My First Week

Before I mention anything about my first week of teaching, I have to ask a question. Do you remember when my phone decided to take a swim in the toilet? I do, it was a really bad day. Anyway, about three weeks later we finally get things situated and get a replacement phone for me. I can't wait to use it. It's on the charger right now. I will admit, coming home to my new phone totally made my day just a little bit better.


Now on to the good stuff. My first week. What can I say other than the fact that I love teaching! I don't think that I knew how much I loved it until I actually had my own classroom. I love my students like crazy and I can't get enough of them. I am ready to go home by the end of the day but when I get home I am so excited to go back. When I wake up in the morning I don't want to go but I am excited to be there when I get to school. Before I actually tell you a lot about my week, let me explain in detail about my awesome job.
I should mention that Connolly Middle School is a title one school. That really doesn't bother me. It does make life really interesting though. I teach three periods. I know, it's heavenly. The (sometimes) bad part is that they are 90 minutes long. Yeah! That is one long math class. However, it means I have more time for fun in my classroom not to mention time to review homework as well as review the lesson from the day before. I have two prep periods, first hour and last hour (each are 45 minutes long). First hour's prep is with my team where we discuss students and any upcoming events as well as test scores. Last hour is just for me to get things ready for the next day or lesson plan. I LOVE IT! My day is divided up into two halves. I have prep, teach for an 2 hours and 15 minutes, have lunch, teach for an 2 hours and 15 minutes, and then have prep again. I cannot complain. I teach for only 4 1/2 hours a day and I get a lot of support from my fellow teachers and faculty members. Did I ever mention that I'm the only first year teacher in my school? When I first found out it freaked me out even more, but I am over it now.
My first day of school was really good. I felt really disorganized and a little scatterbrained but everything went well. I was actually really nervous but when class started my teacher instinct must have taken over because I just knew what to do and I think that I did great! One student only speaks Spanish which makes it really difficult but I am hoping to get used to it. She is actually pretty good at math. The communication stinks though. I do have an aid in that class to help me and the student that sits next to her is really helpful. The mornings seem to fly by and the afternoons drag on FOREVER!
Over the last four days I've had the principal walk into my room three days and the school math coach in a different day. My principal actually said that from what she saw I did really good and it was good that I went on with my lesson when she walked in. I guess that is a good thing.
I will admit that I'm sick of people asking me how my first week went. Teachers and faculty are asking me all the time. I always say that "I survived" which is true but who knows what could happen.
Oh! One quick story. I got mad at my second block today because there were a lot of students that didn't bring their homework. Well, those students now have homework for the weekend. They also ran to lunch. They're going to be staying after on Monday (the whole class) because running is not allowed and really rude. Let's just say that my second block is the hardest for me because I have a TON of ELL students and it is my largest class.
I did take pictures on my first day of school (with the camera we borrowed from Josh's mom) but she took it before we can get the picture off. I guess that you are going to have to live with pictures of my classroom for now.
Here is the board that is all about me/ college corner board. It is still a work in progress but it will eventually get there. I also have two mac computers in my room along with a projector. Technology is very dominant at our school. It is awesome!



Here is a picture of desks. It's not a very good, or exciting picture but it is a huge part of my classroom. It is actually entertaining because the students try to pull their chair away from their desks but they end up dragging their desk back too. Needless to say, I have to rearrange often.

This is my homework board and creed. We say try to say the creed everyday at the end of class. It doesn't always work out. I put the days homework in the folders so when students are absent they know to go there to pick up work they missed. At least I hope they know to go there to pick up missed work. We'll see over the coming weeks.
My very messy desk. I go crazy over how messy it is and how disorganized I am. I'm still trying to figure out a system for doing things. I guess that I am not the only one... there are other teachers whose desks are worse than mine.

The bookshelf behind my desk. This holds too much stuff. I don't even know what is all there. I do have to point out the blocks that Wendi made me for my graduation... I had to put them in my room.

I do wish that I had more whiteboard. I tend to use a lot while doing a math problem.