sorry that i'm talking about volleyball some more...
but it seems to be taking over my life!!!
after some switch ups at my school i am now the varsity volleyball coach instead of just helping out with both teams. this comes with a new set of pressures which i felt sort of when i did club vball, but i feel it even more now.... LINEUPS!!!
it's hard balancing a winning lineup and letting everyone get some playing time. the girls are NOT shy about letting me know if they want to play (which is both good and bad... sometimes i get wrapped up in teh game so i forget i have subs... sometimes i just don't want to be them in.... yikes).
today was a perfect example. i started girls who had shown up to practice the day before (all of them had also gone to the tournament over the weekend) and who had TRIED in practice. they were running for part of the time, and two of the best girls on the team flat out refused to run during practice yesterday. i decided not to start them because i felt that girls who actually came out to practice and worked hard should get the starting lineup. it meant that our game was a little shaky. we won 27-25, but JUST barely.
i guess this is something that coaches always struggle with. i mean, i know how sucky it is to be on a losing vball team (hello senior year of high school), but i also know how much it can suck to sit on the sidelines too (hello senior year of high school lol).
it's also hard to not just get frustrated when the girls are doing exactly the OPPOSITE of what you talked about in practice the day before. oh well.
overall i'm having fun! the girls are funny and athletic and always put forth their all when it comes to games. i will be ready to have my afternoons back though!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
volleyball
so i don't know how many of you guys know this, but i am one of the girls volleyball coaches at my school. it's actually a lot of fun, but it's soooooooo different. it's really hard to be upbeat encouraging to the girls when they are having a hard time. it's really hard to manage the bench and then there are ALL SORTS of attitudes. overall thought, it's a lot of fun. our record is varsity undefeated, jv 2-1. the varsity has a tournament this weekend that is gonna be INTENSEEEEE. apparently the JV tournament last weekend was LONG. from 745-4 in the afternoon. i'm excited to see how the girls do though.
this week has been a LONG week. yesterday i got to school early so that i could see what my classroom looked like after being gone for 2 days (it was pretty good!) and then we had a vball game and parents night. i was at school from like, 630-830. it was nice to meet some of my kids parents. not a lot showed up, but the few that did, it was nice to see them! my second period apparently was off the chain intense on monday. the assistant principal came down and she was like, holy crap. today i talked to them about what happened and i actually had one of my better 2nd periods, but i was also missing some of the more....energetic....kids. my 2nd period really is a handful. it is full of kids that have WONDERFUL thoughts, but can also let their behavior get the better of them. generally what they do isn't malicious (in fact i ahven't seen mean/malicious behavior from them in my room), they are just REALLY active and like to talk. it makes the class difficult to teach sometimes, but when they are on, they are ON. i knew going into my absences that the sub would have difficulties with this period, but i didn't think it would be as bad as it ended up.
oh well,
this post was mostly just rambly, it's just what i've been feeling!!
this week has been a LONG week. yesterday i got to school early so that i could see what my classroom looked like after being gone for 2 days (it was pretty good!) and then we had a vball game and parents night. i was at school from like, 630-830. it was nice to meet some of my kids parents. not a lot showed up, but the few that did, it was nice to see them! my second period apparently was off the chain intense on monday. the assistant principal came down and she was like, holy crap. today i talked to them about what happened and i actually had one of my better 2nd periods, but i was also missing some of the more....energetic....kids. my 2nd period really is a handful. it is full of kids that have WONDERFUL thoughts, but can also let their behavior get the better of them. generally what they do isn't malicious (in fact i ahven't seen mean/malicious behavior from them in my room), they are just REALLY active and like to talk. it makes the class difficult to teach sometimes, but when they are on, they are ON. i knew going into my absences that the sub would have difficulties with this period, but i didn't think it would be as bad as it ended up.
oh well,
this post was mostly just rambly, it's just what i've been feeling!!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
quite an honor
the past few days i have been making my kids make study guides for their test. yesterday, one of the girls goes "ms b. i like you, you're a good teacher." and i was like" why? cause i'm too nice?" and she goes "no, as we were talking about all this stuff and you were asking questions, i didn't even have to turn to my notes... i just knew it! that had never happened before!"
that made me happy.
today, we played a review game (read... competition) before we actually took our tests. the kids LOVED the game. it was this fun powerpoint that had horses racing. they got really into it, maybe a little loud.. but it was on topic loud, which is nice. the other teachers around me were joking around with me during the passing period saying "it should be illegal to have that much fun!"
although.
we'll see what the tests look like. as i said before, i asked them to make study guides and told them, "if you answer what i tell you to answer on your study guides, you will do GREAT on the test" i then asked questions almost STRAIGTH from the test during our review game today. i still had people struggling. i asked questions exactly how i instructed them to set up their review guides. gah.
well, maybe this will be a learning experience for them.
that made me happy.
today, we played a review game (read... competition) before we actually took our tests. the kids LOVED the game. it was this fun powerpoint that had horses racing. they got really into it, maybe a little loud.. but it was on topic loud, which is nice. the other teachers around me were joking around with me during the passing period saying "it should be illegal to have that much fun!"
although.
we'll see what the tests look like. as i said before, i asked them to make study guides and told them, "if you answer what i tell you to answer on your study guides, you will do GREAT on the test" i then asked questions almost STRAIGTH from the test during our review game today. i still had people struggling. i asked questions exactly how i instructed them to set up their review guides. gah.
well, maybe this will be a learning experience for them.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
highlight
today was a pretty good day.
