At my school, all teachers are required to fill out two Individual Development Plans (IDP) to improve our teaching. Essentially, this means we are defining two goals, listing strategies we can use to meet our goal, and evaluation tools for administration to track our progress.
One of my goals was to improve parent and student communication. Specifically, I want to keep everyone informed with what is happening in my classroom. To do this, I will be posting the daily objectives for each class on my board everyday. This will enable the students to have an understanding of what needs to be accomplished before the lesson is complete and homework is assigned. On the parent side, I have made a website to post assignments, a calendar, and news for each class.
Feel free to check it out here and make sure to give me some feedback!
Friday, August 30, 2013
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Classroom Set Up
Friday the 23rd was my last day as the Head Lifeguard for the City of Marquette!
Therefore, I was able to start setting up my classroom at Watersmeet this week - this is my favorite part! Organizing, cleaning, rearranging, and decorating... all super exciting things. This week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday), we have professional development from 8am - 3pm, so I am planning to arrive at school by 6:15am central time in order to get everything accomplished that needs to be done before students arrive next Tuesday for the first day of school.
When I arrived on Monday, the desks were in a grid (which I usually hate). My phone, computer, and desk were in three different corners of the room. The last Math teacher appeared not to have cleaned out the desk in the three years she was there, so I found some interesting things. For example, these were in the back of one of the drawers:
They expired in 1988. Kinda gross. Don't worry, they landed safely in the garbage can right after the picture was taken! I went through and consolidated half empty boxes of supplies and managed to get rid of two garbage cans worth of stuff just from the area behind my desk. By the end of the day, I had the desks separated into four columns with a wide walkway in the middle and a basic layout for the rest of the room.
Today, I finished getting the classroom layout all set up. I had the technology guy move my phone and computer to the corner with my desk. One of the random empty tables was pushed up against the wall in my back corner so I could have a computer table and a grading desk. I like to keep things separated so that I don't feel overwhelmed with too many things on a tiny desk. This afternoon, I laminated all of my new posters and had them hanging in place. I went through all of the extra supplies (80 extra dry erase markers, 300 pencils, and numerous office supplies) into three small storage tubs. One of the maintenance guys, Harry, even found me a new chair that doesn't groan and squeal every time I move! A final set up of the room:
Therefore, I was able to start setting up my classroom at Watersmeet this week - this is my favorite part! Organizing, cleaning, rearranging, and decorating... all super exciting things. This week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday), we have professional development from 8am - 3pm, so I am planning to arrive at school by 6:15am central time in order to get everything accomplished that needs to be done before students arrive next Tuesday for the first day of school.
When I arrived on Monday, the desks were in a grid (which I usually hate). My phone, computer, and desk were in three different corners of the room. The last Math teacher appeared not to have cleaned out the desk in the three years she was there, so I found some interesting things. For example, these were in the back of one of the drawers:
They expired in 1988. Kinda gross. Don't worry, they landed safely in the garbage can right after the picture was taken! I went through and consolidated half empty boxes of supplies and managed to get rid of two garbage cans worth of stuff just from the area behind my desk. By the end of the day, I had the desks separated into four columns with a wide walkway in the middle and a basic layout for the rest of the room.
Today, I finished getting the classroom layout all set up. I had the technology guy move my phone and computer to the corner with my desk. One of the random empty tables was pushed up against the wall in my back corner so I could have a computer table and a grading desk. I like to keep things separated so that I don't feel overwhelmed with too many things on a tiny desk. This afternoon, I laminated all of my new posters and had them hanging in place. I went through all of the extra supplies (80 extra dry erase markers, 300 pencils, and numerous office supplies) into three small storage tubs. One of the maintenance guys, Harry, even found me a new chair that doesn't groan and squeal every time I move! A final set up of the room:
The view from my area.
The view from the doorway.
A close up of some of my favorite posters.
The view from my front teaching zone.
For the rest of this week, I am planning to clean out and organize the back room (you can kind of see the doorway on the left side of the last picture) as well as start planning my lessons. Luckily, I was able to meet with the last Math teacher and she was wonderful enough to show me the files where she kept all of her lessons and projects, so I'm not feeling overwhelmed anymore.
I am so excited to finally have a job that I love doing and enjoy going to every day!
Friday, August 23, 2013
Tununak's School Newsletter
Hello from Tununak!
Finished my first full week teaching at a school of 130 kids grades K-12. I am teaching 7th Math, 7th/8th Science, and High School Brit Lit, Alg. 1, Biology, and Physical Education. Its been a crazy experience :D
Here's a newsletter my principal made today!
Finished my first full week teaching at a school of 130 kids grades K-12. I am teaching 7th Math, 7th/8th Science, and High School Brit Lit, Alg. 1, Biology, and Physical Education. Its been a crazy experience :D
Here's a newsletter my principal made today!
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Laura's first day of school!
First day of school is done. Wow was it crazy fun. I basically got a whole new class schedule yesterday so had to "wing it" with most of my classes. We played a "puzzle" game using index cards as the pieces of me: One card read "My favorite sport" and another read "Wrestling". They had to work together as a group and figure out which index cards matched each other, it went very well!!
Also made some yummy Mexican Rice for everyone, it was sooooo yummy. Tasted just like Border Grill in Marquette. More to come!
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Christina's Intro
I have accepted a teaching job in Watersmeet, MI. Luckily Watersmeet is within driving distance to L'Anse (I hope!), so I will be making the 70 mile commute every day.
My school is really small, only 176 students K - 12. I will be the only math teacher for grades 7 - 12, so I will be in charge of everything! My largest class has 22 students, but the average is only 10. I'm really excited for the possibilities!
My school is really small, only 176 students K - 12. I will be the only math teacher for grades 7 - 12, so I will be in charge of everything! My largest class has 22 students, but the average is only 10. I'm really excited for the possibilities!
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Laura's Intro
Hello All!
I got my first ever big girl teaching job in a small Alaskan village on Nelson Island called Tununak.
I got my first ever big girl teaching job in a small Alaskan village on Nelson Island called Tununak.
While I am incredibly excited about this adventure, I am also sad to leave my family and friends behind in the "Lower 48". My Closest Sprinkle (best friend) and I will no longer be sitting together on our designated couches brainstorming lesson plans. We will not be able to dance around our kitchen creating amazing edibles.
In order to solve the not brainstorming or baking together issue, Christina and I created this blog. We will be posting our teaching and baking adventures here for our friends and family to keep tabs on us. Not sure how often I'll be posting, but hope you enjoy!
-Laura
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