Year 2 Update!!

Update on Year 2!

    Can you believe it - it's already November! Time has flown by so quickly, both during the summer and the first few months of the school year! Starting the year was the most difficult part for me, mainly because I didn't have a proper system in place from the get-go last year. However, I now know exactly what needs to be done to ensure that the first two weeks run smoothly. By the time August rolls around, I'll have a better plan in place from day one!

   This year has been much better for me than the previous one. I have gained some experience, and my biggest achievement is not needing my cheat sheets anymore. I feel more confident this year, although we are teaching an entirely new unit, which includes probability standards, a topic that I find challenging. I have had to work extra hard to relearn and refresh my knowledge, but thankfully my amazing team is always willing to help. Initially, I felt embarrassed about my lack of knowledge, but they assured me that it's normal to face something new while teaching.

    Overall, I am so glad that I was able to stick it out through the first year because it genuinely was the hardest part of this whole experience. The best advice I could go back and give myself is to just breathe. I can make it through anything I put my mind to!

End of The Year Craze

 

The End of The Year Craze!

Back in August, if you had told me that by the end of the year, I would be the teacher that I am now I don't know that I would believe you. I am confident, I am comfortable, and I am tired! I have learned so much since August about myself and about this job that I am putting into my life as my career. Sometimes throughout the year it really felt like trial by fire, but now I know that next year I will have the tools under my belt to make progressive changes and keep learning better ways to teach. 

I have already started to look ahead to next year. I decided back towards the beginning of this year that I wanted to keep a running record of everything that we did this year, how I felt about it, and how I could improve on it next year. If you know me, I LOVE BINDERS! That is where my ideas took place! I created two binders to represent my two preps (Pre-Algebra and Algebra). For each lesson,  I would print out the answer key and put it into my binder. I used sticky notes to write out my thoughts on each lesson and how I would improve it the next year. Some of the time the improvements that I wanted really came from the fact that I needed to spend more time laying out the lessons and mapping their CFA's in a different order. Lesson planning was for sure a learning curve for me this year! Some of the notes were about the fact that I needed to slow down and explain concepts that the students should have already known but didn't. 

For example, next year when we hit the back-to-school remediation I now know that we need to spend a day or so just going over a review on graphing. By the 8th grade, they should have graphing down but that is not always the case with some students. I still have students who struggle to remember (X, Y) and that the X value is graphed first, and so on. Each student is different and part of my plan for next year is remembering to take those different learning experiences into account to ensure that I am doing my best job. 

I am excited to continue to work on all of this during the summer when I have the time to sit down and look at everything. I plan to map out at least the first two months or so before August rolls around! 

We have 12 school days left as of right now and until then I plan to soak it all up as I finish out my very first year! 💙👩🏻‍🏫

My First Teacher Spring Break!

 

My First Teacher Spring Break! 

I can't believe I am almost in the final stretch of my first year! One unit and a state test left of our school year! Last year as a Para, the space after spring break went extremely fast! I wonder how this year will shape up considering it is my first full year as a teacher! I can tell you though, that January to spring break was the longest time of my life. I love my kids, and I love my job, but WOW it is a lot! 

I am thankful we get a whole week off with nothing to worry about. Since I don't have kids yet, outside of my job there isn't much I have a responsibility towards. I come home and take care of my animals and no worries! This week has already been so incredible for catching up on both housework and sleep. My 3-year anniversary is also during spring break! We plan to go to the movies and do our engagement pictures. 

We did our engagement pictures the day after we had actually planned because of the weather. It was amazing! We got our sneak peek pictures a few hours after we left the photo shoot. I LOVE them! Brixiecreative does an incredible job doing pictures! I can not recommend her enough! I want to go get some of the pictures printed out already so that we can put them around the house! 

Coming back to school was bittersweet. I love my job and my students but we were in agreeance that we missed sleeping in and our animals! I did love hearing all of the stories that my students were sharing about where they went and what they did over the break. Many stories were about going to visit family, going on adventures, and some (more like myself) about catching up on much-needed sleep. 