5th period my kids rocked at their vocab quiz, then stuck with me through our boring book, then did their homework really well!
6th period i got an extra plan time causemy sophmores were taking a standarized test
7th period, while frustrating at times (one student was singing usher and outkast and all sorts of hits from when i was in middle school!!), i also looked around and saw learning going on. that is a powerful moment. you look around and everyone is on task, and EXCITED about what they are doing. kids who were sharing books would say.. NO! not there, we need to look here!! see it says here article iv (constituion !!!) it was exciting.
8th period i also got that same sense... actual learning taking place!!! one student in my 8th period class who generally gives me ar eally hard time did wonderful work.
i hope that my classes tomorrow go as well as these today did! hopefully they go even better!
in other news, our first volleyball game is this weekend... a tournament! fingers crossed!
5th period my kids rocked at their vocab quiz, then stuck with me through our boring book, then did their homework really well!
6th period i got an extra plan time causemy sophmores were taking a standarized test
7th period, while frustrating at times (one student was singing usher and outkast and all sorts of hits from when i was in middle school!!), i also looked around and saw learning going on. that is a powerful moment. you look around and everyone is on task, and EXCITED about what they are doing. kids who were sharing books would say.. NO! not there, we need to look here!! see it says here article iv (constituion !!!) it was exciting.
8th period i also got that same sense... actual learning taking place!!! one student in my 8th period class who generally gives me ar eally hard time did wonderful work.
i hope that my classes tomorrow go as well as these today did! hopefully they go even better!
in other news, our first volleyball game is this weekend... a tournament! fingers crossed!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
labor day
last night i got an e-mail from a student sending me his homework (due on tuesday!!!). i got the e-mail at 1:20 am. i'm in a whole new world these days!!!!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
"people don't care forreal"
question about the Declaration of Independence:
"Do you think the Declaration still has importance to us today? Can you think of other times in our history where this document may have been held up as an example?"
Answer:
Not as much as it use to be because people don't care forreal. In wars and in speeches just to catch the listener eye.
I found this to be a really insightful answer, especially after having many discussions about how the government doesn't listen to the people anymore!!! my american history classes really have the potential to be world changers!!
"Do you think the Declaration still has importance to us today? Can you think of other times in our history where this document may have been held up as an example?"
Answer:
Not as much as it use to be because people don't care forreal. In wars and in speeches just to catch the listener eye.
I found this to be a really insightful answer, especially after having many discussions about how the government doesn't listen to the people anymore!!! my american history classes really have the potential to be world changers!!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
makes my day
today i got a call from 2 former students... it made my day!!
they were telling me that their new school is hard and that it is too strict!! I laughed at that one. my best student from last year also told me that she managed to land herself in ISS since she got in an argument with another girl from our class last year. i laughed when she told me, because i was not at all surprised.
anyways, today otherwise was good and bad. i actually am enjoying teaching american history. it surprises me how little many of the kids know american history... lots of the kids actually get the civil war confused with the revolutionary war... so... that's interesting. today i had two of my am hist classes and i gave them out a project to work on, and they did WONDERFUL! i loved seeing them work and get excited about it, and get RIGHT to work. of course, today's two periods generally don't have as many management issues as tomorrow's two periods. my world history classes, on the other hand, are QUITE a handful. today they were NOT fun. my other prep of world can be wonderful, but there are lots of talkers in there, i just need to give them LOTS of hands-on things to keep them occupied.
tomorrow, though, should be interesting. since we have a heat advisory we are being dismissed at 11 am (well the kids are). so i'm only going to see my periods 5-8 for half the time i usually do and then won't see them on Friday since we will again dismiss at 11. this heat is going to be the end of me. i'm over it.
they were telling me that their new school is hard and that it is too strict!! I laughed at that one. my best student from last year also told me that she managed to land herself in ISS since she got in an argument with another girl from our class last year. i laughed when she told me, because i was not at all surprised.
anyways, today otherwise was good and bad. i actually am enjoying teaching american history. it surprises me how little many of the kids know american history... lots of the kids actually get the civil war confused with the revolutionary war... so... that's interesting. today i had two of my am hist classes and i gave them out a project to work on, and they did WONDERFUL! i loved seeing them work and get excited about it, and get RIGHT to work. of course, today's two periods generally don't have as many management issues as tomorrow's two periods. my world history classes, on the other hand, are QUITE a handful. today they were NOT fun. my other prep of world can be wonderful, but there are lots of talkers in there, i just need to give them LOTS of hands-on things to keep them occupied.
tomorrow, though, should be interesting. since we have a heat advisory we are being dismissed at 11 am (well the kids are). so i'm only going to see my periods 5-8 for half the time i usually do and then won't see them on Friday since we will again dismiss at 11. this heat is going to be the end of me. i'm over it.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
acting
i've decided that teaching is at least 75% acting. the persona i put on in my classroom is not always the same person i am in real life. i'm sure my students think i'm nuts (i sing in class?!), but it also helps me keep a better attitude about things. if i'm not postive and excited about something, the students definitely won't be! it's incredibly important right now too. my school doesn't have air conditioning... YIKES. it's been really, really warm in my room. i start the day and i can feel sweat dripping down my back! ick. tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer.
