Getting ready

Well I have ONE more week left at Proteon. It has been such a great first job out of school, but I am beyond excited to start this new chapter in my life.

I have been up to the school a few times to look through my room and see what kinds of supplies I will be working with this school year. I initially thought I was coming into a classroom with limited supplies but thanks to the help of the other middle school teachers, I have realized there is a whole closet dedicated to science supplies!! Woot! Prior to realizing there was a science closet, I had asked Proteon if they would be interested in donating some science supplies to the school. They agreed, and I began to collect boxes of items. After about getting 6 boxes together, I made a trip to school this morning to drop it all off. I was so excited to see my classroom again! Finally after being completely emptied out for floor buffering, all of my stuff was back in its place, and there were even NEW desks! Below are some pictures of the room. I havent started decorating or anything. Those pictures will be posted within the next month!

Here is a picture of the front of the school.

Room 103!!! Here she is!

Here is a view from the door. And I have a good teacher podium and stool!My desk is in the back by the black filing cabinet.

The view of the front of the classroom from my desk.

These two pictures below are of the materials in the science closet that is just down the hall from my room.

Over the next few weeks I will be spending a lot of time up at the school to get things organized and set up. I will post pictures of the finished product around the beginning of the school year!

MB

Another month

Well once again, I make one post in the month of June and neglect the blog the rest of the time. Here we are in July. Seriously?! JULY?! Ugh. Where has this year gone?!

A little update with my teaching stuff. Ever since I "landed" this job, I have been wondering how I would start off the year. Sure in grad classes they tell you how to plan lessons and how to manage a classroom...but they don't actually tell you how to start off the year. The only thing I know about starting a new year is "Be very tough the first two weeks...otherwise, you will be trying to control the classroom the rest of the year." Alright, check. Be tough. I'm not worried about these kids liking me. Some will...some won't. So I guess I'll just be tough and hope for the best!

I've been meeting with my old 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Gruss. We have only met twice but I am already more relaxed and ready for this school year to start. She has given me so many science labs to use throughout the whole year. If I wanted to, I could literally sit down tonight and plan my entire school year...labs and all. Naturally, you have to be flexible so I will try to plan a few weeks out...and see how things go. Mrs. Gruss and I haven't even started talking about teaching math. I enjoy math, and I like to think I am good at it...but I am still a little nervous. Sure the science is easy...it's like second nature...but the math...hum, will be more of a challenge.

Now that it is the month of July, I can FINALLY meet with my principal again and get keys to the building and my classroom. With that, I can start planning my classroom layout, start hanging pictures AND get my hands on the textbooks. Thats right...I haven't even seen my textbooks but I am still confident I could plan out the whole year with what Mrs. Gruss has given me. Talk about an awesome lady!

Bruce and I are packing up the dogs and heading to Salina for the weekend. It will be a nice little vacation before my real work begins! I hope to meet with my principal next week...but I'll keep you posted! And just because I hate posting without a picture...here is a shot of me and Bruce at the Sporting KC game on June 9th. Opening night! They tied...but it was a GREAT game and awesome environment!

MB