Well, here's to the longest stretch of the year! I know there are already countdowns to summer happening in the classrooms (and possibly in the teacher's lounge)! It is really crazy to think that I am almost done with my first real year of teaching! 

I have to throw in one of our pictures from the engagement shoot!

 New Year New...Classroom?

    I survived my first semester! There were a lot of memorable and not-so-amazing days for sure.  I have learned so much over the past few months and I feel so much more confident this semester. Lesson planning makes much more sense now and I can anticipate situations better. The biggest thing I have continued to learn over the last semester is mastering the authority in my classroom. The kids at this age are learning who they are as people; sometimes (most of the time) it means pushing boundaries. Which, in turn, means that I have to be able to handle classroom management in any situation. 

I have come back from our break refreshed and ready to begin this new semester. Over the break, I listened to a podcast called Teachers off duty, which in the episode I listened to talked about teachers' "new year resolutions". One of the teachers said that she would do a self and class reflection. I thought that this was a great idea! She said that in her class she would have her students fill out a form that they could reflect on as well. They would tell her what they liked and didn't like about the previous semester and what they looked forward to. This is something I would definitely implement next year. 

Coming back from break, I decided that I would up my classroom management this semester. Now that I am more comfortable in my role as an educator I know what will and will not be tolerated. On the first day back I took the time to walk each class through new expectations and revisit old expectations and policies. I reminded them of the homework policy and made it clear how my expectations were higher this semester. Time will tell how it will play out but I will be holding myself accountable and sticking to my word. So far, I have only had a few students try to push it but I have held strong! 

I can not wait to see what this semester has in store! After this Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, we are on the home stretch until spring break! 

*I also wanted to share the only picture I managed to capture of my wonderful fiance and I on Christmas this year! 

 

  My First Holiday Break

Thanksgiving is almost here! T-Minus 7 hours and 19 minutes! No one tells you in college just how much you will worry and miss these kids before they have even left. I worry about not seeing them for over a week. What are they going to be doing? Are they going home to a place full of love or something else? I know that at least for today I am going to make sure that they know they will be missed by me over this break. 

On the teacher side of things it is also not told how stressful the week before a break is!! The students are all riled up about not coming to school that they have such a hard time staying focused! I tried to plan it to where we would have the day before break to do something fun! Of course though, I have to do what is best for my students which means finishing a test and coloring for some classes! Last night after Archery practice (I am now a certified archery coach which is a whole other story) I printed off the cutest turkey coloring sheets! My thoughts were that they could do something chill before we go home for break. I was thinking about going ahead and starting on some assignments that we will do when we get back but I know that I am going to have a lot of students out today so I wouldn't want to do that. 

As much as I love my job and my students, I can not wait to not wake up at 5:15 in the morning! I want to sleep in, read my book, be under a warm blanket with my animals and watch tv. I love to be at home and I am so ready to do so. I have been reading Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Mass and I fell in love with it! I am already on the 5th book in the series! I plan to have that finished in a few days. We also plan to attend the Razorback game tomorrow in Fayetteville.  The weather so far seems unforgiving so I will be bundled up in layers.

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The game was AMAZING! It was such a blast but we had to leave with 8 minutes left because the wind chill was getting to us. Coming back to school after a break is really weird. On one hand, I was enjoying the peace and the ability to do whatever I wanted. On the other hand, I really missed my students. I love getting to spend time with them and watch them learn and grow! Coming back it was so fun to hear about what they did over the break. A few of them went across the country while the other kiddos barely went across the house! I understand why teachers talk about that bit of school between Thanksgiving and Christmas because it is a lot. We are already looking ahead to January and all that is going on. We have state testing a week after we get back so were finishing break strong with that in mind. 

My students have actually talked me into participating in the door decorating contest for December as well so we have that to look forward to. They have already chosen their door theme and I am excited to see what all they come up with! Until then, we're just going to take it one day at a time! 

    

The Start of My First Year!

I am so excited to share that I am one of the new 8th grade Math Teachers at Bryant Junior High! Towards the end of May, I was informed that another Math position had suddenly become available. After I had been approved by the school board I was so excited to share with everyone that I had gotten my dream job! 