oh well. so far i'm enjoying my new position, although it's a completely different experience! there are lots of things that i have not been prepared for (large, all school assemblies lasting through one of my periods), but some things just don't change (students in general). i'm also still playing catch up i feel. since i didn't get placed until basically the friday before school started on monday, i wasn't able to do much/any planning. i personally like knowing where i am going long-term (and i know that many of you are saying here.. uh, katherine... you teach history, it's obvious where you are going!!!) i disagree. i like ahving a concrete map of where i will be going and how i will get there. what skills will they be doing? what will they need to know by the end of the unit? what do they need to know to set them up for the next one? i have none of that in place at the moment, so it's making my lesson planning seem a little disjointed i think.
oh well, tomorrow volleyball has been cancelled (heat advisory and no a/c = very very hot gym) so i'm going to try to get my life together!!!
oh well. so far i'm enjoying my new position, although it's a completely different experience! there are lots of things that i have not been prepared for (large, all school assemblies lasting through one of my periods), but some things just don't change (students in general). i'm also still playing catch up i feel. since i didn't get placed until basically the friday before school started on monday, i wasn't able to do much/any planning. i personally like knowing where i am going long-term (and i know that many of you are saying here.. uh, katherine... you teach history, it's obvious where you are going!!!) i disagree. i like ahving a concrete map of where i will be going and how i will get there. what skills will they be doing? what will they need to know by the end of the unit? what do they need to know to set them up for the next one? i have none of that in place at the moment, so it's making my lesson planning seem a little disjointed i think.
oh well, tomorrow volleyball has been cancelled (heat advisory and no a/c = very very hot gym) so i'm going to try to get my life together!!!
Monday, August 15, 2011
and it begins!
so today was the first day of the 2011-2012 school year!
as some of you might have been aware, i did not have a job all summer. when it came time to get a placement in august it was absolute chaos!! i got placed at one school where i would have taught grades 9-12 social studies. that lasted about 24 hours, and went back to middle school english where i was placed at a magnet middle school for all of an HOUR, then switched to a different high school where i would have taught juniors and seniors english, then switched within the same school to the social studies department.
my final position is ninth grade american history, tenth grade world history, and ninth grade study skills teacher. whew.
all ican say is that it was an interesting week, full of ups and downs.
anyways.. this school is going to be MUCH different than my old school. for starters i have about 150 kids, as opposed to 19 last year (just saying this makes me laugh haha). tomorrow i will also teach ALL day, except for my 30 min lunch, which is a change from last year. i had a plan period every day last year (aka an hour of no teaching every day).
i also signed up to help coach volleyball today, so that will start tomorrow. we'll see how that goes!
all in all, not a bad day. i was sad though that i couldn't see any of my kids... iwas jealous of all the teachers who knew students and had students excited to see them! i have been thinking about them all day!!
as some of you might have been aware, i did not have a job all summer. when it came time to get a placement in august it was absolute chaos!! i got placed at one school where i would have taught grades 9-12 social studies. that lasted about 24 hours, and went back to middle school english where i was placed at a magnet middle school for all of an HOUR, then switched to a different high school where i would have taught juniors and seniors english, then switched within the same school to the social studies department.
my final position is ninth grade american history, tenth grade world history, and ninth grade study skills teacher. whew.
all ican say is that it was an interesting week, full of ups and downs.
anyways.. this school is going to be MUCH different than my old school. for starters i have about 150 kids, as opposed to 19 last year (just saying this makes me laugh haha). tomorrow i will also teach ALL day, except for my 30 min lunch, which is a change from last year. i had a plan period every day last year (aka an hour of no teaching every day).
i also signed up to help coach volleyball today, so that will start tomorrow. we'll see how that goes!
all in all, not a bad day. i was sad though that i couldn't see any of my kids... iwas jealous of all the teachers who knew students and had students excited to see them! i have been thinking about them all day!!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
the end of the year
so the big news is that my school will be closing next year (i would say 95% sure)
my kids are upset. i'm sad. it's just crazy.
i don't know what/where i will be teaching next year and probs won't for awhile. right now my certification is 9-12 social studies, but i want to do what i can so i can still teach middle schoolers. call me crazy but i like the age!
if you are interested here is a link to the st louis newspaper about what's going on: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/article_a5d2d199-be6f-5b10-925e-66979ca93c4f.html
so today the applications went out for other magnet schools that the kids could attend. the two "gifted" schools (metro and mckinley) are both full. but there are still some good ones left. a lot of my kids think that they will be able to attend another district school (parkway for example--the district greg and cora went to school in) or webster groves which is down south of the city. i don't think that will happen because our district has to pay for the kids to go there and they have so little money they don't want to give it to the people LEAVING their district. The other districts also don't necessarily want the kids, what with possible behavior issues and then them not necessarily being up to the standard all their other kids are. i've heard that they are starting to only take kids if they live in the district or if they start in kindergarden and continue. oh well.
i ended up calling all of my kids parents today to let them know about the applications... some of my kids parents can talk!!! but one of the parents said that she saw a good change in attitude from her daughter... she said that her daughter always wanted to go to school, which was a change from last year. she said it was me, her teacher, that made her attitude change! i don't know if i can take that much credit, she does have a good social scene here, but i know that she does like me!
anways, those are my thougths right now!
my kids are upset. i'm sad. it's just crazy.
