Every year, new children come into my classroom on the first day and I can only compare it to Forrest Gump's quote, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." I don't feel like the first day is ever a good visual of what it's going to be like because we are all nervous and excited. Time will tell what sort of personalities have been put in your room. This year, after two days, I can tell it will be a good year.
The biggest task of any teacher's first day of school is putting up the monstrosity that is the school supplies. They always have so many school supplies!! My class was preparing our 5th grade binder for organization on Thursday with my instruction. We had come to a difficult task: labeling the dividers. I guess I just don't realize that at this point in their life, most 10 year olds have not had to put those little white strips into the dividers. At some point during this process, I hear a boy from the back say, "MAN, 5th grade is SOOO much harder than 4th grade!!"
I hope all teachers have had great first days of school! :)
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
SNOW DAY!
Yesterday afternoon, Carol Birdsong called my cell phone to let me know that school would be closed today. I was thrilled! So, what have I done with my day? I slept in until about 11:00 a.m. I have watched TV, watched the snow, and facebooked. I have been very busy.... ;) Relaxing on a snow day is the best thing ever. Have I mentioned that it is like a mini blizzard outside my house? WONDERFUL! I think I may go get some hot cocoa now. I will be good and do a workout @ 5:00.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Just in case you didn't know a teacher's thoughts on a......
Middle Tennessee Snow Day
Trey Duke
It is 5:30 A.M, and I have been up for nearly 45 minutes. I have showered, eaten breakfast, enjoyed a cup of coffee, and watched my good friends Aaron Solomon and Tim Ross tell me about the news and weather of the day. This morning, however, I will not be rushing out the door as normal to my wonderful job. I will not be checking to make sure I have copies, sending emails, finalizing lesson plans, or going through the mounds of papers that I have strategically placed on neat piles around my desk. None of this will occur because in Middle Tennessee it is a snow day.
For all you adults out there who don't work in the school system, I ask you to go back into your childhood for a brief moment. Step back to the days when you were a lad in school. When you would run to the window then to the T.V. and wait patiently for the Snow Bird report. Do you remember the feeling? The feeling of glee, the feeling of excitement, the feeling that the world was yours for the
taking and nothing could hold you down. I can tell by the smile on your face that, yes, you do remember. Now take that feeling and multiply it by 25. This is what a teacher experiences.
The buildup for teachers begins days ahead of the predicted storm. I accredit this mostly to the fact that, unlike students, teachers usually watch the news on a regular basis and therefore understand how the seven day forecast works. Today being a Wednesday that the schools are closed means that talk of what they were predicting began on Monday during a faculty meeting. The prior knowledge
of what could happen sets in motion what I like to call "The 7 Stages of a Teacher Snow Day."
Stage One: What?....Really!
The initial rumor of snow ignites a momentary glee that cannot be contained within the soul of a teacher. Much like the feeling you get w hen you win a raffle, you are excited and can't believe that it could actually happen to you. You smile, skip around, and begin thinking of what chores and errands you will catch up on if you are so lucky.
Stage Two: The Decline
In stage two the educator, still excited about the possibility, thinks back on all the times forecasters in Middle Tennessee have been wrong. This begins to make him or her ask more questions about the report. How much are the calling for? What's the anticipated high and low temperature? How warm will the ground be? This is immediately followed by the checking of various long range weather
reports on-line and speaking with other teachers to see, "What have you heard?"
Stage Three: The Professional Emerges
Somewhere after stage two, reality sets in, and the old school marm that lives in the depths of every teacher begins to show her face. The fact that they have a very serious job to do comes to mind, and they are reminded that there are state test quickly approaching for which their students are not yet ready. It is during this stage that teachers lie to their co-workers and families and tell them that it would be better if they had school. This way they won't fall behind schedule or have to redo plans. Please note that this is purely a self-preservation stage just in case school is not cancelled.
Stage Four: Excitement sneaks back in.
It could not be suppressed for long. You are now closer to the anticipated wintry mix, and the forecast still looks promising.
