Day 5

Day 5 is quite the accomplishment because it means I've now taught each day of the week! Things are going very smoothly! Collaborating with the other new math teacher has been great, and it's made life easier for both of us. I have quizzes prepped for two different classes. Those are happening tomorrow and Thursday, so we'll see if they've learned anything from me!

It's getting easier already, but it's exhausting. My last post was Friday afternoon... by 10:30 that night I was asleep! I sold popcorn for the freshman class on Saturday... with my co-advisor... no freshmen. Two are signed up for tonight though, and I have their names, so they better show up! 

Yesterday we had a fire drill. I forgot to take my keys with me... oops! But I didn't lose any kids! Today I forgot to turn on the TV for the morning announcements... one of my students has been put in charge of reminding me.

Coffee with one of my favorite teachers (from when I was in elementary and middle school) tomorrow evening and a school open house Thursday night. I'm going to be one busy teacher, so hopefully I can post again soon!

**Oh, and that class that kept changing in size... it was 14, but one of my students is moving, so now it's 13. I think we're finally set on the class size, but we'll see! So not counting that student... I have 91 different students... one of the science teachers has about 140, so I'm really lucky!

Week 1: Complete!

I did it. I made it to the end of the week! It's not so bad! I had to create a whole new seating chart and hand out books to my class that grew today. So I handed them a paper on order of operations and had them work on that while I figured out what was going to work best for them. It felt like chaos to me, but they were working. Looks like we're going to have to take it slow for a while. They really need to work on some of the beginning skills. I have some experience teaching Geometry, but Algebra may be a struggle as far as knowing the best way to teach it. I have some ideas, we'll just see how long it takes me to really be ready to put them into action.

After my marathon mornings of 4 classes in a row, I have a study hall. It's only 30 minutes, and once I take attendance, get seated, and figure out what I should work on during that time, the time is typically half gone. Not to mention the interruptions that come from trying to figure out where the 3 students who haven't come to my study hall at all this week are. Turns out two of them were scheduled to two different study halls. I don't know about you, but I thought the last Time-Turners had been destroyed after Hermione and Harry rescued Sirius and Buckbeak from the tower... so I don't know how they're to be in two places at once! They're going to stay in the other one, so they're not my responsibility anymore.

Had a double lunch period again after that, so I worked some more in my classroom, ate with those I normally have my lunch with (but I walked to the lounge before the bell rang and the students crowded the hall, of course), then worked through my prep to get Monday's guided notes for Geometry finished. Didn't want to have to stay late on a Friday!

Day 2

Nothing quite as exciting happened today.

I'm advising the freshman class so I had to take my Algebra I class with me to the meeting today. Except... most of them AREN'T freshmen. So they got to sit in the back. Most of the other class meetings that occurred throughout the morning finished with at least some time left in the period, so I told my students to leave their stuff behind. Well, there are a lot of things freshmen need to be told, so of course it took the whole period. And then I had a line of people outside my locked classroom door. Oops. But it really wasn't a problem.

I also got 5 or 6 new students added to that class by the end of the day. Guess it's good that we didn't get anything done today, since my class will be so much larger tomorrow (I did only have 9 students today, oh well).

I'm the in-school suspension monitor for lunch. And since no one has managed to get into trouble yet, I had a double lunch!

Won tickets to Kennywood on the radio on the way home too!

Good day. :)

Oh yeah, I won a two week membership to a local gym last night from Saturday's Teacher Appreciation Day at Staples! I'm good at winning things... lol.

Update: Upon closer evaluation, it looks like I've only got 3 students to add to that class, so they're still a small class. 12 I believe. :)


Update #2: Apparently I have 14 in this class now. Oh, the joys of the first week! We'll see what I actually have tomorrow! ;)

Today I was told I should write a book...

I started my teaching job Monday. It was great! Our school was rated Excellent with Distinction by the ODE, so it was a great start to the year. More exciting for those teachers who were actually a part of making that happen, but still, it's very cool. And it means I work in a great place.

Those first two days were exciting. There were meetings, there was time to work on my room, but mostly, there were teachers. Others who have chosen the same profession as I have. I worked in my classroom a few days before school started, and there wasn't anyone there. I am a people person, so I was excited!

I was ready for the first day. I was excited. I was a little nervous. I've never had my own classroom before, I've only jumped in to someone else's classroom. But these are my students and I don't have to run my ideas by anyone on a day-to-day basis. It was feeling strange, but exciting.

I finally get out the door this morning and forget my lunch. Oops. I went back for it. Crisis averted. I get to school and manage to get inside without getting completely wet (oh yeah, it was storming on my first day too). I get in my classroom. Change from rain boots to dress shoes. Set up the computer. Turn on the projector. Display the homeroom seating chart. Things are great. Then I decide to take a book to the lounge so I can make copies. They aren't too important, but if I get lucky enough to find the copiers not in use, these papers could be helpful...

The copiers are in use and others are waiting. Oh well. I can skip that. Quick bathroom break and things will be fine...

...and the fire alarm goes off...


Those rain boots... the rain jacket. They're down the hall in my classroom, where the door is open and the lights are on... oops. I wash my hands and walk outside. Stand under an umbrella with a fellow member of the math department. We wait. Loud thunder. Lots of lightning. The bell rings. We have to stop the students from going inside. More loud thunder. More lightning that lights up the sky. They send us in the gym.

There are two new math teachers. The others (jokingly) said this was our initiation.

And as we discuss all of this at lunch, I'm told I should write a book... starting with the story of the fire alarms. I chose to write a blog instead.