i don't know what/where i will be teaching next year and probs won't for awhile. right now my certification is 9-12 social studies, but i want to do what i can so i can still teach middle schoolers. call me crazy but i like the age!
if you are interested here is a link to the st louis newspaper about what's going on: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/article_a5d2d199-be6f-5b10-925e-66979ca93c4f.html
so today the applications went out for other magnet schools that the kids could attend. the two "gifted" schools (metro and mckinley) are both full. but there are still some good ones left. a lot of my kids think that they will be able to attend another district school (parkway for example--the district greg and cora went to school in) or webster groves which is down south of the city. i don't think that will happen because our district has to pay for the kids to go there and they have so little money they don't want to give it to the people LEAVING their district. The other districts also don't necessarily want the kids, what with possible behavior issues and then them not necessarily being up to the standard all their other kids are. i've heard that they are starting to only take kids if they live in the district or if they start in kindergarden and continue. oh well.
i ended up calling all of my kids parents today to let them know about the applications... some of my kids parents can talk!!! but one of the parents said that she saw a good change in attitude from her daughter... she said that her daughter always wanted to go to school, which was a change from last year. she said it was me, her teacher, that made her attitude change! i don't know if i can take that much credit, she does have a good social scene here, but i know that she does like me!
anways, those are my thougths right now!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
4/20 edition
today one of my kids walks in and says
"why do we have school today? it's a holiday!!"
another responds with
"yea!! a holiday for WEED!"
i think all the testing is making them go crazy.
we're done with all our tests though!!! yay!
"why do we have school today? it's a holiday!!"
another responds with
"yea!! a holiday for WEED!"
i think all the testing is making them go crazy.
we're done with all our tests though!!! yay!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
the gym
so i have discovered something that is benefiting from my crazy hectic, not always so fun year.
my gym routine.
i've started going to the gym four or five times a week, plus boxing once or twice a week! This means some weeks i workout everyday but friday! (unless going out on friday counts.....)
it feels pretty good, i'm not going to lie. i don't think the entire time i was in college i was actually IN SHAPE. i feel like i'm getting back in shape! and after a pretty ...bad (to put it nicely).... day, going to the gym is a really nice way to work off the frustration. I do thank my kids for that. haha
anyways, that was my two-cents for the day.
my gym routine.
i've started going to the gym four or five times a week, plus boxing once or twice a week! This means some weeks i workout everyday but friday! (unless going out on friday counts.....)
it feels pretty good, i'm not going to lie. i don't think the entire time i was in college i was actually IN SHAPE. i feel like i'm getting back in shape! and after a pretty ...bad (to put it nicely).... day, going to the gym is a really nice way to work off the frustration. I do thank my kids for that. haha
anyways, that was my two-cents for the day.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
budget?
i encourage everybody to read this link:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/04/04/school.nurse.shortage.parenting/index.html?hpt=Sbin
this article really hit home with me. the other day one of my students was tripped (another story in and of itself) as he was leaving gym and walking up the stairs back to our hallway. he ended up busting up his chin and biting his tongue. it was disgusting. although the student was really proud of it...it hink? he kept sticking out his tongue and showing it to everybody. i had to will myself not to vom.
well, the nurse wasn't at our school that day. we have a nurse, but she is not at our school everyday. i'm not really sure what days she's out our school actually. but we had to call my student's mom and she had to call somebody to come pick him up because his mouth wouldn't stop bleeding. i mean really, this student had to sit in the hallway and wait to be picked up while he was bleeding a lot. he had to keep going to the bathroom to spit out all the blood! sicknasty.
aside from my experiences, it really is silly that there isn't a nurse all the time at a school. there are tons of kids at schools! tons of opportunities to get hurt! tons of opportunities for kids to be vom-ing and you don't want them in your class! (this has happened to me before).
anyways. just something to think about as our budget crisis grows.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/04/04/school.nurse.shortage.parenting/index.html?hpt=Sbin
this article really hit home with me. the other day one of my students was tripped (another story in and of itself) as he was leaving gym and walking up the stairs back to our hallway. he ended up busting up his chin and biting his tongue. it was disgusting. although the student was really proud of it...it hink? he kept sticking out his tongue and showing it to everybody. i had to will myself not to vom.
well, the nurse wasn't at our school that day. we have a nurse, but she is not at our school everyday. i'm not really sure what days she's out our school actually. but we had to call my student's mom and she had to call somebody to come pick him up because his mouth wouldn't stop bleeding. i mean really, this student had to sit in the hallway and wait to be picked up while he was bleeding a lot. he had to keep going to the bathroom to spit out all the blood! sicknasty.
aside from my experiences, it really is silly that there isn't a nurse all the time at a school. there are tons of kids at schools! tons of opportunities to get hurt! tons of opportunities for kids to be vom-ing and you don't want them in your class! (this has happened to me before).
anyways. just something to think about as our budget crisis grows.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
best phone call ever
on friday one of my students asked if she could take her reader's notebook and silent reading book home. i said sure (she's responsible enough to bring it back and not lose it)
she JUST called me to let me know she's read 3 chapters so far this weekend!!!!
best phone call EVER!
she JUST called me to let me know she's read 3 chapters so far this weekend!!!!
best phone call EVER!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
i don't know what to title this post.
these past two weeks haven't been great, but i came home today after an OK day and thought to myself, i love these kids.
they work my nerves--they know exactly how to--but i love them.