Stage Five: Anger
This is a very common stage. Once again the enthusiasm has been snuffed out and replaced with the thoughts that there is no way we're getting out of school. You are then reminded of the 13 built-in snow days that we don't get paid for and loose if we don't take them. You begin to get angry at the transportation director for being willing to risk the safety of our students, the school board
for not being willing to compensate us for unused snow days, and that blankety-blank weatherman for getting our hopes up to begin with. I am warning you to stay clear of any educator you may believe is in this stage.
Stage Six: Cautious Optimism
You are preparing for bed the night before what could be a day off. To the common observer everything looks normal. Lunches have been packed, clothes laid out, and alarms set. You avoid discussing it with your spouse, and you tell your children to go to bed at their normal time. Everyone knows that the slightest bit of hope could jinx the whole thing and you will wake up to sunny skies with a high well above freezing. You slip in your bed say a last silent prayer. Being prepared for the worst, you very quietly to yourself hope for the best.
Stage Seven: Uncontrollable Enthusiasm.
You spring from your bed and race to the T.V. You find the first local news channel and look for those wonderful county names scrolling across the bottom of your screen. You flip from channel 2 to 4 to 5. You even take a look at Fox. Your mission is to find the channel whose scrolling ticker at the bottom is
closest to your county. Finally, you find one that says Robertson County...you know yours is coming up. There it is....Wilson...and....and...and WILLIAMSON! Thank you, Jesus, YES. YES, YES!!! You jump around your living room as adrenaline shoots through your veins like a bullet. You smile, you dance, you thank God for his unbelievable kindness to you. However, in a moment of sudden panic you are jerked back to reality. You begin to think they got it wrong. It could be a mistake, you say to yourself. Quickly you search for the remote which went flying out of your hands earlier. Finding it behind the sofa you look for another station to verify in fact you do not have to go to work. Once again you see it, and the ecstasy and elation starts all over again.
You think about going to get back in bed, but if you are like me you are now much too awake to even dream sleep. Besides how could you waste even one second of this glorious day off? Instead you pour your coffee into a real mug instead of a travel one. You slip on your house shoes, grab a blanket, and once again soak up the delight of knowing you are a teacher, and it is a snow day in Middle Tennessee.
Trey Duke
It is 5:30 A.M, and I have been up for nearly 45 minutes. I have showered, eaten breakfast, enjoyed a cup of coffee, and watched my good friends Aaron Solomon and Tim Ross tell me about the news and weather of the day. This morning, however, I will not be rushing out the door as normal to my wonderful job. I will not be checking to make sure I have copies, sending emails, finalizing lesson plans, or going through the mounds of papers that I have strategically placed on neat piles around my desk. None of this will occur because in Middle Tennessee it is a snow day.
For all you adults out there who don't work in the school system, I ask you to go back into your childhood for a brief moment. Step back to the days when you were a lad in school. When you would run to the window then to the T.V. and wait patiently for the Snow Bird report. Do you remember the feeling? The feeling of glee, the feeling of excitement, the feeling that the world was yours for the
taking and nothing could hold you down. I can tell by the smile on your face that, yes, you do remember. Now take that feeling and multiply it by 25. This is what a teacher experiences.
The buildup for teachers begins days ahead of the predicted storm. I accredit this mostly to the fact that, unlike students, teachers usually watch the news on a regular basis and therefore understand how the seven day forecast works. Today being a Wednesday that the schools are closed means that talk of what they were predicting began on Monday during a faculty meeting. The prior knowledge
of what could happen sets in motion what I like to call "The 7 Stages of a Teacher Snow Day."
Stage One: What?....Really!
The initial rumor of snow ignites a momentary glee that cannot be contained within the soul of a teacher. Much like the feeling you get w hen you win a raffle, you are excited and can't believe that it could actually happen to you. You smile, skip around, and begin thinking of what chores and errands you will catch up on if you are so lucky.
Stage Two: The Decline
In stage two the educator, still excited about the possibility, thinks back on all the times forecasters in Middle Tennessee have been wrong. This begins to make him or her ask more questions about the report. How much are the calling for? What's the anticipated high and low temperature? How warm will the ground be? This is immediately followed by the checking of various long range weather
reports on-line and speaking with other teachers to see, "What have you heard?"
