First Week

Well, I made it though my first week back to school.  I have a great group of kids this year, and I think we're going to have a lot of fun.  Culture Week (our first week each year) is always interesting, because the students are getting to know me and each other, and I am getting to know them.  We work on building a classroom community and learn the expectations of the classroom, the school, and the district.

This year, my students are all very excited about the goals we set as a class.  I think they honestly hope to work toward these goals.  Last year my class had a habit of saying things were important to them, but then they would never follow through or show me any excitement in working toward those goals.  This year's class, however, seem to have a better understanding of the 7 Habits and how to apply them to their lives.  Several of them have already logged onto our class math practice, and there were a couple who went on this weekend.  That's dedication!  I am starting to see how several years of instruction in the Covey habits will truly change the lives of students and prepare them for success in college and in the work place.

Next week we hit the ground running with full lessons in each subject area.  I love that we taught math and reading the first week of school, so students are pretty familiar with how I start lessons and expect them to set up their notebooks at the beginning of each.  I think it is going to be a really interesting week since I have many students BEGGING to use their composition notebooks (journal writing) or to start reading their social studies texts.  I kept giving them teasers about what we were going to use those supplies for or what our first unit would be, so I think they are going to be as excited to jump in as I am.

The only thing I'm really not thrilled about this year is my schedule.  Last year our specials (P.E., music, Spanish) were placed perfectly in the day so I taught for two hours, had a break, then repeated the pattern throughout the day with lunch.  This year, however, my specials fall in the early morning.  On Tuesday and Wednesday they actually start as soon as the school bell rings.  It makes for a LONG day, as we've found out already.  Bathroom procedures and policies have had to be changed to accommodate this schedule, but I'm okay with that, really.

I'm glad I had some time to pop in here and say hello.  I hope you all have a great week.  My girls start school on Wednesday, and I think we are ALL  ready to be back on a schedule and routine.