i was frustrated with them one day this week and i told them, i love you guys and you guys all know it and-- and then one of my students interrupted me to say ms b, we know you love us, we love you!
and even though i was frustrated at that moment, i was also smiling.
these past two weeks haven't been great, but i came home today after an OK day and thought to myself, i love these kids.
they work my nerves--they know exactly how to--but i love them.
i was frustrated with them one day this week and i told them, i love you guys and you guys all know it and-- and then one of my students interrupted me to say ms b, we know you love us, we love you!
and even though i was frustrated at that moment, i was also smiling.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
oh lord
well back from spring break has been quite the adventure.
spring break was WONDERFUL a true vacation and EXACTLY what i needed. i would go back to jamaica in a heart beat!
the re-entry back into the real world was not quite as fun.
today, for example.
the executive director of TFA STL came to my school today to meet with a 2nd year corps member. he popped into my room before going to meet the other corps memeber. OMG. MY KIDS WERE OFF THE CHAIN (which is partly my fault for poor planning). after he left, i literally stood, shell shocked in my classroom, when one of my students came up and wanted to talk to me about what he had been asking her, and then she saw my face and was just like "he was important, wasn't he" and i said "yep, he's like a bosses boss" and my kids heard that, and saw my face and they all were like "omg, ms b, we're so sorry!" and i just stood there and was like, do your work..... in the five minutes we have left of class.
i'm sad that he had to come in when he did, i planned poorly for that last 20 min of class and had already thrown out 2 students for the same 'ol same 'ol and was just tired of the shenanigans. ugh
i did hear later though that he said it was obvious i had really good relationships with my students. which is a compliment, but yea, the time he was in the classroom did not go well.
i am thankful that i have good relationships with my students, but in same ways it can be hard too--sometimes i think they see me as a friend type more than a teacher type. not all the time, but sometimes. oh well. i'm glad i have the relationships i do with my students in the end.
spring break was WONDERFUL a true vacation and EXACTLY what i needed. i would go back to jamaica in a heart beat!
the re-entry back into the real world was not quite as fun.
today, for example.
the executive director of TFA STL came to my school today to meet with a 2nd year corps member. he popped into my room before going to meet the other corps memeber. OMG. MY KIDS WERE OFF THE CHAIN (which is partly my fault for poor planning). after he left, i literally stood, shell shocked in my classroom, when one of my students came up and wanted to talk to me about what he had been asking her, and then she saw my face and was just like "he was important, wasn't he" and i said "yep, he's like a bosses boss" and my kids heard that, and saw my face and they all were like "omg, ms b, we're so sorry!" and i just stood there and was like, do your work..... in the five minutes we have left of class.
i'm sad that he had to come in when he did, i planned poorly for that last 20 min of class and had already thrown out 2 students for the same 'ol same 'ol and was just tired of the shenanigans. ugh
i did hear later though that he said it was obvious i had really good relationships with my students. which is a compliment, but yea, the time he was in the classroom did not go well.
i am thankful that i have good relationships with my students, but in same ways it can be hard too--sometimes i think they see me as a friend type more than a teacher type. not all the time, but sometimes. oh well. i'm glad i have the relationships i do with my students in the end.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
almost spring break
so this week has been crrrrrazy! i think everyone is pretty ready for tomorrow at 2:07.
this week has been mostly not so good, but tuesday was actually a pretty good day for me! we were reviewing for our test (which they took today) and we were using songs to do main idea stuff. they kids seemed to really like it! they all participated and one of the kids who NEVER does his work was one of the first done, because we were listening to michael jackson, which i think is his fav musician. so that was good.
athough something that is frustrating is that we are expected to give the kids make up work for work they missed, not because they were absent, but because they just didn't feel like doing the work that day. it drives me nuts, but we want the kids to get good grades. in the back of my mind though i really wonder, are we really preparing them for the real world? i mean, no job will let their employees do nothing, nothing, nothing and hten do everything all at once. ugh it's just all sorts of emotions going on here.
anyways. tomorrow we're watching a movie and they're correcting tests and that will end the quarter.
leaving for jamaica on sunday!!! :)
this week has been mostly not so good, but tuesday was actually a pretty good day for me! we were reviewing for our test (which they took today) and we were using songs to do main idea stuff. they kids seemed to really like it! they all participated and one of the kids who NEVER does his work was one of the first done, because we were listening to michael jackson, which i think is his fav musician. so that was good.
athough something that is frustrating is that we are expected to give the kids make up work for work they missed, not because they were absent, but because they just didn't feel like doing the work that day. it drives me nuts, but we want the kids to get good grades. in the back of my mind though i really wonder, are we really preparing them for the real world? i mean, no job will let their employees do nothing, nothing, nothing and hten do everything all at once. ugh it's just all sorts of emotions going on here.
anyways. tomorrow we're watching a movie and they're correcting tests and that will end the quarter.
leaving for jamaica on sunday!!! :)
Friday, March 4, 2011
upadates!
hey guys!
well here are some updates on my life right now....