Stage Three: The Professional Emerges
Somewhere after stage two, reality sets in, and the old school marm that lives in the depths of every teacher begins to show her face. The fact that they have a very serious job to do comes to mind, and they are reminded that there are state test quickly approaching for which their students are not yet ready. It is during this stage that teachers lie to their co-workers and families and tell them that it would be better if they had school. This way they won't fall behind schedule or have to redo plans. Please note that this is purely a self-preservation stage just in case school is not cancelled.
Stage Four: Excitement sneaks back in.
It could not be suppressed for long. You are now closer to the anticipated wintry mix, and the forecast still looks promising.
Stage Five: Anger
This is a very common stage. Once again the enthusiasm has been snuffed out and replaced with the thoughts that there is no way we're getting out of school. You are then reminded of the 13 built-in snow days that we don't get paid for and loose if we don't take them. You begin to get angry at the transportation director for being willing to risk the safety of our students, the school board
for not being willing to compensate us for unused snow days, and that blankety-blank weatherman for getting our hopes up to begin with. I am warning you to stay clear of any educator you may believe is in this stage.
Stage Six: Cautious Optimism
You are preparing for bed the night before what could be a day off. To the common observer everything looks normal. Lunches have been packed, clothes laid out, and alarms set. You avoid discussing it with your spouse, and you tell your children to go to bed at their normal time. Everyone knows that the slightest bit of hope could jinx the whole thing and you will wake up to sunny skies with a high well above freezing. You slip in your bed say a last silent prayer. Being prepared for the worst, you very quietly to yourself hope for the best.
Stage Seven: Uncontrollable Enthusiasm.
You spring from your bed and race to the T.V. You find the first local news channel and look for those wonderful county names scrolling across the bottom of your screen. You flip from channel 2 to 4 to 5. You even take a look at Fox. Your mission is to find the channel whose scrolling ticker at the bottom is
closest to your county. Finally, you find one that says Robertson County...you know yours is coming up. There it is....Wilson...and....and...and WILLIAMSON! Thank you, Jesus, YES. YES, YES!!! You jump around your living room as adrenaline shoots through your veins like a bullet. You smile, you dance, you thank God for his unbelievable kindness to you. However, in a moment of sudden panic you are jerked back to reality. You begin to think they got it wrong. It could be a mistake, you say to yourself. Quickly you search for the remote which went flying out of your hands earlier. Finding it behind the sofa you look for another station to verify in fact you do not have to go to work. Once again you see it, and the ecstasy and elation starts all over again.
You think about going to get back in bed, but if you are like me you are now much too awake to even dream sleep. Besides how could you waste even one second of this glorious day off? Instead you pour your coffee into a real mug instead of a travel one. You slip on your house shoes, grab a blanket, and once again soak up the delight of knowing you are a teacher, and it is a snow day in Middle Tennessee.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
The ramblings of my week...
So being the un-athletic person I am, I never once thought that I would pay any kind of money to do a 5k or any kind of walk/run. Due to my very unhealthy habits from last semester (because of stress-go back to my year in review, if you want a full explanation), my doctor has told me to diet and exercise more. So far, so good. My sister-in-law even convinced me to walk in a 5k. (I don't run very well!) I asked her to figure out what her favorite 5k was and then we would go from there. She decided that the Nashville Zoo Run Run was her favorite because of getting to see all the animals. So we signed up! (Another New Year's resoluton!)
Fast forward to this week. It was a 4 day week, which is always fabulous for a teacher because it means that we just had a 3 day weekend! Although I must say that this 4 day week was a very stressful one. I had to leave right after school on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday so that I could go to a doctors appointment, pick up stuff for zoo run run/pick up dog from groomer, and go to grad class. Due to the leaving right on time every day, I didn't have a lot of after school time to do a good job planning for next week. I tried to cram it all into the school days.... Friday I did all these fun science projects around my room and so as you can imagine, it was a very hectic day.* Somehow, I managed to get my basic plans down and get all my copies to the aids. (In all the chaos of Friday, I must say that I was EXTREMELY pleased to watch the IT guy bring a SMART board to my room!! I did a happy dance!) Once I left school Friday, I felt good enough to come in Monday morning ready to roll. Grad class was interesting due to the fact that some one high up in my county has joined my class to get their license renewed... (HELLO SENSOR!)