How it is going...

    I started at Bryant in the Fall of 2021 to do my internship for school. After that, I stayed after graduation taking a ParaPro job! Now, I will take the position of a full time Teacher this Fall of 2022! Honestly, everything happened so fast I am still getting things laid out. The Teacher that left her position is someone that I have looked up to for the past year. She is so kind, caring, and helpful. There would be days where I would go in her room just to ask advice or to sit and chat. I am honored that I am filling her position and wish her the best as she continues teaching in her new position. 

    Since I have been with the district as an employee since January, I am technically not a new hire. However, due to Covid-19 and all that comes with it, I decided to join my new coworkers at the New Hire Orientation. To preface this, last semester, I ended up having to go home on the second to last day of school because I had caught the stomach bug going around. Because of this, I never was able to tell my previous coworker goodbye or even see what all she had left in my room. She was so kind in leaving so many different materials and items for me as a first year teacher! It has been a few months and I am still going through everything that she had left me! 

The first few weeks hit really hard. I honestly felt like I had no idea what was going on half of the time. Thankfully, I have other teachers in the math department that helped me so much! I knew what was coming but until you're thrown into that fire it really can't be described. There are so many things to remember! 504 plans and which students need what. Which parents to call and which parents want to be kept updated about certain things! Not to mention lesson planning, making sure that I am hitting all the standards while slowing down for some classes and keeping it challenging for my advanced classes. It is A LOT. I'm not complaining though! I love the fast pace and all the things that go into it! Now that we are 3/4 through the first semester I think I have a pretty good handle on things! That doesn't mean I am not ready for Thanksgiving break in a few days! 

First day of school Aug. 2022

    

 

Job Interviews!

 Well, it's that time! 

I have already completed my first real interview! I was so nervous but thankfully it was here at the school I already work at! Even though I know the people that I had my interview with it was still pretty nerve wracking! There was a panel of 4 people. Two vice principals, the math specialist, and a math teacher. I was at an advantage because I already know the people and the school. I prepared a list of questions to ask because you never want to look unprepared! Overall I was calm and sure about everything I said because I know what I'm talking about! I keep having to remind myself that I hold a whole degree in this. Yes, I will always be able to learn more, but right now I have to be confident in my knowledge. 

After this interview, I ended up having one more at a different school district. They asked me to prepare a presentation about myself! I thought this was interesting because I had not heard of having to do this for an interview! I waited in their office until it was my turn to interview. Of course, I had shown up earlier than my time so I expected to wait! They led me to a conference room with three people. It was a little nerve wracking because one of the interviewers showed no interest in anything I was saying. I kept going though and made sure to smile and look my most confident self! 

After that, I was asked for an interview with another school district close by. They did a "round robin" style interview. This was interesting because I had never done this before! In my group, there were 5 applicants. We all waited together so that we could go together to the interview. They took us to the library for the interview where there were 6 tables set up with 6 people. They included people such as the principal, the librarian, math specialist, and math teachers. We were given 2 minutes at each table to answer whatever question they gave us. It was very fast paced and it made me really nervous. I brought along my "teacher binder" with me which piqued the interest of one of the people interviewing me. I believe she was a current 6th grade math teacher. (I believe the "teacher binder" deserves its own post in the future.)

I still do not hold a teaching position, but I have been told it may take way more than 3 interviews to be chosen. It is also still rather early to start stressing out at all. Here at the school I am at, the contracts just went out and they have 30 days to sign. So maybe there is still hope that a lot more positions will be posted! For now, I am continuing the hunt for a good job somewhere. I wanted to go ahead and share my experiences for now and the few things that I have learned through this process. 

1. Don't stress! It takes a while to find that perfect fit. 

2. March/April is a too early to stress about a job in education. 

3. It may take quite a few interviews before you ever do get a position. 

4. Everything happens for a reason. 

5. This is a HUGE waiting game! (which is the hardest for me) 

Overall, it is all going to be okay! Which is what I will keep telling myself until that position comes along!