and an experiment.  She burned a magnesium strip to create magnesium oxide.  

On my watch, the students were to do some reading in their text then build a model of the chemical equation with mini-marshmallows and toothpicks.  It was to be a discovery session as they figured out how to represent the equation with the marshmallows.  At first the kids struggled some, but they soon figured out what they could do and the day was a success.  After creating the model they sketched their model in their science notebooks. 

At that point, some of the marshmallows were eaten! 

A Sweet Surprise

I met my cousin for an early dinner at the local bread company Friday afternoon.  The young manager behind the counter greeted us enthusiastically as we approached. I gave him a second glance and realized that I knew him!  That was why we got the enthusiastic greeting.  He is one of my former students.  He came around and gave me a hug and we had some small talk before I ordered my dinner.

It makes me proud to see my students doing well.

Before I left to go home, I stopped back at the counter to pick up a couple of muffins for the weekend and gave my order to the girl behind the counter.  The manager, my former student, happened to walk back to that area and he told the gal-- "She was my 5th grade teacher!"  

Mercy!  I feel old.  But I also feel proud.


Have you had a chance run-in with a former student or former teacher?    

Shoe Orphanage

These poor shoes have been left, forgotten, misplaced, or lost during the course of a PE term.  The shoes that nobody wants?

I'm not exactly sure how the shoes find themselves in this spot or how long they have been here. However, when I subbed as a girls physical education coach I did notice how many little things the girls leave behind as they prepare to get ready for their next class.

Have you ever left anything behind in a class? 

Snow Day No Way!

When I taught full time in the classroom, as most teachers will agree, snow days are like treats- little vacation days- like an oasis in the desert.  We cherish them. We get silly and act like Oprah's audience during her "Favorite Things" show. 

But now as a substitute teacher, I say "Snow day, no way! "   For me, a snow day now means a day of no work which translates to a day without pay.   So when we have snow days, I lose money.  Money that I cannot make up.

So while I still like the idea of cuddling up on the sofa with a cup of cocoa and a book, watching the snow and cold from inside; I do not-- cannot-- afford them.

We've had two snow days thus far this year. My neighbors to the east have had a whole week of them.
Have you had snow days? 

Lesson of the Day

After several days of frigid weather where I have not left home, today I had a sub job scheduled for a half day.  This was a repeat job where I was requested.  It is at a good school and it is a fun class and I was looking forward to subbing  as it would be my first sub job of the new year.

The only anxiety I felt was the forecast of light snow and freezing drizzle--making for slippery roads.  I got up a little early and planned to add minutes to the short commute in case of bad roads.

I gathered my things, went to the garage and got in my car to leave at 7:20 am. I had to be there by 7:50 am and it was maybe 10 minutes away on a good day.

BUT my car would not start.   The battery was dead.  I had left no light on.  The doors were not left open.  It is a newer car.  But the battery had failed me.  What was I to do???  I had to be at the school in less than 30 minutes and I can't get the car to start.

If I were working as a teacher --I would call up a friend or co-worker and ask for a ride.  But there is no co-worker here.  I have no one's number to call for a ride.  My neighbors are nowhere to be seen.  I could call other friends, but they either have to get to their jobs and helping me jump my car would make them late or they live far enough away from me that it would take 15-20 minutes for them to even get to my home.

I called the school and told the principal about my car failure. I apologized for the trouble this would cause.  I then called the sub office and asked them to find a replacement sub for me and gave them the reason so they wouldn't think I was just blowing the job off.

Eventually when I was able to get someone to help, it took 3 jumps to get my car to get going!  I think the combination of the below zero temperatures and the fact that I had not driven it in about a week caused the battery to freeze up or to lose its charge.  I made sure that it got charged up today so I won't find myself in this position again.

Later I emailed both the teacher and the principal to apologize for any inconvenience ( I am sure my replacement sub had to get there after the starting time).  I heard back from both of them. I want to be sure that my relationship with them continues to build in a positive way.

Today's Lesson Learned:  Always start your car every day regardless of your plans to go out or not.

Do you have a Plan B to get to work? 
   

Who's Afraid of Kindergarten?

I was subbing in an elementary media center one day when a teacher came in looking a bit frantic.  She asked if I would be able to sub for her a week from Friday.  After mentally going over my calendar and realizing that I was not already working that day, I told her yes - I could sub for her.

"Really? Are you sure? Next Friday, can you really?"  she responded.  I was surprised wondering what I was getting myself in to.  I assured her that I could sub for her and then I asked her what grade she taught.  The answer --- kindergarten.   Oh my.

I was a little afraid of kindergarten.  My experience has always been with older children and I don't know if I have the patience or the flexibility to be with  5 and 6 year-olds all day long.  They have short attention spans, snotty noses, tummy aches, untied shoes, and small bladders.  Don't misunderstand me.   I love little children.  I have a grandchild who will be in kindergarten next year.   But the day was set and I would be spending a full day with a room full of kindergarten students.

I went in that morning a bit anxious and apprehensive, but I left feeling pretty cool and confident.  I survived and I had fun!  The kids listened for the most part and they were good little learners.  Some were more mature than others just like any classroom.

At the end of the day there were:

• 3 tummy aches ( no one sent to the nurse ) 
• 25 or more bathroom trips throughout the day ( thank goodness for a bathroom in the room) 
• 1 crying episode
•  3 pairs of shoes tied 
• 2 jackets zipped up 
• 1 pants buttoned 
• 1 ponytail redone  
• glue, scissors, color crayons 
• good books to read 
•  stories ( kindergartners have lots of stories to tell) 
• laughs

 It was a good day.  I am not afraid of kindergarten anymore.