* You know you are an elementary science teacher when you walk around with green food coloring all over your hands because you have a mad a "mystery slime" that has properties of a solid and a liquid....
Once I left class, I called O'Charley's togo to place an order for Jim and my dinner. Jim had requested a shrimp appetizer and broccoli cheese side because he can only eat certain things right now. I got a salad. Needless to say it was a pretty random order. The lady on the phone told me that it would take 20 minutes and then it would be ready. Well, 5 minutes later I get there and just decide to sit and wait. Almost immediately someone comes out with a bag and I mention that I was super early. She told me that it was ready any ways! (I thought, well it was basically just a salad) So I pay the 29 dollars (which I feel like might be too much) and drive on home. At this point it was 7:45 and Jim has to leave work by about 8:45-9:00. I get home and unload the bag only to realize that I have gotten the completely wrong thing. AWESOME! I call them to complain and they ask if I would mind greatly to come back and I said sure.... Why not? My day has been crazy all day any ways. I got back to the store and they refund my 10 dollars and get me my correct order. Personally, I think I should have gotten at least a free appitizer just for having to come back. No such luck. I basically passed out once I ate dinner and said goodbye to Jim. I did have to get up at 6 the next day for a continuation of grad class.
I won't bore you with the details of my grad class but I will tell you that I learned a lot from that lady from the central office!! I had to leave grad class early to get to Nashville in time to pick up Melinda and get to the Zoo. At the zoo, we put on our numbers and I started to feel a little athletic... (or at least I looked it!) We decided to stand in the back because we definitely didn't want to run with the crazy, hardcore people! As we were waiting to start, I saw a former student of mine. Always a pleasure to run in to them in the real world. At least in 5th grade, they do understand that I don't live at school and that I do have a life outside of school. Soon enough the race started and I was off like Forrest Gump to start my first 5k. Except it was more like "Walk, Kate, WALK!" haha. This was a really exciting 5k and I would recommend it to anyone. Being my first, I don't have a lot of experience but getting to stop to look at the animals and walk around the parts of the zoo that are not open to the public was COOL! I am so happy to say that I completed the 3.1 miles in a little less than an hour. I don't have an exact time yet but I feel like that is pretty awesome! So Melinda and I have decided we will do a couple each year. We will make the Zoo Run Run annual as well as some others. The next definite event will be the Relay for Life in June. I always walk wayyy more than 5k at that. This year's will be a completely new experience for me because cancer has really affected my family in the past year. When I get my fundraising site, I will post it here. :) I guess that is all I have to say for this week. I am now going to enjoy the rest of my week end!
Fast forward to this week. It was a 4 day week, which is always fabulous for a teacher because it means that we just had a 3 day weekend! Although I must say that this 4 day week was a very stressful one. I had to leave right after school on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday so that I could go to a doctors appointment, pick up stuff for zoo run run/pick up dog from groomer, and go to grad class. Due to the leaving right on time every day, I didn't have a lot of after school time to do a good job planning for next week. I tried to cram it all into the school days.... Friday I did all these fun science projects around my room and so as you can imagine, it was a very hectic day.* Somehow, I managed to get my basic plans down and get all my copies to the aids. (In all the chaos of Friday, I must say that I was EXTREMELY pleased to watch the IT guy bring a SMART board to my room!! I did a happy dance!) Once I left school Friday, I felt good enough to come in Monday morning ready to roll. Grad class was interesting due to the fact that some one high up in my county has joined my class to get their license renewed... (HELLO SENSOR!)
* You know you are an elementary science teacher when you walk around with green food coloring all over your hands because you have a mad a "mystery slime" that has properties of a solid and a liquid....