we are fast approaching our MAP testing days, which is scary, frustrating, and all i've been talking about lately! the MAP test is missouri's standardized test for grades 3-8 (i think it starts in 3rd grade, i could be wrong there). it's a big deal because this is what measures AYP for no child left behind stuff and it's even more important in SLPS cause the district is unaccredited. my school didn't make AYP last year, so this year is crucial. in order to sort of gauge where the kids are throughout the year we take ACUITY tests, which are predicitive (whatever that really means) for MAP tests, even though they are not aligned (i know, i know, confusing). anyways. on the last installment my kids ROCKED the test. 3 go proficient, one got advanced (she only missed one question) and five were right on the cusp of making proficient. the 8th graders did just as well! so right now there is a fair amount of pressure on the middle school to get all t hese kids to get proficient on the MAP test.
my understanding of the situation is that if we get all these middle schoolers to do well on the MAP, our school will be ok. my school goes through high school, and the high schoolers also have end of course exams (EOC) standardized tests, but in order to make AYP we only need a certain number of proficients across the board (at least is my understanding). so, my kids and the 8th graders could make the bulk of AYP for us. it's intense.
anyways. this week has been all about that. staying accountable to the district and talking about how we've been targeting skills we haven't been making and talking about how we are going to prep for the test. this can become a tricky situation--as a teacher you want your kids to do well on the test, but then as a teacher i also want to teach my kids what is really important, and is going over boring passages with multiple choice questions always the most important/going to make them better students in the long run? TFA held learning team meetings this week in order to sort of, talk, about these issues. i've got some good ideas about how to make a short little unit about test prep, but also make it applicable to being college-bound students.
so that's what's been going on big time.
my classroom right now seems a little chaotic, kids are def ready for spring break (as are the teachers!)
i also got a new student, she seems really sweet and pretty smart, so that's exciting.
and today we went on a field trip! we went to UMSL (university of missouri-st louis). it was a joing 7th/8th grade field trip. my kids seemed to enjoy it! some of them talked to me about how they are now realizing how important grades are! that's good. we'll see if it actually sticks... this field trip actually meshes pretty well with my overall vision for my class--college bound 7th graders haha. i'm not sure if i've ever talked about that before. but i've drilled into them (all of them for the most part) the importance of college and how i expect every single one of them to have the abilities to go to any college they want. at the beginning of the year i had my kids make their own visions and there were lots of them, very few mentioned college. i did them again in january/february. almost every single one of them mentioned college!!! i think this field trip will make it more real for them (fingers crossed anyways)
anyways. this is probably the longest post i ahve ever written! hope you all get more of a snapshot of my life :)
ps: MARDI GRAS THIS WEEKEND:)
well here are some updates on my life right now....
we are fast approaching our MAP testing days, which is scary, frustrating, and all i've been talking about lately! the MAP test is missouri's standardized test for grades 3-8 (i think it starts in 3rd grade, i could be wrong there). it's a big deal because this is what measures AYP for no child left behind stuff and it's even more important in SLPS cause the district is unaccredited. my school didn't make AYP last year, so this year is crucial. in order to sort of gauge where the kids are throughout the year we take ACUITY tests, which are predicitive (whatever that really means) for MAP tests, even though they are not aligned (i know, i know, confusing). anyways. on the last installment my kids ROCKED the test. 3 go proficient, one got advanced (she only missed one question) and five were right on the cusp of making proficient. the 8th graders did just as well! so right now there is a fair amount of pressure on the middle school to get all t hese kids to get proficient on the MAP test.
my understanding of the situation is that if we get all these middle schoolers to do well on the MAP, our school will be ok. my school goes through high school, and the high schoolers also have end of course exams (EOC) standardized tests, but in order to make AYP we only need a certain number of proficients across the board (at least is my understanding). so, my kids and the 8th graders could make the bulk of AYP for us. it's intense.
anyways. this week has been all about that. staying accountable to the district and talking about how we've been targeting skills we haven't been making and talking about how we are going to prep for the test. this can become a tricky situation--as a teacher you want your kids to do well on the test, but then as a teacher i also want to teach my kids what is really important, and is going over boring passages with multiple choice questions always the most important/going to make them better students in the long run? TFA held learning team meetings this week in order to sort of, talk, about these issues. i've got some good ideas about how to make a short little unit about test prep, but also make it applicable to being college-bound students.
so that's what's been going on big time.
my classroom right now seems a little chaotic, kids are def ready for spring break (as are the teachers!)
i also got a new student, she seems really sweet and pretty smart, so that's exciting.
and today we went on a field trip! we went to UMSL (university of missouri-st louis). it was a joing 7th/8th grade field trip. my kids seemed to enjoy it! some of them talked to me about how they are now realizing how important grades are! that's good. we'll see if it actually sticks... this field trip actually meshes pretty well with my overall vision for my class--college bound 7th graders haha. i'm not sure if i've ever talked about that before. but i've drilled into them (all of them for the most part) the importance of college and how i expect every single one of them to have the abilities to go to any college they want. at the beginning of the year i had my kids make their own visions and there were lots of them, very few mentioned college. i did them again in january/february. almost every single one of them mentioned college!!! i think this field trip will make it more real for them (fingers crossed anyways)
anyways. this is probably the longest post i ahve ever written! hope you all get more of a snapshot of my life :)
ps: MARDI GRAS THIS WEEKEND:)
Friday, February 25, 2011
this happened last week but..
or maybe two weeks ago? i don't remember.
we were having a school wide basketball tournament so we were all sitting in the gym watching. i was sitting around my kids, hanging out, making sure nothing intense happened. all of a sudden, three of my boys were swaying back and forth on the bleachers....like, intensely. i could tell the boy in the middle was on the verge of hitting somebody. so i got one of the other boys to stop, but the other boy was still realllllllllllly into swaying back and forth. another teacher had spotted what was going on, and right when she was walking up to help, right when i thought the boy in the middle was going to punch his friend out, he turns around and goes "UNHAND ME YOU HOOLIGAN!" and just laughs. i catch the other teacher's eye and probably laugh for a good five minutes.
pretty sure i've taught them the word hooligan.
we were having a school wide basketball tournament so we were all sitting in the gym watching. i was sitting around my kids, hanging out, making sure nothing intense happened. all of a sudden, three of my boys were swaying back and forth on the bleachers....like, intensely. i could tell the boy in the middle was on the verge of hitting somebody. so i got one of the other boys to stop, but the other boy was still realllllllllllly into swaying back and forth. another teacher had spotted what was going on, and right when she was walking up to help, right when i thought the boy in the middle was going to punch his friend out, he turns around and goes "UNHAND ME YOU HOOLIGAN!" and just laughs. i catch the other teacher's eye and probably laugh for a good five minutes.
pretty sure i've taught them the word hooligan.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
spring time?
well this past week has been SO NICE! we started having PE outside again... which is awesome, but the fact that 4 of my boys showed up TWENTY MINUTES LATE to class because they were cleaning their shoes is not. especially cause they got a pass saying it was OK FOR THEM TO SHOW UP THAT LATE! i mean, really.
also, i recently have seen what most of my boys carry around in their backpacks....
one might think, notebooks, pencils, pens, maybe some food?
NOPE WRONG.
not a pencil in sight. no paper to speak of. STRAIGHT SHOES UP IN THERE.
literally. my boys bring an extra pair of shoes to school and carry them around in their backpacks all day!
there might be a brush....or five....in there too.
the girls are better. they carry school supplies.
anyways, i'm off for some sightseeing this afteroon (haha) cahokia illinois here i come!
also, i recently have seen what most of my boys carry around in their backpacks....
one might think, notebooks, pencils, pens, maybe some food?
NOPE WRONG.
not a pencil in sight. no paper to speak of. STRAIGHT SHOES UP IN THERE.
literally. my boys bring an extra pair of shoes to school and carry them around in their backpacks all day!
there might be a brush....or five....in there too.
the girls are better. they carry school supplies.
anyways, i'm off for some sightseeing this afteroon (haha) cahokia illinois here i come!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
our first full week and......
so my kids took their unit test yesterday...
and they did really well! the entire class mastery average was 79%. I'm pretty stoked by it, i was bragging about them all day!
Until that is, two of my kids decided to get in a fight. it was in their science classroom, and not my room, but still. silly kids.
we had slps professional development today. it was two very long, boring hours of a lot of the same stuff we get in tfa. and i'm not really sure what the policy is... it's supposed to be for all new first year teachers, which would mean A LOT of tfa people, but there were probably only about 20 people total at the meeting.. i mean, why do i have to go but not other people?
i am also currently doing an online course for my masters. i've never taken a fully online course before. it's kinda hard to remember deadlines and such. it just slips my mind completely when i don't actually have to physically be somewhere. i emailed the prof to apologize for all my late stuff and she said that it's ok, there is quite a large learning curve for online courses... thank goodness!!
anyways, that's what's up in my life. lots of school!
and they did really well! the entire class mastery average was 79%. I'm pretty stoked by it, i was bragging about them all day!
Until that is, two of my kids decided to get in a fight. it was in their science classroom, and not my room, but still. silly kids.
we had slps professional development today. it was two very long, boring hours of a lot of the same stuff we get in tfa. and i'm not really sure what the policy is... it's supposed to be for all new first year teachers, which would mean A LOT of tfa people, but there were probably only about 20 people total at the meeting.. i mean, why do i have to go but not other people?
i am also currently doing an online course for my masters. i've never taken a fully online course before. it's kinda hard to remember deadlines and such. it just slips my mind completely when i don't actually have to physically be somewhere. i emailed the prof to apologize for all my late stuff and she said that it's ok, there is quite a large learning curve for online courses... thank goodness!!
anyways, that's what's up in my life. lots of school!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
3 days later...
well we had three snow days this week.
we really only needed tuesday off and a late start wednesday, but oh well.
tomorrow we have school and it will be crazy. however i'm going to philly this weekend to see elle and celebrate her being a COLLEGE GRADUATE! so that will make up for tomorrow! and then my birthday on MONDAY!!! :)
we really only needed tuesday off and a late start wednesday, but oh well.
tomorrow we have school and it will be crazy. however i'm going to philly this weekend to see elle and celebrate her being a COLLEGE GRADUATE! so that will make up for tomorrow! and then my birthday on MONDAY!!! :)
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
and another...
well we have another snow day today (really, an ice day, but who's really keeping track?)...possibility for snow day tomorrow as well: 90%.
i have to say, the first two were kind of fun, now it's just bleh. i'm ready for warmer temps! It's also getting a little ridiculous...we can go barely a week these days without some sort of bad winter weather! this one is apparently supposed to be historic or something. historic winter weather things seem to follow me.... last year snowmageddon/snowgasm etc etc and now this? i'm ready to move to jamaica!