Once I left class, I called O'Charley's togo to place an order for Jim and my dinner. Jim had requested a shrimp appetizer and broccoli cheese side because he can only eat certain things right now. I got a salad. Needless to say it was a pretty random order. The lady on the phone told me that it would take 20 minutes and then it would be ready. Well, 5 minutes later I get there and just decide to sit and wait. Almost immediately someone comes out with a bag and I mention that I was super early. She told me that it was ready any ways! (I thought, well it was basically just a salad) So I pay the 29 dollars (which I feel like might be too much) and drive on home. At this point it was 7:45 and Jim has to leave work by about 8:45-9:00. I get home and unload the bag only to realize that I have gotten the completely wrong thing. AWESOME! I call them to complain and they ask if I would mind greatly to come back and I said sure.... Why not? My day has been crazy all day any ways. I got back to the store and they refund my 10 dollars and get me my correct order. Personally, I think I should have gotten at least a free appitizer just for having to come back. No such luck. I basically passed out once I ate dinner and said goodbye to Jim. I did have to get up at 6 the next day for a continuation of grad class.
I won't bore you with the details of my grad class but I will tell you that I learned a lot from that lady from the central office!! I had to leave grad class early to get to Nashville in time to pick up Melinda and get to the Zoo. At the zoo, we put on our numbers and I started to feel a little athletic... (or at least I looked it!) We decided to stand in the back because we definitely didn't want to run with the crazy, hardcore people! As we were waiting to start, I saw a former student of mine. Always a pleasure to run in to them in the real world. At least in 5th grade, they do understand that I don't live at school and that I do have a life outside of school. Soon enough the race started and I was off like Forrest Gump to start my first 5k. Except it was more like "Walk, Kate, WALK!" haha. This was a really exciting 5k and I would recommend it to anyone. Being my first, I don't have a lot of experience but getting to stop to look at the animals and walk around the parts of the zoo that are not open to the public was COOL! I am so happy to say that I completed the 3.1 miles in a little less than an hour. I don't have an exact time yet but I feel like that is pretty awesome! So Melinda and I have decided we will do a couple each year. We will make the Zoo Run Run annual as well as some others. The next definite event will be the Relay for Life in June. I always walk wayyy more than 5k at that. This year's will be a completely new experience for me because cancer has really affected my family in the past year. When I get my fundraising site, I will post it here. :) I guess that is all I have to say for this week. I am now going to enjoy the rest of my week end!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
A Family Christmas in January...
Yesterday, I had all my side of the family come over for Christmas. We never get to celebrate during the actual holiday so it is always extended afterward. It was so good to see everyone, if only for a short time.
This past week at school I worked two other new year resolutions. I worked out and ate healthier as well as worked really hard to get ready for this next week's school. Lately I have been flying by the seat of my pants during my classes. I am doing a good job of it, but I feel better when I have everything planned out. So Friday I stayed till 6 working on my lesson plans, grading papers, and just tiding up my desk. I left feeling very accomplished.
Next weekend, Melinda and I are walking in the Nashville Zoo Run Run (5k). I am so excited about it. Apparently the route is through the zoo so that you can see all of the animals while you are walking/running. When I told Melinda that I wanted to do a 5k she recommended this one because it is her favorite.
This blog is very random with blabbering so I will stop now. I hope everyone enjoys their 3 day weekend!!
This past week at school I worked two other new year resolutions. I worked out and ate healthier as well as worked really hard to get ready for this next week's school. Lately I have been flying by the seat of my pants during my classes. I am doing a good job of it, but I feel better when I have everything planned out. So Friday I stayed till 6 working on my lesson plans, grading papers, and just tiding up my desk. I left feeling very accomplished.
Next weekend, Melinda and I are walking in the Nashville Zoo Run Run (5k). I am so excited about it. Apparently the route is through the zoo so that you can see all of the animals while you are walking/running. When I told Melinda that I wanted to do a 5k she recommended this one because it is her favorite.
This blog is very random with blabbering so I will stop now. I hope everyone enjoys their 3 day weekend!!
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