in other news.... well there is no other news. just this weather! it's hard to do anything productive right now because it's still ice raining/snowing and it's COLD. our house is always cold, so right now all three of us are just sitting in our bed or on the couch with about 10000000 blankets on us! the cat is under the covers next to me as i write this. it's pretty comfy haha
i hope everyone is staying warm wherever they are!!! silly weather!
i have to say, the first two were kind of fun, now it's just bleh. i'm ready for warmer temps! It's also getting a little ridiculous...we can go barely a week these days without some sort of bad winter weather! this one is apparently supposed to be historic or something. historic winter weather things seem to follow me.... last year snowmageddon/snowgasm etc etc and now this? i'm ready to move to jamaica!
in other news.... well there is no other news. just this weather! it's hard to do anything productive right now because it's still ice raining/snowing and it's COLD. our house is always cold, so right now all three of us are just sitting in our bed or on the couch with about 10000000 blankets on us! the cat is under the covers next to me as i write this. it's pretty comfy haha
i hope everyone is staying warm wherever they are!!! silly weather!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
the aftermath...
so many of you probably saw my facebook status, but 9 of my students go suspended yesterday! INTENSE. i think all the suspensions were for disrespect. which THEY TOTALLY DESERVED. i feel bad for some of them, but on the whole, the disrespect had been around for awhile for this teacher and the students need to understand that they will have this teacher whether they like it or not. oh well. crazy crazy.
this week has been exceptionally long after an exceptionally short week last week. i loved the snow days in the moment, but i have to say, coming back from an unexpected four day weekend was rough. also, we ahven't had a full week of school since we started school on january 4th... so the routine has been a little off. this was the first full week, and nine of my students again get a four day weekend! oh well.
other than that life is just going. i think across the board tfa first years are starting to feel like they're stagnating a little bit. i feel like i started off with some momentum, but things have just gone crazy downhill in my classroom. it might also be the routine has been messed up.
today was a peaceful day, but we didn't do any new ocntent because i just don't want to do that so close to the test, what with so many people gone. tomorrow hopefully will be just as peaceful. who knows.
anyways, that's all for now, just wanted to alert you guys that i do indeed work, not just take snow days!
this week has been exceptionally long after an exceptionally short week last week. i loved the snow days in the moment, but i have to say, coming back from an unexpected four day weekend was rough. also, we ahven't had a full week of school since we started school on january 4th... so the routine has been a little off. this was the first full week, and nine of my students again get a four day weekend! oh well.
other than that life is just going. i think across the board tfa first years are starting to feel like they're stagnating a little bit. i feel like i started off with some momentum, but things have just gone crazy downhill in my classroom. it might also be the routine has been messed up.
today was a peaceful day, but we didn't do any new ocntent because i just don't want to do that so close to the test, what with so many people gone. tomorrow hopefully will be just as peaceful. who knows.
anyways, that's all for now, just wanted to alert you guys that i do indeed work, not just take snow days!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
as of 945 this evening...
we have another snow day!!!
this week has been pretty baller.
no school monday.
school tuesday and wednesday.
no school today or tomrrow!!!
i know everyone is just green with envy!!!
this week has been pretty baller.
no school monday.
school tuesday and wednesday.
no school today or tomrrow!!!
i know everyone is just green with envy!!!
more...
snow day number 2.
seven inches this time.
one thing they don't tell you when you buy a suv...when it snows its REALLY hard to get all the snow off the top!!!!
seven inches this time.
one thing they don't tell you when you buy a suv...when it snows its REALLY hard to get all the snow off the top!!!!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
une petite pause
today one of my students was supposed to come back from a suspension. he needed to come back with a parent. the day started with him trying to sneak back in without the parent. (unsuccessful on his part). he came back later with his mom, and during the hour long meeting that ensued, he tried to tell his mom, me, the math teacher, and the PRINCIPAL that he was in the in-school suspension room the days he was suspended, even though we have no such room.
the teachers just sort of looked at him and were like, are you for real right now? trying to put that past us???
he then said he came to school and then hid in the bathroom all day.
if it wasn't for the situation i probably would have laughed.
the teachers just sort of looked at him and were like, are you for real right now? trying to put that past us???
he then said he came to school and then hid in the bathroom all day.
if it wasn't for the situation i probably would have laughed.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
this is why being a teacher is cool
SNOW DAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
for about 2 in of snow. WIN.
http://www.donorschoose.org/we-teach/614798.1330848032
for about 2 in of snow. WIN.
http://www.donorschoose.org/we-teach/614798.1330848032
Sunday, January 9, 2011
and we're back!
hey ya'll
sorry i haven't updated this since i've been back!
school started on tuesday, and so far, so good. knock on wood! we're reading diary of a wimpy kid and they LOVE it, they protest every time i turn the recording off! i have also changed the way i lesson plan, and that is making my life a little bit better and i'm focusing on more things that i should be, like vocabulary!
haven't done much else since i've been back, just getting back into the swing of things. lots of grocery shopping--i feel like every time i go i come back with nothing!!
oh, i also posted a new project on donorschoose.org! this is a website where teachers post projects that they need to get funded. you can end up asking for things like computers, projectors, vidoe cameras, etc. right now my project is for reader's notebooks for my kids silent reading time. if you'd like to check out the project here is the link:
donors choose is pretty cool. not only do teachers get the funding they need for different things, the donors will get handmade thank you notes made by the students who received the donation! it's a good website and i encourage you to check it out.
that's all for now!
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